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August 31, 2008
Another tidbit you don't know about the 'Commander of the Alaskan National Guard (Gets daily briefs on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism)
Topics: Political News and commentaries
Governor Sarah Palin in Kuwait - (Official Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mac Metcalfe, Alaska Army National Guard)
As much as I've been following Gov. Palin for the past year, I was surprised to learn via Jonah Goldberg at The Corner that:
Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It's on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.And as Jonah goes on to point out in his piece, Alaskan governors deal a lot more with international and national security issues than most other governors, and there are all sorts of treaty issues, missile defense stuff, bases, etc in Alaska where the military is a very big presence.As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.
She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.
Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about.
According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets.
She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.
My own response to this revelation (a revelation to me, at least) is 'Wow'.
As Carlos noted as a comment here, not only is she "Annie Oakley, Margaret Thatcher, Teddy Roosevelt and Wonder Woman - to which I'd add also Davy Crockett and Betty Crocker, and knows how to handle herself, all wrapped up in one very attractive body" - she's also a "for real" Commander in Chief (well, sort of) and should do very well against Biden in debates - even on military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism.
Related: Sarah Palin's Experience Above And Beyond Barack Obama
Posted by Abdul at August 31, 2008 12:41 PM
Abdul I like your add ons (Crockett and Crocker) to my original line.
The posting via Goldberg was very revealing, I knew about NG units in Kuwait and Iraq, which she visited, but was unaware of her ballistic defense responsibilites.
Posted by: Carlos Echevarria at August 31, 2008 4:25 PM
Carlos, thanks for reminding me. Just now, after reading your comments, I went back and looked at the post - and the "My own response to this revelation (a revelation to me, at least) is 'Wow'" - followed by "Not only is she "Annie Oakley,etc.., does sound like I meant that to all from me. So I've just now fixed that. You'll find a link to your original comment now in the post.
Posted by: Abdul at August 31, 2008 7:25 PM
According to a 12/10/06 article in the Herald Tribune:
"While the 49th is an Alaska National Guard unit, Hildreth reports to Colonel Michael Yowell, commander of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade, based in Colorado."
So apparently Palin is not commander of this "special" unit. Funny no one bothered to mention that. Notice that original blog post never actually says that she is commander of the unit, only that it is in Alaska. It does say that she is commander of the ASDF, which is a different unit alltogether. Hmm...
Posted by: mgear at September 4, 2008 5:59 PM
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