Email about Palins's experience with the Alaska Natl Guard...with a twist....

[mscuedawg]

I just received this email from a "gentleman" (I use the term loosely) who a few weeks ago rec'd a rebuttal to a smear I received about Obama. I have never met this man, but his response to me was...."Barack Obama is not ready to lead MY country..." :mad: So, today, I receive this...

Question: What is America's first line of missile interceptor defense that protects the entire United States?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard.

Question: What is the ONLY National Guard unit on permanent active duty?
Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard

Question: Who is the Commander in Chief of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. governor is routinely briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counter terrorism?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

Question: What U.S. governor has a higher classified security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

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.

To which I researched and responded...

Wayne,

In your last email to me, you established with me that you do not trust Senator Obama to run YOUR country...and I respected that without reminding you that it is OUR country.

Upon researching the information that you forwarded, this is what I have found on www.votevets.org

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday 31 August 2008: Major General Craig Campbell, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard, tells the AP that: he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.


The quote is used against Palin throughout the media for several days.


Wednesday 3 September 2008: Major General Craig Campbell does significantly more damage to Palin's credibility in this piece in the Boston Globe: And while the Alaska National Guard operates a launch site for a US anti-missile system at Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks, the Alaskan governor is not in the site's chain of command and has no authority over its operations, according to Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard who commands the roughly 3,800 state militia members.


"Our National Guard is basically just like any National Guard," said Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard who commands the roughly 3,800 state militia members. Campbell, a native of Springfield , Mass. , said by telephone.


"You could call Joe Carter in Massachusetts and he would say he is organized the same way."


Nor are the recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan by the Alaska National Guard under Palin's purview, despite assertions this week by McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds to that effect. "She is head of the National Guard that has been deployed overseas," Bounds said. "That's foreign policy experience."


Campbell also said that Palin has authority over the National Guard's domestic missions -- such as fighting wildfires and rescuing stranded residents, but that she has a limited role in determining how the forces are trained or equipped.


About 75 percent of the Guard's budget, he said, is the purview of the National Guard Bureau in Washington , which is responsible for ensuring the Guard is prepared to be called up by the president in a time of war. Her primary role, he said, is in recruiting National Guard volunteers.


Campbell said he has met with Palin about once a month, but communicates with her by phone and email more frequently. Earlier this week, he noted, she ordered the Air National Guard to fly a planeload of supplies to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast .

"She is very much engaged in what we are doing and she asks a lot of questions," Campbell said. "Maybe not the most engaged, but definitely engaged. She is very much involved in ensuring that I am recruiting enough people."


Friday 5 September 2008: Only two days later, Campbell 's story has completely flip-flopped. Now he's suddenly praising Palin, appearing on Fox News to gush about what a superb commander-in-chief she is: "I'll tell you, in the last few days, I've been watching the press, and I've not been very pleased with what I've been seeing about the chastising of the National Guard by having it diminished by the insinuation that a commander-in-chief of the National Guard doesn't really control the military. The National Guard has 500,000 people in it around this great country, serving in states and overseas. National Guards are state military forces run by governors, and Sarah Palin does it great."


Monday 8 September: After the weekend--and after his complimentary remarks--Major General Campbell is promoted within the Alaska National Guard to the rank of Lieutenant General. The promotion is not recognized outside the state of Alaska , but he is promoted with his third star, nonetheless.

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Speaking of the Alaska National Guard...

Report Offers Scathing Critique of Alaska National Guard
http://www.adn.com/military/story/555254.html

UNFOUNDED: Lt. Gen. Campbell calls effort "political hatchet job."

By JAMES HALPIN
[e-mail]

The commander of the Alaska National Guard swung back Monday at a report critical of his department, saying its claims were an unfounded, partisan attempt to "ambush" Gov. Sarah Palin in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.

Lt. Gen. Craig Campbell, commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said at a news conference that the preliminary report, released Oct. 1 by Veterans for America, was "poorly written, lacking substantiation of allegations and basically filled with plain incorrect information.

"This is a political hatchet job," Campbell said. "There are always things that we can improve on, so I'm not saying we couldn't use any help. I'm saying the VFA didn't offer any help."

The report offers a scathing critique of the Guard's alleged lack of assistance -- particularly with health care -- for soldiers returning from overseas deployments. It asserts the Guard was sent to fight without proper systems in place to handle its returning vets and urges deployments to cease until the situation is fixed.

"As a result of inadequate leadership from the Governor of Alaska, among others, the Alaska National Guard has an inadequate understanding of the full range of post-combat issues," the report says.

Veterans for America bills itself as a nonpartisan advocacy and humanitarian group. Jason Forrester, co-director of its National Guard program, said claims that the report has a partisan agenda are simply not true. The report aims to improve the quality of life for guardsmen and was undertaken well before Palin was selected as Sen. John McCain's running mate, he said.

<snip>

"(Palin) agrees completely with Gen. Campbell's assessment that Alaska's Guard troops are among the finest in the country," Kelsey said afterward. "So she appreciates his efforts today to provide some factual context to the baseless criticisms leveled by the Veterans for America."

[mscuedawg]

2. Thanks for that...doesnt bode well for your Gov, do it??

:hi:

[mscuedawg]

3. Got a response from someone on my email....

it was a rolling eyes smiley...now THAT is an intelligent rebuttal!!! :rofl:

[cap]

4. somehow, I don't think that the regular Army, Navy, AF, and Marines

think too highly of the Alaska National Guard.