AF Says Palin Has No Air Defense Role

[SlightlyCatholic]

October 02, 2008
United Press International

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force says Sarah Palin and past Alaska governors have never had any direct authority over NORAD, the radar system that watches for air attacks.

The Air Force's statement came in response to a New York Daily News inquiry following a television interview with CBS in which Palin said that Alaska was a hot spot for the monitoring of nearby Russia. The paper reported that Palin said Alaska's proximity to Russia was part of her foreign-policy portfolio.


"It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia, as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America -- where do they go? It's Alaska," Palin told CBS.

"It is from Alaska that we send those (patrols) out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation," she added.

Maj. Allen Herritage, a spokesman for the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command, said: "The authority to launch and respond to a Russian incursion lies with the Alaska NORAD Region commander."

The Air Force also noted that Alaska Air National Guard patrol flights along the frontier are under Air Force command.

Link: http://www.military.com/news/article...ense-role.html

[PaulR]

This is silly... I dont think she ever said that she was in control of DOD assets or missions. She stated a point that many intell gathering missions involving Russia were launched out of Alaska.

Talk about spin!

[SlightlyCatholic]

Well, the Air Force thought it was a big enough deal to release a statement, unless they were just politically camouflaging their fourth point of contact.

[Murray B]

It is good that they clarified the issue but it seemed to me that she was using the collective "we" meaning the U.S.A. and not governors or hockey-moms.

[SAC_Cop]

Originally Posted by PaulR

This is silly... I dont think she ever said that she was in control of DOD assets or missions. She stated a point that many intell gathering missions involving Russia were launched out of Alaska.

Talk about spin!

Of course it is, this AF rep must be an Obama supporter. She never said anything about commanding NORAD or Federal Troops, just the simple statement that Alaska is the closest US State to Russia and that their planes violate US Airspace at Alaska and that the planes that intercept come from Alaska and most of them do and although the Flyers that conduct the patrols may be Federalized they are still members if the Alaska Air National Guard, which she commands as the Chief Executive of that state.

[dukesix]

I certainly do not mean to denigrate the Air Force...however...until they quit hauling (and losing) nuclear bombs over the country....and sending nuclear parts to Taiwan (by mistake)....They might want to "....take the beam" out of their own eyes.

Dukesix

[63Bravo]

Originally Posted by SAC_Cop

Of course it is, this AF rep must be an Obama supporter. She never said anything about commanding NORAD or Federal Troops, just the simple statement that Alaska is the closest US State to Russia and that their planes violate US Airspace at Alaska and that the planes that intercept come from Alaska and most of them do and although the Flyers that conduct the patrols may be Federalized they are still members if the Alaska Air National Guard, which she commands as the Chief Executive of that state.

Well, to be fair, if the troops flying the patrols are "federalized" then they are not under the command of Gov Palin, they are in fact under command of the commanding officer of the US Air Force that issued the flights. Once a Governor of a state has their troops mobilized for Federal Duty, they secede all command function to the federal side. National Guard and Air Guard are dual role forces, commanded on the state level by the governor of the state, but in times of call up for Active Duty, they are no longer controlled by the governor, they are controlled by the parent affiliation...Title 10 call up vs a Title 32 call up.