Alaska National Guard Members Aren't Getting What They Need, and Governor Palin Is Complicit
Governor Palin's cavalier approach to learning about U.S. national security policy is offensive, given that she is well aware of the horrific impact that the war in Iraq has had on the Alaska National Guard.
When I read the preliminary findings from Veterans for America National Guard Program's work in Alaska, I was outraged. It is unconscionable to think that the citizens of Alaska are suffering in part from her neglect while she -- and others associated with the McCain-Palin campaign -- uses them to boost her own national security policy credentials.
I have spent the better part of a year trying to get our presidential (and now, vice presidential) candidates to recognize the unprecedented sacrifices that have been asked of our National Guard, but, to date, the response has been inadequate.
According to VFA's preliminary Alaska findings, "The post-deployment challenges facing Alaska's Army National Guard are more daunting and widespread than any seen by Veterans for America."
The Alaska National Guard needs their governor to advocate and fight for their needs -- not exploit their deployments for her own political advantage.
We cannot let her shy away from this. We must demand that she answers questions during Thursday's Vice Presidential Debate -- and accepts responsibility -- for the conditions on the ground in Alaska. For any who might say that what's happening in Alaska is part of a larger Army problem (or any other excuse), remind them of what the Adjutant General of the Alaska Guard recently told Fox News: "Yes. Governor Palin is in charge, the commander-in-chief for the Alaska National Guard, and she plays the same role that all governors in all 54 states and territories play, running and managing and operating the Guard day to day for the states that they're responsible for... National Guards are state military forces run by governors, and Sarah Palin does it great."
The Alaska National Guard is set to again mobilize an additional 140 Aviators from the 207th Aviation Regiment in December for a one-year mobilization. We know that Alaska does not have the ability to care for Guard members post-deployment, and we are sending them anyway.
Governor Sarah Palin needs to address the needs of the Guard as governor and as a vice presidential candidate. Any candidate who speaks of war while not adequately responding to the immense human implications deserves to be held responsible.
*Titles and affiliations of each individual are provided for identification purposes only.
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Disgraceful, Disgraceful, Disgraceful, McPalin!
If nothing jerks my heart strings more it's the awful treatment of our troops and veteran servicemen and women. My dad, brother and sister - in - law made a career of servicing our country. Now my nephew will be deployed in 2009. My brother has PTSD, and it's not a pretty sight.
McBush is a joke and entire ticket need not be anywhere near the Oval Office-period!
The report by the Veterans for America is nothing but of BS. I have lived in Alaska almost all my life and I am a Soldier. I have also lived in one of the many Alaskan Villages. I don't understand how someone who visited Alaska for one week can get an accurate account of Alaska, its Guardsmen and the state in which people choose to live. Do you really believe that these proud men and women that serve for the Guard would rather be told that because they are Alaska Natives or that they are the Hunters and Providers for their family that they were not going to be allowed to deploy to protect the nation that they voluntarily enlisted to defend? How dare you think that because one of the many Alaska National Guard Members is either Alaska Native or from a small rural town that their contribution should not be utilized? I have countless cousins, family, and friends (to include my husband) who are all Guardsmen from rural Alaska. I know that cost of living in a village is expensive but not every one of the villages charges $10 for a half gallon of milk, in fact I have never visited one that does. It is more like $7 for a gallon in most of the villages. The suggestion that these rural members should not be asked to do the job they enlisted to do to me is profiling. Continued………….
Continued………….
How dare someone tell my husband and family that they are not allowed to serve because they are native or that they are from a village or rural town? I would like to see someone tell my husband and family that they have to stay behind to gather wood, hunt, fish or any number of other jobs they would normally do while the rest of their unit goes to Iraq, Afghanistan or any other place to fight for freedom. If he did not want to deploy he never would have enlisted in the first place and neither would the rest of my family and friends who enlisted after the 9-11 attack. My fellow Guard members and I understand the risks of being in the Alaska Army National Guard and anyone who says otherwise is depicting the Alaskan people as stupid and naive. We are either!!!! Continued………….
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The suggestion that we are given a disservice by sending us back into villages and rural areas after being deployed could only suggest that you feel our way of life is be far beneath your own. How dare you insult the Natives of this state by implying that our culture is beneath your own? If we want to move away from our village or home town we will, but it is not for the rest of the world to dictate where we live and whether or not we are allowed to give our lives to defend what we are so proud to defend. To think that some outside entity thinks that they can get an accurate view of the Alaskans, Guard members, the way of life here and what this state needs to support its Service members in one week is ridicules. This state is half the size of the rest of the US and as diverse as driving form California to New York. Do you mean to say that the people of New York have the same needs as the people in Texas, Oklahoma, California or any other state? Until someone from Alaska who lives here and knows about this state and its needs puts together a panel to see what we need for our Guardsmen and veterans then your views and statements are far fetched and outrageous. Please keep them to yourself or do it right and ask Alaskans to research the issue.
Dream on. Troops are props for politicians, nothing more, nothing less.
What is truly disgraceful is that they have tne money in Alaska to take care of their needs if it was a priority for her. But like making victims pay for rape kits in Wasilla as mayor it seems that the national guard are really only a public relations prop and something to list as a notch on her ...um ... ?national security credentials'.
I hope that this gets a LOT of attention!!
What if she had to be governor of a state who had to actually raise money from TAXPAYERS rather than just adjust how much the state would skim from the money they hand out to citizens? I hear she left her little town in debt, does she believe EVERY state just gets money from some oil company. Even if we had unlimited drilling, if people were allowed to put oil wells in school gymnaseums, does she really think this would be an option for most states?
Well then she is indeed her running mate's soul mate. John McCain has an abysmal voting record on veterans and soldiers issues while using them as campaign talking points ad nauseum and so it's a perfect fit that she does the same with the Alaskan National Guard.
Be vocal Mr. Muller. You're doing it not just for Alaska's enlisted men and women, but for all US soldiers. Palin and McCain in the White House would be a soldier's worst leadership nightmare.
Sarah Palin touts her experience "leading" the Alaska national guard as one of her qualifications. The fact that all this has been allowed to happened to the Alaska NG proves that any leadership she has provided is evidence of her incompetence, not her abilities.
But don't you remember what our present VP said, "well, they volunteered for this." So how is Palin's actions any differnt than his? The People have shirked their duty to hold these people responsible. They elected her. They love her and all it took was getting them another $1,200.00. And it isn't just the People in Alaska. The People in the entire country have been telling their Representatives for days not to give way a trillion dollars of their money to bail out the rich and yet they ignore their instructions. So why do you think Sarah Palin or any of the elected Representatives from either party, except for a handful, have any inclination to listen about the National Guard or any other matter that we hold dear? They dance to the tune played by their Corporate Masters!
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