Does McCain Know the Difference Between the National Guard and the Army
The administration is using the National Guard, which traditionally is given five years at home between every year deployed, like it uses the army — for extended, repeated deployments in Iraq. Half of the troops deployed to Iraq between now and the end of Bush’s presidency will be National Guard troops, so operationally, it is unfortunately hard to tell the two apart since the overstretching of the military has cause such overuse of our Guard overseas. Still, I don’t think this has anything to do with this. From the Politics Blog at the Anchorage Daily News:
“Candidates spend a lot of time talking, and they all misspeak sometimes. But did anyone else notice this, from Wednesday’s much-covered McCain-Palin Town Hall event in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Palin answered questions from people in the audience?
“McCain said this near the end of the clip below, as he’s talking up Palin’s foreign policy/national security credentials:
‘I also know, if I might remind you, that she is commander of the Alaska National Guard. In fact, you may know that on Sept. 11 a large contingent of the Alaska Guard deployed to Iraq and her son happened to be one of them. So I think she understands our national security challenges….’“The ceremony Palin attended at Fort Wainwright last week didn’t involve the Alaska National Guard. Palin’s son is in the Army, and his unit - 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division - deployed to Iraq.”
Does John McCain, who claims to be the choice for a secure America, know the difference between the Army and the National Guard? Shouldn’t a commander in chief have a firm grasp over which forces he’s commanding?
