Remember when the McCain campaign got all bent out of shape because CNN’s big, bad Campbell Brown beat up on campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds for not being able
“„[T]he governor has no command authority overseas or anywhere in the United States other than Alaska, said Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard.
“„“When members of the National Guard are federalized, they work for the president,” Campbell said Wednesday. “It’s not just overseas. They could be federalized to go to other states or they could even be federalized in the state.”
“„No, Campbell said. The governor has granted him the authority to act on his own in most cases, including life-or-death emergencies — when a quick response is required — and minor day-to-day operations.
“„“Some authorities have been given to me that she has acknowledged that I can execute,” he said. “For others I have to ask her each time.”
“„The recent decision to deploy a C-17 cargo plane from the Alaska Air National Guard to Louisiana to assist during the Hurricane Gustav response was an occasion in which Campbell briefed the governor’s office and sought its approval, he said. Chief of Staff Mike Nizich signed off on it.
“„The flooding that occurred in Fairbanks in late July — for which the guard sent trucks north to provide clean drinking water — didn’t require the governor’s approval, Campbell said.