Tuesday's confirmation hearings on President-elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, former Fox News host, and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, at times descended into a clown show, with the clown car arriving and discharging the Democratic Party's most notorious collection of nincompoops to throw irrelevant questions at the nominee.

When it came time for Alaska's good Senator, Dan Sullivan (R-AK), to ask questions of the nominee, things became more grounded and realistic, not to mention far more intelligent. Must Read Alaska's Suzanne Downing has the details.

When it came time for Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan to ask his questions, however, the topics turned to actual military issues, national security, readiness, and Alaska’s important role in securing the nation.

“Now for the most important question you will receive all day: In 1935 before the Congress, the father of the United States Air Force General Billy Mitchell was testifying about a certain place in the world. He said, ‘I believe that in the future, whoever holds [this place] will control the world. [This location] is the most strategic place in the world.’ What place was Billy Mitchell talking about? Let me give you a hint. It wasn’t Greenland,” Sullivan said to Hegseth.

“I believe he was talking about the great state of Alaska,” Hegseth replied, answering correctly.

General Mitchell was indeed talking about Alaska, and Senator Sullivan's questioning revealed that Pete Hegseth had not only done his homework about the strategic importance of the Great Land but had actually been there already in a uniformed capacity.

“He was talking about the great state of Alaska. Great answer! If confirmed, will you commit to come with me to the great state of Alaska to meet our warriors who are on the front lines every day?” Sullivan said.

Hegseth said yes and reminded the room that he had trained at Fort Wainwright while in the military and said he looks forward to returning.

I've written extensively about Alaska's strategic importance, both in military terms and in terms of strategic resources. It's good to see that the nominee understands that as well. Alaska is, as I'm fond of saying, the crown of the Pacific as well as the United State's only gateway to the Arctic at present, and both China and Russia are testing us in the region.

Senator Sullivan continued:

“I will say we are on the front lines with this new era of authoritarian aggression in Alaska. The last two years, we’ve had Chinese and Russian naval task forces, joint strategic bomber task forces in our EEZ in our ADIZ,” Sen. Sullivan explained. “After his election, President Trump put out an extensive statement on Alaska, which included the following statement: ‘We will ensure Alaska gets even more defense investments as we fully rebuild our military, especially as Russia and China are making menacing moves in the Pacific.’

Unlike the embarrassing attempts at gotchas from Democrats, the discussion between nominee Hegseth and Senator Sullivan was informed - and informative.

Previously on RedState: Tammy Duckworth Went Full Lunatic During the Pete Hegseth Hearing and Completely Beclowned Herself

'Unbecoming': Mazie Hirono Turns Hegseth Defense Secretary Hearings Into a 'Clown Show'

In the current geopolitical world, Alaska plays a big role. Not only is it America's only access to the resource-rich Arctic, but it's also a source not only of oil and gas for energy, but also gold, silver, zinc, lead, tin, copper, and strategic rare earth minerals. A weakened military leaves the Great Land dangerously exposed — and a weakened military is precisely what the Biden/Harris administration has left us with.

Alaska is a vast, wild land. But it's also an American state that is unlike the others. The only land border we have is with Canada's Yukon Territory and a tiny, mostly impassible portion of British Columbia. Alaska was the only American soil to be invaded by a hostile military in World War 2. The Aleutian Islands are, in the end, only a few sea miles from the Russian coast. And, while Alaskans tend to be well-armed, there are not so many of us; the Great Land has a tad over 733,000 residents, and half of them live in the Anchorage metropolitan area. We do have several major military bases in the Great Land, and it's encouraging to note that military recruiting has gone up again, in fact having begun to increase since Donald Trump won the election in November. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Billy Mitchell's statement is truer today than ever: Alaska is the most strategic place in the world. It's worth defending. We need a strong, capable military, one trained and run by warfighters, to do this. It's a relief to see that Pete Hegseth understands that.