What would Borat do in Alabama?

Sacha Baron Cohen has tricked the Alabama National Guard into allowing him to go through training.

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Alabama National Guard officials say the actor best known as "Borat" posed as a German journalist and tricked them into giving him a uniform and briefly allowing him to go through training.

The Guard's public affairs office said on Monday that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and a film crew pulled the stunt in mid-February at the Alabama Military Academy in Anniston, about 105km east of Birmingham.

The ruse was going well until a young cadet recognised him and notified officers.

Staff Sergeant Katrina Timmins said it was an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard. Cohen's spokesman declined comment.

Footage could be included in Cohen's upcoming movie, which will feature the character Bruno, a gay Austrian fashion writer.