In her speech at Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa today, Sarah Palin blamed the troubles of her son Track, following his arrest for domestic violence charges, on PTSD and on President Obama - However, Track's military discharge form gives no indication that he has ever seen combat

Track Palin: The troubled son (picture from Jordan Loewe's instagram page)

By Patrick

Sarah Palin spoke at the beginning of the Trump-rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, today. Several readers, myself included, were unfortunate enough to listen to her screetch. Instead of being home with her suicidal son Track, who assaulted his girlfriend Jordan Loewe two days ago and was arrested, Sarah Palin did something even more ugly: During her speech, she blamed PTSD and President Obama for the troubles of her son Track.

TIME Magazine reports;

Track Palin was arrested Tuesday and charged with assault, interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime and possessing a weapon while intoxicated. At the Trump campaign rally, Sarah Palin blamed the Obama administration’s policies towards veterans for abandoning her son. (Track spent a year deployed with the Army in Iraq.)

“I can talk personally about this, I guess it’s kind of the elephant in the room,” Palin said. “My son like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military so sacrificially have given to this country. And that starts from the top. It’s a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question, if they’re respected anymore. It starts from the top. The question though that comes from our own president where they have to look at him and wonder, do you know what we go through? Do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us?”

“I can certainly relate with other familes who kind of feel these ramifications of some PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with,” Palin continued. “And it makes me realize more than ever it is now or never for the sake of Americas finest that we have that commander in chief that will respect them and honor them.”

In addition, the "Washington Post" reports:

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin on Wednesday addressed her son's recent arrest — which she called “the elephant in the room” — while stumping here for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and accused President Obama of neglecting veterans and tied that to her son’s recent domestic violence charges.

What has been Sarah Palin's "standard procedure" since she entered the national spotlight many years ago has been put into action again: She is a VICTIM, her family are VICTIMS, whatever happens, whoever is responsible, it is NOT HER, it is somebody else, usually Barack Obama. Actually, it is virtually always Barack Obama.

So Sarah Palin claims that Track has PTSD. But is this really true?

A thorough examination shows that his is very unlikely.

Track Palin' discharge form, the DD Form 214 provides no indication that Track was ever in combat.

Here is a copy of the form (click to enlarge):

The form was issued (signed) 01/29/2010 - it indicates his RESERVE OBLIGATION ended 9/10//2015. He was DISCHARGED from ACTIVE DUTY on 1/29/2010.

By far not every soldier who served abroad is in fact a "combat veteran."

The "Veteran Disability Blog" explains:

That was the case today when speaking with a Veteran about combat. His question was: "What exactly makes anyone a combat Veteran?" Some may be quick to say that serving in combat makes you a combat Veteran, but there is more to it than that.

The VA lists several different ways in which a Veteran can prove he or she was in combat.

· If you received a combat service medal, then you are considered a combat Veteran

· If you received hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay or tax benefits

· If you received military service documentation that documents combat theater

So, does serving in a foreign country automatically qualify me as combat Veteran? Not necessarily. Even if you served in Iraq or Afghanistan during the past ten years, it does not guarantee that you are a combat Veteran.

How can you find out? Well, your DD-214 is a great place to start. Your Discharge won’t automatically say that you were a combat Veteran though…that would be too easy. Box 13 on more modern DD-214’s is where they list medals, awards and ribbons. The VA does recognize certain medals etc. as a qualifier for combat service. (That list will appear in an upcoming blog.)

Also listed on your DD-214 is the type of pay you received. Box 18 would be the place to find out if you received Hostile Fire Pay, or the Imminent Danger Pay. It is important to note that this can appear in box 13, though it is rare for it to appear there.

An examination of Track's discharge form shows that he neither received a combat medal (in his case, this would have been the "Combat Infantryman Badge") nor received "hostile fire pay."

Information about the types of combat medals can be found here:

Therefore, Tracks's only chance to prove would be something that documents "combat theater", but the pure fact that he was stationed in Iraq seems to be a very weak claim for making him a combat veteran.

A report about Track's military service from October 2008 also does not mention combat.

I cannot find any reports that substantiate that Track has ever been in combat.

Therefore we rate Sarah Palin's "PTSD claim" as "Quittypants on fire" and also give her the "Bad Loser Medal" for still not coping with the fact that she lost the election to Barack Obama, and we think that she should care for her suicidal son instead of giving crazy speeches and also remove all the weapons from this home.

Over and out!

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FINALLY, A SAD BONUS:

(found at FARK)

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UPDATE:

A dear friend found this comment at USA Today, which is really spot-on. I would just like to say in addition that asking for joint custody is actually no "offense" at all, and that Dakota Meyer has done nothing wrong at this point.

Note: It was not Sarah who remarked that a "real American hero doesn't ask for child support", but "Bristol Palin's representative" David Martin.

It should also be noted that Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer did in fact not ask for child support. This was false media reporting.

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UPDATE 2:

This performance by Stephen Colbert, celebrating the return of Sarah Palin, is already historic, which is strange, because it aired only yesterday: