# Sarah blames Track's PTSD on Obama **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 21, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737 "2016-01-21T01:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/141 "2016-01-26T15:45:56Z")
Does it matter? is Track representing himself falsely? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/142 "2016-01-26T15:50:03Z")
Assuming the information above is true, _Sarah_ Palin represented Track’s war experience falsely. I think Track has enough problems of his own right now to be worrying about it. > [@](#): > > My son, a combat veteran … was fighting for you all, America, in the war zone. My son, like so many others, came back a bit different, they come back hardened. We could quibble about “war zone” but “combat veteran” clearly indicates that he was in combat. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/143 "2016-01-26T16:02:00Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Assuming the information above is true, _Sarah_ Palin represented Track’s war experience falsely. I think Track has enough problems of his own right now to be worrying about it. > > We could quibble about “war zone” but “combat veteran” clearly indicates that he was in combat. True, of course: they’re shooting at you and you’re shooting back at them=combat, and you get a combat action medal/ribbon. Being in a combat zone doesn’t mean you’re actually engaged in battle with the enemy, although you can certainly be shot at via artillery, mortar fire, etc., from a distance without ever shooting back, which happened to me. It’s not ‘combat’ in the truest sense, but traumatic nonetheless. One note for those unfamiliar with military awards, _everybody_ who serves during time of war is issued a National Defense Medal, regardless of whether you’re knee deep in bodies or sitting at a desk in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/144 "2016-01-26T16:06:21Z")
Yeah, I’m not disputing that he may well have developed PTSD regardless of where he served. But if he didn’t see a combat zone at all I don’t see how you can be a combat veteran. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/145 "2016-01-26T16:06:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Assuming the information above is true, _Sarah_ Palin represented Track’s war experience falsely. I think Track has enough problems of his own right now to be worrying about it. > > We could quibble about “war zone” but “combat veteran” clearly indicates that he was in combat. Eh, in 10 years he’ll be one of those guys who claims he was an airborne Ranger, saw 10 tours of combat, was promoted to Colonel and then his records were sealed, so you can’t know about them. Like most of the crazies hold up at the wildlife refuge. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/146 "2016-01-26T16:17:19Z")
So good ol’ Sarah may be suffering from “Stolen Valor Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome”? Or thereabouts? Way to go, “Governor.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/147 "2016-01-26T16:24:20Z")
She’s a Mom, whaddaya expect, cool calculating appraisal? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/148 "2016-01-26T17:58:18Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, I’m not disputing that he may well have developed PTSD regardless of where he served. But if he didn’t see a combat zone at all I don’t see how you can be a combat veteran. He did deploy to Iraq, which was a combat theater of operations ([by definition](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/combat-zone) a combat ‘zone’, which is just the shorthand term). But you’re right: if you never enter said theater, then you are, by definition, not a combat veteran; but you _are_ a war veteran, regardless of where you served during the inclusive dates. By the time he died, my brother was claiming to be a Korean War vet, and, shamefully, his wife put that in his obit. He joined after the war was strategically over, but just before the official end date was declared, and so qualified for the ribbon and for veterans’ benefits. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/149 "2016-01-26T18:15:21Z")
Thing I admired about Al Gore, assigned to Saigon as a writer/reporter, totally rear echelon, and, so far as I can tell, never tried to fake it being anything more than that. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/150 "2016-01-26T18:26:35Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > By the time he died, my brother was claiming to be a Korean War vet, and, shamefully, his wife put that in his obit. He joined after the war was strategically over, but just before the official end date was declared, and so qualified for the ribbon and for veterans’ benefits. Feh, that sucks hard. When I was a kid, I knew that my old man was in the service during Vietnam, but it took me a while to understand why he _always_ described himself as a “Vietnam-era veteran.” I’m glad he’s never once let anyone think he was ever in country, or indeed any closer to the jungle than Johnston. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/151 "2016-01-26T18:34:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, I’m not disputing that he may well have developed PTSD regardless of where he served. But if he didn’t see a combat zone at all I don’t see how you can be a combat veteran. He was in a combat zone. But he never was in combat. He drove a lot of officers around. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/152 "2016-01-26T19:36:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Thing I admired about Al Gore, assigned to Saigon as a writer/reporter, totally rear echelon, and, so far as I can tell, never tried to fake it being anything more than that. Yeah, I’m always quick to point out that I was a REMF, posted to the Seabee maintenance unit on a Marine Corps supply base in I Corps. We took incoming on occasion, and some of our guys were medevacked after one attack, so it isn’t always a cushy assignment, but nothing like being in the shit. I saw those guys when they rotated off the front lines, and wouldn’t ever want their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/153 "2016-01-26T22:13:22Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > He was in a combat zone. But he never was in combat. He drove a lot of officers around. Now I’m confused. I was relying on your previous post: > [@Whatever4](#): > > His discharge papers do not indicate that he received the combat infantryman award, which is generally automatic for anyone who has served in a combat zone. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/154 "2016-01-26T22:18:20Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > She’s a Mom, whaddaya expect, cool calculating appraisal? I’d expect her to rush to the side of her suicidal son, not milk the event for a few more minutes if camera time. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/155 "2016-01-26T22:21:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’d expect her to rush to the side of her suicidal son, not **milk the event for a few more minutes if camera time.** I’m not at all surprised she did that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/156 "2016-01-26T22:35:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Now I’m confused. I was relying on your previous post: **Whatever4** is mistaken. The [Combat Infantry Badge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Infantryman_Badge) is awarded for those who _personally_ fight in active ground combat, not for those who are merely assigned to a combat ‘zone’ (see definition link in my post above). It would appear that our boy Track falls into the latter category. The Navy equivalent is the Combat Action Ribbon, which is awarded for the same type of personal action. I don’t have one, as I was never personally engaged in a firefight. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/157 "2016-01-27T05:04:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Now I’m confused. I was relying on your previous post: He was in Iraq. He drove a car. He didn’t fight. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/158 "2016-02-01T23:01:15Z")
Did anybody see her making sounds on _The Today Show_ this morning? She got very pissed when this was brought up and insists she never said Obama was at all responsible. She also says she hopes voters aren’t concerned with which candidate is “the most Christian-y [sic]”. Link. She may not be very bright, but she is damned sure stupid, and now with about 38% more crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/159 "2016-02-01T23:10:33Z")
No argument there, but her _Today_ comments actually make her come off as less stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737/160 "2016-02-02T00:43:54Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No argument there, but her _Today_ comments actually make her come off as less stupid. Than what? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarah-blames-tracks-ptsd-on-obama/743737.md?page=9)