I will delete this if there has been a previous diary or it is old news but I came across this item about the Hero (Track Palin) joining the Army to avoid prosecution for a vandalism incident while he was in high school. I don't condone bring up this sort of thing, but this is exceptional in that Palin has used her son's service to promote her candidacy so I believe his motives for joining are fair game.
The story seems plausible for several reasons. One it is not uncommon for kids in trouble with the law to join the Army in exchange for a lighter sentence or even dismissal of charges. Second the Army has lowered its recruitment standards with respect to previous convictions. Another reason is it seems suspicious to me that the Hero would enlist just out of high school instead of taking advantage of the opportunities so few other kids have to go to college and pursue more lucrative careers. At the very least he might have applied to the service academies or gone to college for ROTC.
All things considered I think the story is credible. I'm sure we'll find out sooner rather than later.