• Sarah Palin, mother of five children has not served in
uniform but has a son enlisted in the U.S. army

• Sarah Palin's 19-year old son Track was assigned to an
infantry brigade and deployed in September 2008 for twelve months
to one of the most dangerous corners of Iraq.

• Palin had donned the role of Commander-in-Chief of the
4,200-member Alaska National Guard when she was the state's
Governor.  Though she has not fought in combat, Palin's two years
of military command experience as Commander-in-Chief of Alaska
National Guard has made her keenly aware of how her military
decisions or the decisions she influenced would affect the men
and women serving in the armed forces. 

• Alaska is the first line of defense in the missile
interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of
the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire
nation from ballistic missile attacks.

• As the Governor of Alaska, Palin was briefed on highly
classified military issues, homeland security, counter terrorism
and is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital
to the entire country's defense. Her exposure to classified
material is pretty high compared to her rivals.
		

• Mitt Romney has not served in the military.

• Before joining college, Romney had received a deferment
from the draft as a Mormon 'minister of religion' for the
duration of his missionary work in France, which lasted two and a
half years.  At the time, there was an agreement of sorts between
the church and the Selective Service allowing exemptions from the
draft for missionaries.

• Before and after his missionary deferment, Romney also
received nearly three years of deferments for his academic
studies 

• In April 1965, Romney registered with the Selective
Service but was not considered readily available for military
service until December 1970.  When he became eligible for
military service in 1970, he drew a high number in the annual
draft lottery and at that time no one drawing higher than 195 was
drafted.

• Romney once disclosed in an interview that he would have
served if he had been drafted. 

• Romney said that he was supportive of his country and "I
longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam and be
representing our country there and in some ways it was
frustrating not to feel like I was there as part of the troops
that were fighting in Vietnam."

• It is a fact that none of Romney's five sons have ever
served in the military and when questioned about this, Romney
said that his sons were showing their patriotism by "helping me
get elected".