By Leo Shane III
No one disputes that Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, served with the National Guard in a combat zone.
So the recent round of questions about whether she counts as a “combat veteran” has made more than a few former service members uncomfortable and upset. But they aren’t necessarily surprised.
“This kind of stuff has been going on for generations,” said Phil Carter, director of veterans programs at the Center for a New American Security. “We’ve seen conversations about peacetime service as opposed to wartime service. We’ve seen veterans from different wars trade stories about who had it tougher.
“But so few people have an appreciation for what military service is that these arguments start to take on a controversial quality about what ‘counts’ as service.”
Earlier this month, the Huffington Post questioned Ernst’s characterization of herself as a 
“combat veteran,” noting she had not been involved in a firefight during her 14-month Middle East deployment.
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