Sarah Palin in Speech at 2015 CPAC conference

On Homeland Security: Let veterans apply skills to skip state certification

She noted the lack of services for veterans and said the best way to honor them is by helping them.

She floated a policy idea--using the skills veterans have learned in the military, say computer programming, and sparing them the requirement to get some kind of certification when, in fact, they already have the necessary skills. She discussed making veterans benefits permanent and less subject to the whims of Congress.

On War & Peace: Yes, we can kill our way to victory in the Mideast

She also pointedly noted: "Did we actually win in Iraq and Afghanistan before we waved the white flag? The jury is still out."

Of course, Palin is still Palin. At one point she said, "The Middle East is a tinderbox, and it is coming apart at the seams," which isn't wrong but is a slightly convoluted way of thinking about how those Old Tyme boxes actually worked.

On Health Care: Vouchers for veterans' health care outside the VA system

Palin didn't just criticize; she offered her own policy suggestions for improving veterans' lives. She suggested, for instance, that Congress should pass legislation to secure veterans' benefits permanently. She also said that the government should provide vouchers to veterans to pay for health care outside the VA system.

On Homeland Security: Dozens of veterans per day commit suicide; VA should help

The former vice presidential candidate also said that veterans weren't receiving the care that they needed from the Veterans Affairs Department and alluded to the scandal over long waiting times for appointments at VA hospitals: "America hands over her sons and her daughters with the promise that they're going to be taken care of," Palin said. "We can't wait for D.C. to fix their bureaucratic blunders. This bureaucracy is killing our vets. They wait for months, they wait for years to get treatment at the VA, and they're losing hope."