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Stolen valor

11Bravo

Banned
DP Veteran
Joined
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Location
Virginia
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Political Leaning
Libertarian - Right
Ok, I'll be honest. Stolen Valor never really bothered me when I was in the National Guard. I heard about a few instances at this local mall where some dudes threw on ACUs and pretended to be pvts for a free milkshake or some sh*!. Whatever that didn't really bother me.

Now to what happened to me:

Of course I didn't have my phone to video tape this as*clown for all the world to see (I was on a run). For this is greatly regret.

So I'm running around the golf course off base here in AZ. Just finished about a year's worth of training. It was supposed to be 9 months but I didn't do so hot in one cycle lol.

Anyway; I'm on my 3rd mile when I see a small party going on. I slow down because I notice a group of NCOs in the face of what looks like (from a distance) a decorated Airborne Ranger. I'm thinking to myself, "wow he must have really done something wrong for someone in the regiment to be getting chewed out by some NCOs from the nerd farm".

Get this, I walk closer and see this dude is wearing two OIF and two OEF BEOs (pins) and has the Ranger scroll AND some weird unit patch that didn't exist TOGETHER. He was all kinds of fuc**d up!! I couldn't believe it. How many people do you think this jerrkoff tricked into thinking he was an actual soldier? Let alone a member of the special operations community! You would think this idiot would have studied some pictures of actual Rangers and would have unfuc**d himself before going out in public! I'm just glad these NCOs happened to have been at this engagement party to call him out!

Anyone else run into something crazy like this? Very curious to know if this is a 'common' thing.
 
Hopefully they were giving him hell and not partying. I deal with a lot of vets daily and was the commander of a large American Legion before I got transferred down here. Wannabes usually pretend to be Marines or some sort of special forces. I don't think any of them made it past the first couple of questions and the BS sessions we vets always go into. If you were never in the service you don't pay enough attention to detail to understand your **** is all ****ed up. It bothers me too.
 
Hopefully they were giving him hell and not partying. I deal with a lot of vets daily and was the commander of a large American Legion before I got transferred down here. Wannabes usually pretend to be Marines or some sort of special forces. I don't think any of them made it past the first couple of questions and the BS sessions we vets always go into. If you were never in the service you don't pay enough attention to detail to understand your **** is all ****ed up. It bothers me too.

Yea that's a good point. The military teaches you that attention to detail that is way beyond civilian knowledge. Makes sense they'd be dumb enough to impersonate SOF with incorrect uniforms. I don't know what it was but I wanted to beat his face into the ground. I started youtube-ing these things and it looks like there's tons of these incidents. Holy crap I didn't know it was this bad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THc9mpfjoiM
 
It is very common but it only works on civilians that have never been in.
Yea that's a good point. The military teaches you that attention to detail that is way beyond civilian knowledge. Makes sense they'd be dumb enough to impersonate SOF with incorrect uniforms. I don't know what it was but I wanted to beat his face into the ground. I started youtube-ing these things and it looks like there's tons of these incidents. Holy crap I didn't know it was this bad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THc9mpfjoiM
 
The first clue is seeing someone in uniform in public. I was army back in 88-92 and back then we were told not to be in public in uniform as you could be a target. Stopping for gas to or from duty to home, or to stop to quickly grab something necessary was one thing. But going out to dinner, the mall, or airport in uniform was really frowned upon. To see someone in highly decorated uniform loitering around in public is suspect. It was discouraged back then I'm sure it more so today.
 
The first clue is seeing someone in uniform in public. I was army back in 88-92 and back then we were told not to be in public in uniform as you could be a target. Stopping for gas to or from duty to home, or to stop to quickly grab something necessary was one thing. But going out to dinner, the mall, or airport in uniform was really frowned upon. To see someone in highly decorated uniform loitering around in public is suspect. It was discouraged back then I'm sure it more so today.

Yea great point. Or unit specifically says that you're at much greater risk wearing it in public.
 
Lots of fun videos on YouTube of valor stealers being outed. As long as fraud wasn't involved I usually feel more pity for them than anger. They must feel pretty crappy about themselves to need to resort to such things.

While I have never caught anyone faking it in uniform, I have certainly caught people lying about having served who I could tell hadn't served a day. As others have stated, it is easy to fool civilians. But it is next to impossible to fool an actual veteran if they make the mistake of trying to fake too many details. There are just too many ways that it won't "add up". We have caught more than one such person doing it right here on DP. like this one http://www.debatepolitics.com/archives/222076-message-army-veteran-nra-w-45-62-a.html
 
Lots of fun videos on YouTube of valor stealers being outed. As long as fraud wasn't involved I usually feel more pity for them than anger. They must feel pretty crappy about themselves to need to resort to such things.

While I have never caught anyone faking it in uniform, I have certainly caught people lying about having served who I could tell hadn't served a day. As others have stated, it is easy to fool civilians. But it is next to impossible to fool an actual veteran if they make the mistake of trying to fake too many details. There are just too many ways that it won't "add up". We have caught more than one such person doing it right here on DP. like this one http://www.debatepolitics.com/archives/222076-message-army-veteran-nra-w-45-62-a.html
Lol. Shame I missed that thread.
 
They must feel pretty crappy about themselves to need to resort to such things.
The same can be said of those veterans who continue to berate the individual when it becomes clear the person isn't dealing with a full deck.
 
The same can be said of those veterans who continue to berate the individual when it becomes clear the person isn't dealing with a full deck.

I do agree with that. And you can tell the difference. There are those who pretend so they can get compliments and even discounts. The fakers walking around malls and airports or are caught while working their day jobs. But then there are the ones who are obviously mentally ill. Sometimes even likely homeless. If you can't tell from their appearance you can tell when they start talking.
 
I have literally met at least a hundred such individuals over the years. And I think that 8 out of 10 "Homeless Vets" I have met were all fakers.

This ranges from one I saw last year that had a sign that said "Ex-Marine" on it, instantly busted. I met another the year before that in Stockton who also claimed to have been a Marine. His story was that he was discharged at Pendleton (could only give me his unit as "First Marine Division"), an 0311, and that he was discharged honorably after 4 years and trying to get money to make his way home. Gee, if this was true why was he not given travel funds to return to his point of enlistment?

One of the first was shortly after I left the Corps in 1993. Was working at a surplus store, and was told I had to meet this Marine that came in regularly. Recon Sniper, Gulf War vet, the whole 9 yards. A couple of weeks later he came in and I sized him up right away. USMC t-shirt, high and tight haircut, chocolate chip trousers, tan non-regulation desert boots. Started talking, he had been an "11 Bravo", stationed with 2nd Force Recon at Camp Pendleton. I mentioned that I had been in "Fox 2-2", and he told me that before going recon he was in "2-0".

Really, Second Battalion, Zero Marine Regiment? Busted him out right in front of the guys I worked with, and he beat a fast retreat. He never came back the entire year and a half I worked there.

And last year was another funny one. Homeless dude came up to me at a gas station as I was having a smoke (it is rather hard to smoke when riding a motorcycle). Started to tell his sob story, OIF Vet, 19D Cav Scout, Fort Hood, he had quite a bit of the lingo down pat. I can only guess he had seen some kind of documentary on Cav Scouts. I then told him I had been an 0311 in the Marines, pretty much the same thing as an 11B.

"What's an Eleven Bravo" was his response to that. SMH, what kind of Soldier (let alone a Cav Scout) does not know what an 11B is? That is like a surgeon not knowing what a scrub nurse is.

Then a few months ago was the guy that was claiming to be a disabled vet. Double amputee (legs, by his weight I would guess diabeties related), and told me he spent 4 years in a "Combat Support Hospital" as a "68 Whiskey" in the 1980's.

Yea, only a couple of problems there. 68W as a medic only came out in 2006 (it was a 91A before that). Secondly, served for 3 years in a Combat Support Hospital, nobody calls it that. We call it a "CASH", it is basically the modern incarnation of the MASH unit. And while he said he was stationed at Fort Ord, checking the unit he gave me showed that it had actually been stationed in Germany.

I have met all kinds of these clowns. Then you have the even more mysterious ones. Those who actually served, but embelish their stories for one reason or another. Just a few months ago I had the misfortune to have one that I knew and served with called out. I will not give details, but he had made claims about having deployed to OIF 8 times, been awarded 3 Purple Hearts, and other such stories in order to get a home improvement grant for wounded veterans. Yea, he deployed 1 or 2 times, was never wounded, and the gal in the video he made who claimed to have been his wife during the deployments and the stress of having to go through them was only somebody he met in the last 3 years after he got out.

I at first tried to defend him, having actually called him and asked him about the stories. He said it was all overblown from an interview by a PR guy from the bank that gave the grant. It was they that embelished his story, he told the truth. And I believed him, for about 3 months. Then I found online the actual video of the interview, and he did indeed make the claims himself in front of a camera. Since then I have cut off most contact with him.
 
We have a homeless veteran that is always panhandling here in Gwinnett County. He's either wearing a BDU field jacket or a BDU blouse almost all the time, with ribbons on it. Since the place that he panhandles is on the corner with a couple restaurants, a couple times I have walked over and offered to take him to lunch. While we've eaten he's told me about his Vietnam service. He wears the TRADOC unit patch as a combat patch. There are many other inconsistencies in his stories. Some units that he claims he served in during his three tours of Vietnam were not in that conflict. I work for a chain of newspapers and one of the reporters was looking into him when he was doing a story about stolen valor.

He is a veteran and he did serve multiple tours in Vietnam. While the stories that he tells are all wrong, his real history is actually more impressive. Our reporter talked to his sister and confirmed it was him. They got his DD214 through St Louis and none of us could figure it out. All we could guess was that over the four decades plus, the stories in his brain changed. Not to mention the influence of alcohol and drugs. Neither of which he uses any longer.
 
We have a homeless veteran that is always panhandling here in Gwinnett County. He's either wearing a BDU field jacket or a BDU blouse almost all the time, with ribbons on it. Since the place that he panhandles is on the corner with a couple restaurants, a couple times I have walked over and offered to take him to lunch. While we've eaten he's told me about his Vietnam service. He wears the TRADOC unit patch as a combat patch. There are many other inconsistencies in his stories. Some units that he claims he served in during his three tours of Vietnam were not in that conflict. I work for a chain of newspapers and one of the reporters was looking into him when he was doing a story about stolen valor.

He is a veteran and he did serve multiple tours in Vietnam. While the stories that he tells are all wrong, his real history is actually more impressive. Our reporter talked to his sister and confirmed it was him. They got his DD214 through St Louis and none of us could figure it out. All we could guess was that over the four decades plus, the stories in his brain changed. Not to mention the influence of alcohol and drugs. Neither of which he uses any longer.

Sad. Hate to see such service end up with such sadness.
 
I have literally met at least a hundred such individuals over the years. And I think that 8 out of 10 "Homeless Vets" I have met were all fakers.

This ranges from one I saw last year that had a sign that said "Ex-Marine" on it, instantly busted. I met another the year before that in Stockton who also claimed to have been a Marine. His story was that he was discharged at Pendleton (could only give me his unit as "First Marine Division"), an 0311, and that he was discharged honorably after 4 years and trying to get money to make his way home. Gee, if this was true why was he not given travel funds to return to his point of enlistment?

One of the first was shortly after I left the Corps in 1993. Was working at a surplus store, and was told I had to meet this Marine that came in regularly. Recon Sniper, Gulf War vet, the whole 9 yards. A couple of weeks later he came in and I sized him up right away. USMC t-shirt, high and tight haircut, chocolate chip trousers, tan non-regulation desert boots. Started talking, he had been an "11 Bravo", stationed with 2nd Force Recon at Camp Pendleton. I mentioned that I had been in "Fox 2-2", and he told me that before going recon he was in "2-0".

Really, Second Battalion, Zero Marine Regiment? Busted him out right in front of the guys I worked with, and he beat a fast retreat. He never came back the entire year and a half I worked there.

And last year was another funny one. Homeless dude came up to me at a gas station as I was having a smoke (it is rather hard to smoke when riding a motorcycle). Started to tell his sob story, OIF Vet, 19D Cav Scout, Fort Hood, he had quite a bit of the lingo down pat. I can only guess he had seen some kind of documentary on Cav Scouts. I then told him I had been an 0311 in the Marines, pretty much the same thing as an 11B.

"What's an Eleven Bravo" was his response to that. SMH, what kind of Soldier (let alone a Cav Scout) does not know what an 11B is? That is like a surgeon not knowing what a scrub nurse is.

Then a few months ago was the guy that was claiming to be a disabled vet. Double amputee (legs, by his weight I would guess diabeties related), and told me he spent 4 years in a "Combat Support Hospital" as a "68 Whiskey" in the 1980's.

Yea, only a couple of problems there. 68W as a medic only came out in 2006 (it was a 91A before that). Secondly, served for 3 years in a Combat Support Hospital, nobody calls it that. We call it a "CASH", it is basically the modern incarnation of the MASH unit. And while he said he was stationed at Fort Ord, checking the unit he gave me showed that it had actually been stationed in Germany.

I have met all kinds of these clowns. Then you have the even more mysterious ones. Those who actually served, but embelish their stories for one reason or another. Just a few months ago I had the misfortune to have one that I knew and served with called out. I will not give details, but he had made claims about having deployed to OIF 8 times, been awarded 3 Purple Hearts, and other such stories in order to get a home improvement grant for wounded veterans. Yea, he deployed 1 or 2 times, was never wounded, and the gal in the video he made who claimed to have been his wife during the deployments and the stress of having to go through them was only somebody he met in the last 3 years after he got out.

I at first tried to defend him, having actually called him and asked him about the stories. He said it was all overblown from an interview by a PR guy from the bank that gave the grant. It was they that embelished his story, he told the truth. And I believed him, for about 3 months. Then I found online the actual video of the interview, and he did indeed make the claims himself in front of a camera. Since then I have cut off most contact with him.

Haha my dad and I had one hilarious encounter when I first came back from OSUT.

Went to a bar back home. Met this guy who claimed he was currently both a 68 W and 11B. After laughing, I said "how do you manage this?" He looks at me and says "I'm full time 68 W and 11B in the reserves".

I said, you know you can't do both at the same time, right?

So funny catching this loser in a lie.
 
I do agree with that. And you can tell the difference. There are those who pretend so they can get compliments and even discounts. The fakers walking around malls and airports or are caught while working their day jobs. But then there are the ones who are obviously mentally ill. Sometimes even likely homeless. If you can't tell from their appearance you can tell when they start talking.
I agree that most of those spinning a yarn can be spotted almost immediately.

But in regards to what you replied - most of the YouTube videos I have seen, and most of those I have encountered, are those not dealing with a full deck.

Let me elaborate a little more on that perspective.
Folks who wish to receive unearned accolades by wearing the uniform are not dealing with a full deck to begin with. Of course there will always be varying degrees to that.
Berating these folks isn't going to help. It's like the vets doing the berating simply are not happy or secure in the knowledge of their own service.
 
I agree that most of those spinning a yarn can be spotted almost immediately.

But in regards to what you replied - most of the YouTube videos I have seen, and most of those I have encountered, are those not dealing with a full deck.

Let me elaborate a little more on that perspective.
Folks who wish to receive unearned accolades by wearing the uniform are not dealing with a full deck to begin with. Of course there will always be varying degrees to that.
Berating these folks isn't going to help. It's like the vets doing the berating simply are not happy or secure in the knowledge of their own service.

My thread was intended to leave the mentally ill and homeless veterans out. Mainly these punk ass 25 year olds who borrow a friend's uniform and don't know how to arrange the patches and name tape
 
My thread was intended to leave the mentally ill and homeless veterans out. Mainly these punk ass 25 year olds who borrow a friend's uniform and don't know how to arrange the patches and name tape
I see you do not want to recognize that those folks who do that have something wrong with them to begin with.
 
Sad. Hate to see such service end up with such sadness.

The thing is that he isn't homeless because of his military service. He is a veteran and he's homeless but the two aren't related.
 
And I think that 8 out of 10 "Homeless Vets" I have met were all fakers.

That's been about the sum total of my exposure to stolen valor, in large part because I really don't care enough to bother questioning every idiot I see walking around in an obviously ate up mess of a uniform.

But if I see a guy with a "homeless vet" sign I'll ask him what unit he was in, maybe his MOS, whatever, and maybe chat him up a little bit.

You know pretty much instantly whether the guy is FOS or not.

I've bought a couple of homeless vets lunch, bought a bottle for quite a few more, handed out some cash.

I'm not really one to judge and I suspect that many of these guys need a pint of Beam a hell of a lot more than they need a lecture from me.
 
I see you do not want to recognize that those folks who do that have something wrong with them to begin with.

Take the tampon out. I'm just speaking of the idiots who know what they are doing is wrong. Join the air force with that attitude.
 
Take the tampon out. I'm just speaking of the idiots who know what they are doing is wrong. Join the air force with that attitude.

Are you are saying you have the typical ASVAB scores of a ground pounded too? Get a grip.

Folks who engage in this type of behavior to receive unearned accolades are not normal to start off with. Do you really not understand that?
Those who go out of their way to berate them aren't any better off.
 
Are you are saying you have the typical ASVAB scores of a ground pounded too? Get a grip.

Folks who engage in this type of behavior to receive unearned accolades are not normal to start off with. Do you really not understand that?
Those who go out of their way to berate them aren't any better off.

Guy, are Fkn kidding me. Are you misreading every post? Guess these 9+ months at the nerd farm have darkened my humor. You must have been out a really long time...
 
Guy, are Fkn kidding me. Are you misreading every post? Guess these 9+ months at the nerd farm have darkened my humor. You must have been out a really long time...

You are being evasive by being non-responsive.
 
You are being evasive by being non-responsive.

And you clearly never served in my Army. Maybe you're stolen valor.

Are you just trolling or do you really not get my last 3 comments. So far I vote troll.
 
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