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Spotting Signs of Stolen Valor

18K views 180 replies 77 participants last post by  suntzu 
#1 ·
Stolen Valor | Home Gun Training

It is always good to be able to spot slimeballs trying to scam you. One of the worst breeds of fraudsters are miltary poseurs.

Sadly, I tend to disbelieve someone if they ever tell me they were a SEAL, especially out of the blue since this kind of BS is so common now.
 
#3 ·
I had a professional peer who was (eventually) court-martialed for falsely claiming to be a SEAL, and Scuba Instructor. He was in 1st SFG(A) at the time of his being discovered...........
 
#75 ·
It's something like this that I don't understand, unless he was just an admin weenie, or some other non-SF qualified type in the SF unit. You would think he should have been happy (proud) with that.

But then I always thought EOD was MUCH better than SF! :image035:
 
#14 ·
There recently was a very high official @ Texas A&M U who successfully pulled it off for years before he was caught and fired.
Cons can be pretty good at pretending they are something they aren't. It even happens with dirt pretending to be a doctor or a nurse and it isn't uncommon for them to walk around and "work" for weeks or months before something alerts a patient or
another staff member.
 
#11 ·
There was a story recently here near St Louis about a CCW instructor who was busted by undercovers for not meeting the state guidelines for training (8 hours classroom plus range time and the guy just told war stories for 3-4 hours).

In the news story he also claimed to be a navy seal, but the news never did report on if that claim was valid or not.

One problem in discovering these people is the Internet. They have access to and use stories of real vets and integrate them into their lies, making it hard to detect them.

Not buy a few years ago a local politician claimed he had the medal of valor, turned out he had served and was awarded some lesser medal (don't remember which one), but he even had a fake medal. Shows you the lengths some of them will go with these lies.


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#13 ·
One tell tale sign is someone that says they have such and such awards but you can't see it because it is classified. The write up may be classified but you can still have the award and orders for the award.

Besides, folks that actually do such things do not bring it up in conversation.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Yeah, he could have pulled that off if he'd worn lieutenant's bar. The colonel's eagle is too unbelievable for one so young. I don't think this is what they had in mind when they allowed gays to serve openly..
 
#115 ·
The original was. SCOTUS claimed the original was too vague and anyone dressing up in military gear and wearing phony awards was an expression of free speech. The new Stolen Valor Act will prosecute those who use their phony status to make a profit. Unofficially, all veterans should make it their business to "out" these guys. Myself and my VVA chapter take great pleasure in doing just that.
 
#24 ·
It even happens with dirt pretending to be a doctor or a nurse and it isn't uncommon for them to walk around and "work" for weeks or months before something alerts a patient or
another staff member.
The difference is in those cases there are laws against it,and in some cases can get you charged not only with impersonating a Doctor/Nurse but Sexual Battery or worse
 
#26 ·
All college students have an open invitation to apply for Marine OCS.................... and they can attend IF THEY ARE QUALIFIED, CAN PASS THE PFT AND HAVE THE SET OF HANG-EM TO ATTEND.

I was a Marine Officer recruiter, I doubt he was lied to, but I have no doubt he is trying to blow some smoke up his uncle's anal orifice.
 
#29 ·
That picture cracked me up .....

I worked with a guy for a time while stationed at Shaw AFB, working in CENTAF. This guy claimed he had years of 'black ops' experience, ran around with Seals and Rangers and had some kind of special MOS that was invaluable to all SF, of every branch. He went on and on about his credentials ..... and it was all BS.

He was dropped a rank, forced to undergo psych eval, and when they were done with that he was forced to retire. Last I saw his name was on the SEAL Wall of Shame, which I think is still posted around the 'net somewhere.
 
#65 · (Edited by Moderator)
My now ex-son-in-law was in the Marines, stationed at Yuma MCAS in a supply depot. He claimed to be RECON and a "Special" Sniper! He's even got the tats to prove it. He was the lone survivor of an IED attack on his Hummer in Afghanistan. The mean Arabs found him, and after he killed half of them, they over powered him and hit him in the stomach with a sledge hammer (I can't make this stuff up!) which did much internal damage! Every time he got the slightest pressure from family about anything, his injury would flare up. You see, he needed surgery to fix his stomach but the doctors were afraid he wouldn't survive the surgery and he really needed to be there for his family.
Come to find out he got almost all his war stories from the TV show "The UNIT"! I don't think he ever left Yuma.
I can say this for him, he was very brave against my daughter and the children. A real... piece of work.
 
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