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how do you handle people faking military service?


WW2JAKE
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this is a very touchy subject and I'd appreciate if it didnt get out of hand.

lately ive noticed quite a few people faking military service whether it be wearing a uniform claiming to be in the military or older generations claiming they used to be in the military. a few friends of mine have ran into people full on trying to rip them off at the store they work at by wearing a uniform and I myself have ran into multiple. some trying to sell me their "old uniform" or something that was clearly wrong and they didnt have answers to back it up (which is not to be confused with the people that tried to put their uniform back together and simply forgot a few things or being mistaken on one or two things) and have ran into some walking around the mall trying to get free things... I know some people like to call them out and I personally avoid that as best I can but with the amount of times I've been seeing them lately I admit I've been tempted to in front of everyone especially when they are trying to get something out of it...

 

 

again please dont take this out of hand or get into a legal debate over what qualifies as stolen valor... but how would you handle it if at all?

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LegGrunt71

I don't see it that much where I am. But then there are Army, Navy and Air Force bases within twenty miles so it hard for losers to get away with it around here.

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Since I opened my store I've had a few people in that I was sure were stretching the truth on their service. Mostly I listen and they move on or I assist other people in the store. On guy though I couldn't stand. He came up to the door of my shop and shouted "A military store!" He then went to a sort of attention, saluted and announced himself as "Private ----- USMC". He came in and shook my hand and told me he just got off the plane from Iraq that morning. Well it was only 40 minutes after the mall opened and who gets off the plane from Iraq and goes to the mall? Well he was wearing Army DCU pants bloused into a pair of timberland boots, a random t-shirt and a civilian camo ball cap with a fish embroidered on it. He walked around calling everything "military this or that" and asked if I had any military hats, not Marine Covers or anything resembling something someone who had served would say. After I showed him where the covers were, the first one he pulled was an Army ACU boonie, when that didn't fit he tried on several Army BDU patrol caps, none of those fit either. His next choice was a Soviet TTsko camo cap, he had no idea that it wasn't even US. The whole time I was asking him questions about his service. He said many times that he had been to Iraq and when I asked where he was stationed he told me Parris Island. I asked what Regiment he was assigned to and all he said was Marine Corps. I asked what his series was and he said Private, he then told me his MOS was "Ground Security". I asked him what MOS stood for and his response was "Military Operational Security". I then got tired of his nonsense and told him that he wasn't a Marine and that he did not have a Marines MOS. To his response he said repeatedly that he was a Marine and that someone had told him Marines have MOS's. I said "I thought you were a Marine. Why did someone have to tell you Marine's have MOS's?" At that point he said something unintelligible and left. Later one of the Mall security personal came in and told me of a guy of the exact same description at GNC trying to get a military discount because he had been in the Army. One of the employees over there was in the Army and told the guy to beat it.

 

Most people I ignore but this guy was way over the top.

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Since I opened my store I've had a few people in that I was sure were stretching the truth on their service. Mostly I listen and they move on or I assist other people in the store. On guy though I couldn't stand. He came up to the door of my shop and shouted "A military store!" He then went to a sort of attention, saluted and announced himself as "Private ----- USMC". He came in and shook my hand and told me he just got off the plane from Iraq that morning. Well it was only 40 minutes after the mall opened and who gets off the plane from Iraq and goes to the mall? Well he was wearing Army DCU pants bloused into a pair of timberland boots, a random t-shirt and a civilian camo ball cap with a fish embroidered on it. He walked around calling everything "military this or that" and asked if I had any military hats, not Marine Covers or anything resembling something someone who had served would say. After I showed him where the covers were, the first one he pulled was an Army ACU boonie, when that didn't fit he tried on several Army BDU patrol caps, none of those fit either. His next choice was a Soviet TTsko camo cap, he had no idea that it wasn't even US. The whole time I was asking him questions about his service. He said many times that he had been to Iraq and when I asked where he was stationed he told me Parris Island. I asked what Regiment he was assigned to and all he said was Marine Corps. I asked what his series was and he said Private, he then told me his MOS was "Ground Security". I asked him what MOS stood for and his response was "Military Operational Security". I then got tired of his nonsense and told him that he wasn't a Marine and that he did not have a Marines MOS. To his response he said repeatedly that he was a Marine and that someone had told him Marines have MOS's. I said "I thought you were a Marine. Why did someone have to tell you Marine's have MOS's?" At that point he said something unintelligible and left. Later one of the Mall security personal came in and told me of a guy of the exact same description at GNC trying to get a military discount because he had been in the Army. One of the employees over there was in the Army and told the guy to beat it.

 

Most people I ignore but this guy was way over the top.

the closest ive had to that was when my friend who is current army was with me at the mall when he saw this guy in a Navy uniform with his sleeves rolled up really weird and everything wrong on it the guy was with some friends too and when my friend asked to see his military ID the guy said he didnt have one cause he had just gotten out of the Navy and all this stuff (all the while his friends kept saying "this guy was in the Navy trust us") and then he stopped giving answers and kept saying "i dont have to prove anything to you" to all my friends questions then asked if my friend was navy and he obviously said no he's army. and the guy responded with "classic army guy" and my friend just laughed and im not really sure where it went from there cause I had to leave...

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I just don't get it. If people want to pretend to be a vet so bad and go to such outrageous lengths to try to convince people, why not actually join? Both of these stories are humorous, but when they start taking benefits and attention away from the real veterans who've served and sacrificed, these frauds belong in jail or at the very least called out to the rest of the public for who they really are.

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1SG_1st_Cav

I'm very involved with the Lorain, Ohio Veterans Council. Everyone on the council belongs to a Vets Organization: DAV, American Legion, VFW, MOPH, AMVETS, Marine Corps League, NABVETS, Jewish War Veterans, Italian American War Veterans, etc.

 

Most of them are part of a Color Guard Unit, and we all wear a uniform depending on the vets organization. We are all very aware of what constitutes being a veteran. We all have our BS Detectors going, and not to many phonies will come around us. If they do, they get put in their place real quick. We had one in my Italian American War Veterans Post who claimed to have a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart from his tour with the Marines back in 2006-2007. He was on my Color Guard Detail, and I told him to get his ribbons on his uniform. When he showed up the next time, he was wearing a bunch of campaign ribbons, but no SS, BS, or PH. I asked him about his missing ribbons, and he said he didn't wear them because people always questioned him. Gee, I wonder why??? He is no longer in my Color Guard, nor is he an active member of our post. He joined the National Guard, and was supposed to deploy with his Engineer Company to Afghanistan. We all chipped in an held a going away party for these young troopers when they we leaving. This dude came to the party, and he was really spaced-out. I talked with his Company Commander and his First Sergeant, and told them they needed to watch this guy very closely. Long story short, this dude did not deploy! So much for our hero! His guys were in harms way, and he was sitting at home with all of the creature comforts.

 

They are out there for sure! To each his own!

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I ignore them!!

 

Bill

 

I agree with Bill...I just ignore them. If they're really getting out of hand, other people (like the police) will step in as appropriate.

 

Just a couple side comments for the comments above...for WW2JAKE...even if a Navy guy looked awful in uniform, I wouldn't completely discount him. There might be other things that would prove otherwise, but especially when the blueberry uniforms first came out, there were PLENTY of people that looked like absolute soup sandwiches in them. Even on the admiral's staff, I had to teach people how to blouse their trousers as they couldn't figure it out (hey, we were SAILORS for heaven's sakes!!!) :D Not saying this guy was legit, but just keep that in mind...

 

For 1SG_1st_Cav...yes, this guy does sound like a stolen-valor type. However, I did run into this on my ship. We had a senior enlisted guy who showed up at a change of command wearing his Navy and Marine Corps Medal...something he had never worn on his ribbon rack. NMCMs are REALLY rare so I asked him about it. Turns out, he was onboard the IOWA and was one of the first responders when the turret explosion happened. He was 100% legit...but he didn't wear the ribbon on his "daily" uniform as he didn't like being asked about it. There were a lot of cultural and political issues surrounding the explosion (those who remember know exactly what I mean) and he got tired about getting asked about them. So, he only wore the medal (and not the ribbon) on the rare occasions he wore his full sized medals. Not saying the other guy was legit...but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction...

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Just a couple side comments for the comments above...for WW2JAKE...even if a Navy guy looked awful in uniform, I wouldn't completely discount him. There might be other things that would prove otherwise, but especially when the blueberry uniforms first came out, there were PLENTY of people that looked like absolute soup sandwiches in them. Even on the admiral's staff, I had to teach people how to blouse their trousers as they couldn't figure it out (hey, we were SAILORS for heaven's sakes!!!) :D Not saying this guy was legit, but just keep that in mind...

i absolutely agree but my friend called him out and it was very clear he was fake, he had a navy work uniform his name tape and Navy tape were wrong sides, he had Army sergeant ranks on his collar, his cap had nothing on it, he had civilian boots and called himself a captain :blink:

 

but I kept my mouth shut regardless haha

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i generally ignore them, and wonder to myself "why do they do this"? when we got back from vietnam it was a very different atmosphere. i'm really glad it has improved for today's troops, especially the pay scale. if someone is so hard up that they need a free meal on veteran's day, the math doesn't work. their fake uniform cost more than the food. it's not a big gain for them, so the only answer i can come up with is to get attention. if you really want attention, sign up. the guys at benning will give you plenty of attention. you may not like it very much, though. before i sold my M151, i would use it in parades and on displays for veteran's day and memorial day. these two holidays brought out plenty of vets, and a few fakes. it was usually pretty easy to tell them apart. when a guy stuck his head in the jeep to smell the canvas, and then smiled, he was usually one of us.

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For those of you that have stores or businesses that offer military discounts.... This is the best way I have seen it handled amicably. Plainly state in writing that the policy is to receive the discount you must present a valid military ID to receive the discount. Not wearing a uniform, not wearing a Vietnam, GWOT Desert Storm etc... Vet Hat but a ,military ID. IF you want to expand it to those who are not active or did not retire, then you can offer the discount if they can show you a valid DD214. This is actually the policy Apple Bees uses when they offer their free meals to military on Veteran's Day. Some people get pissed, but they point to the policy spelled out and then charge those that don't meet the policy full price.

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US Victory Museum

People who do this sort of thing are either pathetic losers, or borderline mentally ill. In any event, this type of behavior

is likely to continue since there is very little down side for getting caught pretending former military service versus getting

caught pretending to be a member of the Hells Angels MC.

 

Some groups are more proprietary than others. ;-)

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hbtcoveralls

Ignore them, What they're after is attention so don't give it to them either positive or negative.

Tom Bowers

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I usually just ignore them, of course I also am getting sick of everyone and their dog "Thanking me for my service" I usually don't wear anything that ID's me as a vet other than a ball cap from our local National Cemetery given to us for doing military funeral services for vet's. Don't thank us, go get active and support our efforts to provide health services etc. to our vet's that need it, volunteer, talk to your elected officials etc.

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Manchu Warrior

Even lying is free speech protected by the US Constitution. With that said if they are not benefiting from it financially or other wise and the BS detector goes off when someone is talking to me about their supposed military service I just simply stop talking to them and move on. But I do enjoy watching Don Shipley's Phoney SEAL of Week on You Tube, and if you haven't seen it I highly suggest that you watch them.

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Even lying is free speech protected by the US Constitution.

 

Took the words right out of mouth.

 

If they are not benefiting financially from their "portrayal", then it's OK to either ignore them or ridicule them; but they have a right to make a fool of themselves it they so choose.

 

It's amazing to me how quickly people are willing to sign on to things like the "Stolen Valor Act" that has the potential to infringe on both property rights and freedom of speech.

 

If they are benefiting financially....that's a different matter altogether. They can and should be prosecuted.

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decontrol215

While I agree that this is a pretty pathetic and silly thing to do, it's my opinion that the "stolen valor" thing has been taken a little too far in recent months. The best response is just to ignore them. Besides the fact that all these people are after is attention anyways, many of the people "exposed" are clearly mentally ill. Running up to someone with your cell phone out screaming obscenities is certainly not helping anyone. For example, this past weekend I was doing a living history event and a member of our unit had to run to Lowes and get some gas for our generator. Some guy was following him around the store eyeballing him so obviously he stopped and asked the guy what was up. The guy says "I'm about to beat your A__ you're one of those stolen valor guys". Mind you, we portray Vietnam and he was wearing OD jungle fatigues. Of coarse he made the guy look stupid when he explained the uniform he was wearing hasn't been used by our military in about 40 years and why he was wearing it in the first place. Unnecessary. Basically I equate these cases to someone wearing a costume. If you want to be the weirdo going out in public in a uniform you didn't earn I see that in and of itself is punishment enough. It's sort of like someone wearing a spiderman costume to the mall and just "hanging out". Pathetic. If someone makes a conscious decision to be that pathetic they don't need someone harping on them, they've clearly got some other issues going on.

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I usually just ignore them, of course I also am getting sick of everyone and their dog "Thanking me for my service" I usually don't wear anything that ID's me as a vet other than a ball cap from our local National Cemetery given to us for doing military funeral services for vet's. Don't thank us, go get active and support our efforts to provide health services etc. to our vet's that need it, volunteer, talk to your elected officials etc.

You nailed it for me! I appreciate it in the spirit for which it was intended, but this statement makes me uncomfortable (Thank you for your service). I always acknowledge it and say thank you, but I enjoyed my time in and was well compensated! I took a pay cut when I left the Marine Corps and started with the Postal Service! I have yet to come across a case of stolen valor, but a couple of instances of actual veterans who seriously embellished their service. A brother-in-law who claimed to be a Vietnam vet but clearly wasn't old enough and knew little of the conflict. That was an uncomfortable call-out. And the husband of a co-worker who claimed to be a Somalia vet when he found out I was a Marine, but before I told him I had been there as well. Not that I feel good about it, but I tore his story apart bit by bit in front of his wife and my co workers before he admitted he was once attached to a unit that went to Somalia the year prior, before he joined them. His story really pi**ed me off because he kept digging the hole and wouldn't relent.

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Rakkasan187

My last assignment had me reviewing senior enlisted records for promotions. I can't begin to tell you what I saw in the records, or what I didn't see in the records for that matter. The official DA photos reveal a lot about awards and decorations and you would be surprised at how many senior enlisted Soldiers had embellished their uniforms with unauthorized decorations and ribbons. The certificate alone in a 201 file does not automatically ensure you are authorized to wear that particular award. The accompanying orders are what really seal the deal. Every badge, medal, decoration (even US approved Foreign awards approved for wear) have an order produced for them. If you don't have the order and you are wearing the award, you will be asked to provide the order, if you can't produce one by contacting the school or command that gave out the award, most likely you will have to remove it and then also be prepared for other consequences..

 

I had direct contact with the Army Airborne School, Ranger School, Special Operations Command, Air Assualt School at Ft Campbell as well as several other schools and institutions that would assist me. I also had contacts in the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force to provide copies of orders from other branches of service when necessary. (We did have several individuals that served in other branches of the Armed Forces before coming to my unit)...

 

I had to bust a Staff Sergeant on my staff that was tabbed out, and was wearing unauthorized wings, CIB and other awards. When I gave him the opportunity to prove he had the awards by producing orders, not certificates for each of the badges, he couldn't. When we investigated we had found that he had photocopied other's jump certificates and air assualt certificates and used white out and typed his name in the space..

 

Just another category of calling someone out..

 

Leigh

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Have you guys noticed that many of these imposters claim to have been in "special" operations type units? Nothing so mundane as a cook or clerk, but always in some sneaky-pete , ultra top secret outfit?

I do Indian Wars living history events and about a year ago we were at one of these at one of the old IW era forts. A buddy of mine & I were talking and here comes this dumpy little dude and informs us he was in something like Delta Force or some such type unit.. I told him that was nice, and that I was a veteran too but was a lowly Air Force supply guy and sometimes I thought there must have only been a handful of us who served who were not special ops dudes and war heroes. He turned around and walked off. I felt kinda bad about being short with this guy but it irritated me that he thought he could just walk up and impress everyone with his military service without any proof.

Just my 2 cents worth.

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Garandomatic

Sounds like the "CIA operative" that lived the trailer park the wife and I used to live in before we got married. Not sure if I looked like I needed told how many people he killed for the government, but he made sure I knew about it! Yep.

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I worked in a special needs program at a local school for a few years. One student loved to wear a full set of MARPAT uniforms (cover and all) on occasion. He was old enough that he could have served, but due to his personal issues it would have been impossible. I know he dressed up because he liked the look of it, but I was always worried that someone might take offense if he wore it out into the community and someone called him out on it. All it would have taken is one crusader looking to make a point about Stolen Valor who didn't understand the mental handicaps this kid had, and a potential situation could turn ugly very quickly. I'm not saying that phonies aren't an issue, but I am saying that many people act first without examining and analyzing the situation. You don't always know if the person impersonating a vet is doing it just for the attention, or if there are some other (very serious) issues going on. Food for thought.

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I have run into both types...those in the military who bump up their awards and their "service stories" and those who have never been in but want people to think that they have. For the most part I simply feel is sorry for them. Sorry that their lives are so unfulfilled that they have to pretend to be something that they are not. Sorry that they feel the need to wear ribbons and rank and ratings that they have not earned. Sorry that they will never know the satisfaction of working hard to earn the right to wear something. I also feel anger and disdain but...mostly I just feel sorry for them.

Steve

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turmanator

From a slightly different point of view, I am a veteran Jarhead. I am part of The 6th Cavalry Historical Association in Houston. We are an MVPA affiliated group and thus have a lot of vehicles which we use for parades and stuff, including the Veterans Day Parade. Most of our vehicles are WWII vintage with some Vietnam. We wear uniforms depicting the time period of the vehicle. People along the parade routes are always yelling out "Thank you for your service" Being a vet I can appreciate it but since most of the guys in our group are not vets it makes some of them uncomfortable. Especially when they don't have the opportunity to explain that they are not vets but instead honoring vets. It makes me uncomfortable enough to be portraying a WWII combat Grunt when I was actually a Cold War computer technician (but at least I know my MOS- 5982!?).

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Everybody has to be something. ..War Hero...Imposter...Truck driver...Statesman...can't we all just get along...I live in a town that about half the population walks around wearing some part of a current uniform. ..in all stages of incorrect combinations. ..you would have to work in shifts trying to figure out who is who.Believe me...I have no use for fake heroes...and I see and hear some in my militaria shop quite often.It is just a fact of life...bad or dumb people do bad and dumb things.

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