gumshoe Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I came across this guy at a major match one day, who said he was a Army Ranger, that served in combat. I being interested in Tactics asked him about the subject. He responded with insults and a good amount of chest poundings. This struck me as very odd. So I checked through proper channels and found him to be an utter fraud, and was none of the things he said, having a very short vanilla military career were true.This further bothered me because he now has a website as an instructor. What is a good christian boy to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Well I am a bit old fashioned, but I would call him a fraud to his face with the facts I had learned and ask him to leave and not come back; but that is just me... Say what you mean, mean what you say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpolans Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I came across this guy at a major match one day, who said he was a Army Ranger, that served in combat. I being interested in Tactics asked him about the subject. He responded with insults and a good amount of chest poundings. This struck me as very odd. So I checked through proper channels and found him to be an utter fraud, and was none of the things he said, having a very short vanilla military career were true.This further bothered me because he now has a website as an instructor.What is a good christian boy to do? If I was absolutely certain of this info, I'd post his name and website here and let the word spread. No need for any of us to be taken in by a fraud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 nah...don't post it here... Go over to Glock Talk and post it...they have a whole forum dedicated to "tactical instruction". http://glocktalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 tightloop meets a wannabe spook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Do an internet search. There are several organizations dedicated to smoking out people who claim false military credentials - the one's I've seen are for the Navy Seals and Vietnam Veterans. I'll bet there's a Rangers organization that handles that as well. A call to an Army office or the DOD may help as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 Thanks guys. I confirmed the information through the U.S. Army official records division. I think I am just gonna to carry the official records around in my shooting bag and if by chance I run into this wing nut again, I will simply hand them to him. The other funny thing was that he said he attended sniper school. The records state he only obtained a sharp shooter ribbon. You guys on the west coast may run into him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Olhasso Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Its Monday and I am at work rather than shooting so I am in a rather foul mood. That said, post his name so he can be ridiculed by all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Is there a search we can do online? I'd love to see my mostly empty records Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 Anyone can get the records. I will post the address later. I don't have it in my office. The request comes under the Freedom of information Act and you have to send a letter requesting the record. A dd214 can only be obtained the person who served or their family. However everything else is public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 Guys this is the link to Military records www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/general_public.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Heiter Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 A friend of mine (really the father of a friend) spent some time working to help set up the "authentiseal" website after he started noticing a growing number of people claiming to have served in the Navy SEAL's. He says that on an average day they get 100-150 forms sent to them from people who want to verify that someone claiming to be a SEAL was actually a SEAL. He says that approximately 95% of those forms submitted lead to fakes and those are only on the ones that have done something suspicious enough that someone suspects them of lying about it. That's an awful lot of tactical wannabee's out there pretending to be SEAL's, not even counting the other elite units. It looks like most of those organizations have some sort of service authentication group. I would suggest a google search for Ranger Imposters and turn it over to them. These groups of true veterans seem to do a pretty good job of pursuing these matters. ex.http://www.midcoast.com/~waterman/higley.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 A friend of mine (really the father of a friend) spent some time working to help set up the "authentiseal" website after he started noticing a growing number of people claiming to have served in the Navy SEAL's. He says that on an average day they get 100-150 forms sent to them from people who want to verify that someone claiming to be a SEAL was actually a SEAL. He says that approximately 95% of those forms submitted lead to fakes and those are only on the ones that have done something suspicious enough that someone suspects them of lying about it. That's an awful lot of tactical wannabee's out there pretending to be SEAL's, not even counting the other elite units. It looks like most of those organizations have some sort of service authentication group. I would suggest a google search for Ranger Imposters and turn it over to them. These groups of true veterans seem to do a pretty good job of pursuing these matters. ex.http://www.midcoast.com/~waterman/higley.html People spouting false credentials is a HUGE problem, not just with the military. I've worked a couple of places where a not just a few, but a bunch of people got nailed for claiming non-extant college degrees. I don't think this forum is the correct venue for smoking out tactical wannabes, although I wholehearted support lambasting them in the proper venue. Overt bragging and over-hyped war stories are always one's first tip-off that you're dealing with a fraud. Guys that have actually been there and done that are generally much more low-keyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 PM me with this guys name. I will be seeking instruction this year and would hate to study with a liar. There is nothing worse than a man with no honor. My word is my bond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Pathetic is the right term. Plus, I wonder how many of the real special forces guys can really shoot. Don't get me wrong, I understand that shooting is a miniscule portion of what these guys do and train for, but I get the idea that a Master class IPSC shooter would cream 90% of them at a match. At a Gunsite course a couple years ago there were a couple of SWAT officers that were beaten in the shoot-off by C skill level shooters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Pinto Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Hi guys, We have an intense and unpopular Chinese guy in Hong Kong who claims he used to be a Special Agent for the FBI and, everytime we see him, he's wearing FBI cufflinks (which I realise you can buy online at some sites). He used to have an arms license here, but nobody ever saw him actually shoot, and I'd love to get the dirty on him, but apparently the FBI doesn't release information about real or imagined former agents. Of course I suspect our guy was probably a cook with the FBI, but it'd be nice having a facility where we could check and expose him as a fraud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted March 2, 2004 Author Share Posted March 2, 2004 I believe if you look under the U.S. Govt. DOJ site under the Freedom of Information Act you will be able to find out if your FBI agent is a FBfraud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attila Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I came across this guy at a major match one day, who said he was a Army Ranger, that served in combat. I being interested in Tactics asked him about the subject. He responded with insults and a good amount of chest poundings. This struck me as very odd. So I checked through proper channels and found him to be an utter fraud, and was none of the things he said, having a very short vanilla military career were true.This further bothered me because he now has a website as an instructor.What is a good christian boy to do? I served in 1st Ranger Bn from 86-89. As far as I know there is no group like the SEALs have with the AuthentiSEAL program. Authenticating Rangers can be very tricky. Those who served in one of the three Battalions or at Regiment only consider those who were assigned to a Ranger unit to be real Rangers. Just graduating the school makes one Ranger QUALIFIED, but not a Ranger. I went through Ranger school with an admin clerk from the 4th ID (mech), he was a stud and a great soldier, but I do not consider him to be a true Ranger. Due to the high turnover rate in the Battalions, I dont think that there is any list of who has been in one. A soldier may be assigned to one after graduating RIP, and last 1 day, others have spent 15 years or more in a Ranger unit(rare). If you ever have someone claiming to be a Ranger (or any other special ops type), send them to SOCNET. SOCNET is a forum created for spec ops BTDTs. There are Rangers,SF,SEALs,PJs,CCT, and Force Recon from all eras. If someone there doesnt know the person, know of them or know someone who does, there is a good chance that they are a fake. You can also PM me the name and I will run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. Ranger lead the way! SOCNET address http://www.socnetcentral.com/vb/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe Posted March 4, 2004 Author Share Posted March 4, 2004 Atilla, This guy failed the Q course and was sent to his normal duty station as a combat signaler. His entire career only lasted less than 4 years. I have confirmed the information through several channels, so I know it is true. Thanks for all your help gents. I have a game plan , which is to send this person his offical military record and strongly suggest that he take he false creds off the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Attila Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Good luck in exposing this fake. If I can ever help you or anyone on a similiar event, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus The Bum Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 When I was stationed at Naval Air Station North Island (San Diego) We had some guys get busted because one had a photo taken of himself wearing the SEAL Trident, badges etc., He had a buddy in the Public Affairs Department whip him up some flamboyant tale of his eliteness. It said something to the affect that he was assigned to SEAL Team 5 in Coronado and had spent some time in Iraq etc. He got his bigtime story in his local hometown paper. Problem was, someone associated with SEAL Team 5 was sent the article from a family member who was happy that her son was on the team as our hero. The rest in history. If I remember, he lost a stripe or two and had to stand before a courts-martial. He probably was also running for his life after the boys at Coronado found out. I've known several SEAL's and every one of them is VERY modest about their job, really downplaying the significance of what they do. Alot of them don't even wear the Trident with their uniforms off-base because it draws so much attention. Those who enjoy the attention DO NOT last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardball1911 Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Unfortunately folks, there happens to be far too many that claim that they were something they were not. I don't think there is anything we can do to increase their self esteem enough to make their false claims go away, so when we know they are lying, we treat them as such. As for the SWAT members getting beaten by C level shooters, it doesn't surprise me. The training that they recieve is minimal when taken into context with that which a C level shooter goes through when presented top shooters to study. Their "game" is also much different from either IDPA or IPSC. They practice team movement far more than they practice individual marksmanship, unless they are a designated sniper. I would hope one day both of these items change. The liars and the individual skills of our local SWAT teams. But all we can do is hope, then fix it when we can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 I recently had a connecting flight at Reagan National. While waiting between planes I saw baseball caps for sale in one of the shops embroidered with CIA. You can bet I would have purchased one if only I had seen this thread first! By the way. The 'Company' will neither confirm nor deny I train their agents in the best ways to pick up Russian women. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 I always find the fake SEALs, etc. sad. When I meet one, I realize I'm obviously in the presence of someone who just doesn't find himself very impressive, whose sense of self-worth is so crappy he has to pretend to be something he's not. I love telling people, "I was Airborne." And I was. Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1983-85. But then I instantly follow up, "Of course, I was an Airborne clerk typist." (The few, the proud. Apparently the Airborne gene and the clerk typist gene don't usually exist in the same individual.) Even paratroopers need their letters typed. While I did my fair share of night combat equipment jumps and forced marches, the brutal truth is that I spent most of my time in the Airborne leg shackled to a word processor. I once told a writer from Soldier of Fortune I'd been an Airborne clerk typist. He stared at me in amazement, then turned to everyone else in the class and said, "If this man ever offers to sell you anything....buy it." I have to admit I got a laugh out of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twix Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 DT is our real life "Grindsy"! Kewl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.53c483221c1b60d84bce93d42c5def5a.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.