TimonC346: AverageAmericanGuy: Stolen valor. fark him.

I feel what you feel, plus I feel a sort of pity for the guy. Why would you lie to so many people? The only thing I can think of is you are missing a massive piece of some sort of fulfillment in your life.

But yes, that's a reason, and NOT an excuse. Fark him.

I know a guy who is doing something quite similar to this. He isn't stealing anyone's identity in particular, but he does claim to be military and frequently tells stories of his various exploits. But the more you get to know the guy, the more his stories start to fall apart.

Anyway, you basically hit the nail on the head for his case. He is missing a massive piece of fulfilment in his life. His life just hasn't turned out how he wanted, he hasn't ever really achieved anything and deep down I don't think he believes that people will respect him for who he is. So he lies. He pretends he's something he is not. And it seems that for people like him and the guy in the article, it's often the military they fixate on. I guess because a great many people look up to those in the military so it's easy to use that to gain respect.

It's shameful to lie about this kind of stuff (and disgraceful if done to the extend of the guy in the article) but I do also pity these guys. They want to be anything but what they really are, they don't value themselves at all.

radiovox: Ran into a guy wearing an Army Rangers t-shirt a while back. Oh he was full of stories. Funny thing though. He was a Marine at another bar. Oh I almost forgot to mention, the asshole was wearing dog tags. Hell, I don't know where my dog tags are and I couldn't squeeze my fat ass into any of my old USMC shirts. So this guy talked his shiat around town and a few months ago he brought his act to the wrong place. A bar here had a fundraiser to send carepackages to the troops. This dick hole shows up with a Marine t-shirt and dog tags. An active duty Marine Captain was on site and checked his tags. Told the guy that his tags have an Army MOS then asked why he's wearing a Marine t-shirt. The asshole said he needs to take a piss and will be right back and "will give you the scoop". We never did see his ass after that.

I always figure that if a person is going around publicly bragging a lot about being a Ranger/SEAL/other super-elite military unit, they're probably lying. It just seems to me that the guys who are trained to go on the blackest of black ops wouldn't then head home and talk endlessly about it to absolutely anyone who will listen.

radiovox: The fakes are usually easy to spot. Legitimate combat veterans really don't want to talk about their experiences and certainly don't brag about their service and accomplishments. With only a few exceptions, you won't walk into a veteran's home and see wall-to-wall memorabilia. If you do, it's most likely that 85 year old codger who fought in WW2 but by god, he's earned the right to decorate his home that way.

Based on my family and friends, I'd say the current generation is very different in that respect. Maybe it's better treatment of PTSD, maybe it's the culture of oversharing we have now, maybe it's just Counterstrike, but young people seem much more willing to talk bluntly and jokingly about a lot of things that happened, silly and stupid and harrowing alike. In fact a lot of them seem to NEED to share with someone, to get it off their chests before they go crazy. (Based on those conversations, it seems that SNAFU is just as constant now as when it was coined.)

There's limits, though. It's the ones who glorify killing, talk about how many heads they popped, that signal a faker or a total sociopath. It's just like back in the 80's and 90's; with no real wars going on, everyone was a covert special forces man who snapped necks and took out generals. All of my friends and family saw killing as a necessary evil at best and a total waste at worst. The other big category of fake is the one who waxes melodramatic about losing a "brother" on the field, with enough gory detail to fill a war porn novel, hoping his pathos earns him pity pussy. Real people tighten their lips and change the subject, order another drink, or if they're over the loss, talk about the awesome things they remember about the guy who didn't make it. The ones who do obsess over that moment don't talk about it, sometimes forever, and usually end up killing or self-medicating themselves if they don't get help.

radiovox: and drops the whole "uh, I really don't want to talk about it" line when someone starts asking questions he can't answer.

Yeah, especially when that's followed with, "but in Fallujah, I pulled out a whole company of half-dismembered men despite being shot a dozen times and had to punch out one jihadi who ran out of ammo and came at me with a knife...."

bluenovaman: //I'm still brave/dumb enough to make fun of his very pregnant wife (AKA: Fatso).

Given the sheer amount of classroom training a SEAL has to go through, that pretty much self-selects against hyper-macho meatheads. Not surprised he's not a big bully.

YouPeopleAreCrazy: Usually, military service comes at a very specific time on a persons life. Either right after high school, or right after college. A shared experience, among people of a similar age. It can be a very intense and personal thing, even when you are subsumed into the gaping maw of the military.
You sweat together, bleed together, sometimes lose friends together.

And then this douche comes along and wants to play...wants the accolades from those who would give it to him (girls, CNN), but without paying any of the dues. He purposely chose not to pay those dues, but wants the recognition.

It diminishes the acts and deeds of those of us who did serve. We know what we did, we know who was there.But others, civilians, do not know. Often (CNN) they take these idiots at face value.

And we don't this idiots douchebagginess rubbing off on us.

I know that the experiences soldiers have are very intense and personal, and that's exactly my point. It belittles those experiences to be of the mindset that other peoples' opinions or actions could diminish the acts and deeds of those who served. Caring about what other people think (ego) to the point that you allow it to dictate your actions is exactly what made this guy the douche bag that he is, and why he could never have actually had the kind of military career that he claimed to. The very idea that what a guy like this does could possibly "rub off" on real servicemen and women is what's truly insulting.

cirby: Quaker:
I've seen the phrase "stolen valor" used at least twice in this thread already. Real valor and honor are not things that can be stolen.

Google the phrase and learn something. Start with the first thing that pops up, "Stolen Valor Act of 2005." When someone pretends to something they don't deserve and didn't earn, they diminish that thing for the people who actually did the work.

The Stolen Valor Act doesn't demonstrate how or why someone lying about a military career can diminish the acts and experiences of those who actually did them, it just assumes that it does and spells out penalties. Arguments are supposed to consist of points and counterpoints, not contradiction. Also, thank you for sort of proving my point with your snippiness- ego is the true enemy.

AverageAmericanGuy: ultraholland: AverageAmericanGuy: People who lie to gain admiration and respect reserved for the military should be locked up.

Why is the military so special versus any other field? It's not illegal to be a lying piece of shiat. If he used those lies to obtain services, items, or special treatment then charge him with fraud. As loathsome as this fella is, pieces of shiat are still afforded the basic right to be a piece of shiat.

The military is the only part of our society that is literally putting their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms that we have. That's why its so special.

I think police officers, firefighters, and border patrol agents to name a few might take exception to that statement. But beyond that, you can't say that anyone is so special that an offense against that person or group means we forget about basic human rights. That would be the definition of un-American.

Also, I have to wonder why other peoples' opinions are apparently so important to so many military-types. I've seen the phrase "stolen valor" used at least twice in this thread already. Real valor and honor are not things that can be stolen. All that matters is that you know what you did, and that it was right. To act like a lack of admiration or recognition is some kind of insult makes it seem an awful lot like those were the most important things all along. Nothing that anyone else can do or say could every take away from what you did, they can only damage your ego.

One Bad Apple: Forgery of official federal documents is prosecutable.

well then charge his ass


AverageAmericanGuy: The military is the only part of our society that is literally putting their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms that we have. That's why its so special.

the farking DOT road worker puts his life on the line every day, and I'd venture to say that he's helped me more than anyone in our two bullshiat wars*

*this statement in no way diminishes their service; they are simply doing what they have been instructed to do

He routinely corresponds with CNN reporters to offer his opinion and expertise on military stories. Here he tells Soledad O'Brien about all the death he's seen in combat. She resent his message to her more than 140-thousand followers. CNN would not comment for our story.

So some random lady off the internet does better fact checking than a left wing CNN anchor. What a coont. Nice to see the liebutturds haven't changed their news reporting standards since Jordan Eason, the head of CNN, accused U.S. troops of intentionally targetting journalists.

ultraholland: AverageAmericanGuy: People who lie to gain admiration and respect reserved for the military should be locked up.

Why is the military so special versus any other field? It's not illegal to be a lying piece of shiat. If he used those lies to obtain services, items, or special treatment then charge him with fraud. As loathsome as this fella is, pieces of shiat are still afforded the basic right to be a piece of shiat.

The military is the only part of our society that is literally putting their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms that we have. That's why its so special.

That what the call living the dream now days. I'm sure there are a lot of people who make up a whole new past when they meet strangers.

FLYNAVY is still up to his old tricks, huh?

Stolen valor. fark him.