Scumbag

"By the time I turned and went to jump on my guys, I yelled 'grenade' and the blast had hit me,"

I didn't see this show, this is what he said? Yea RPGs don't fly slowly like they do in movies and video games.

He dun goofed!

Maybe the TBI makes him think he was in the 'ghan

Tim Johnson was on America's Got Talent?

Dead for Tax Reasons: MattyFridays: 1) What is a TBI for non-military folk?

2) How do you put in nine years and only have one month in Afghanistan?

Throttle body injection

Thermal Bullsh*t Indicator.

It's "reality" tv, so you gotta expect some fiction.

/amirite?

farvour: Know who else stuttered and made it in music? ...

"Ski-bop-bop-badop-bop!"

Mel Tillis?

/That was his name, right?

My brother isn't impressed (he just told me).

I sent you into danger based on lies. Sorry about your missing legs. Here's an award. We good?

Look...

The show is a booked talent variety show. The "contestants" are not contestants. They are booked through talent agencies to perform on the show, and they're told what they're going to do-- even if it's not something in their repertoire. Dancers are told "You're a singer from Hackensack" and jugglers are told "You're a dancer from New York City." They're told to ham it up and play to the audience, and make up a tale about their life.

The "winners" are also booked from talent agencies, but they're actually booked to perform their real act, so the Pendragons (a well-known magic duo) were booked to do stage magic, and the comedians are booked to tell jokes, and so on. They're encouraged to tell their real story.

This guy was telling a story for his character. Was it a lie? Probably. Was anything else on that show real? About 20% of it.

It's not a talent competition. It's a variety show masquerading as a talent competition.

ace in your face: xynix: My brother isn't impressed (he just told me).

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How is your bro doing?

20+ surgeries later he still can't walk. With that said the government gave him a check for $100k and has left him on active combat duty since the mortar attack. That was 5+ years ago (or 100 years from now depending on what universe we're in at the moment). So financially hes sound for now.

The community has been awesome.. The guy that sold him his house fixed up an old bankrupt one and sold it to him at cost. Made all kinds of changes to make it accessible too. The car dealership he got his Dodge from sold it to him at dealer invoice.. A Harley Davidson gave him a bike. So he's doin OK. Doesn't leave his house ever though and thats not healthy but whatever.

I think he's a stupid redneck, so it's no surprise he wants to pretend to be a real man.

IrateShadow: MattyFridays: I can't understand people who have such low self esteem that they have to stoop to the level to impersonate.

I can understand the reasoning why *young* men may do it, because the advantage, is obviously, girls.

But when old men do it, it's heartbreaking because it's just so pathetic.


It doesn't help that we practically worship soldiers in this country.

I think a lot of that has to do with the way Americans treated Vietnam vets. There was a -lot- of guilt in the US during the 80s. I remember growing up watching all those Vietnam movies from the late 70s into the late 80s. A lot of them centered on how devastating the war was to the young men who fought during that era and how badly they were treated when they got home. When Desert Storm hit there was a lot of Hu-Rah from my generation (we were spoon fed Hu-Rah). My parents generation had a lot of guilt from the way they treated vets during the 60s/70s so they had a bunch of pent up Hu-Rah and plus they had to shed that guilt. I grew up in a military family so we were shiatting Hu-Rah from birth.

So the result is what we have now which is a basic warship of American Soldiers. Which frankly is a lot better than the way Vietnam vets were treated.

ace in your face:

I'm glad that he is financially stable right now even if recovery is slow. I remember you talking about this a couple years ago and it seems like things are a little stagnant :( Give him my best.

Unfortunately yeah. Hopefully one day he'll come around and realize that life isn't over yet.. I mean he's only 30. But it's just one example of the casualties our people are suffering after they come home. Even the ones that didn't get injured are carrying around scars. Thanks BTW.

G. Tarrant: grinding_journalist: He'll be quietly removed from the competition to avoid controversy. Can't have the network look like they got snookered. I suspect no mention will ever be made of this on air, not even the fact that he's just "not around" anymore.

This. It's easy. They sent him to Vegas, but they send hundreds of acts to Vegas and it's impossible to put all of them on TV during the Vegas rounds. They simply say he got to Vegas and didn't make it past there and was eliminated by the judges, and forget he ever existed.


"A lot of holes in the desert..."

"And a lot of problems are buried in those holes."

admiral_neckbeard: Jim_Callahan: Before reading the article, I assumed that he was just exaggerating a story about being near an explosive and suffering a mild concussion or something, which I imagine soldiers don't always officially report for the same reason construction workers and lab techs won't: it can get you a medical suspension, which often means "unpaid suspension".
.

I can't speak knowledgably about the reserves or guard, but if you're on active duty, you still get paid whilst recovering from injuries.

That is a true statement... Either active duty pay or active duty combat pay (this is actually called CIP when injured) for the duration of your enlistment time or for CIP deployment time then AD pay for the remainder even if you're unable to perform any duties. Depending on what the medical board decides, a person will either be given an honorable discharge (with full enlistment pay), an honorable retirement (with pension), or allow you to stay enlisted until your period is up. After discharge if you're still injured you will receive a medical pension (basically SS) for life. All medical needs are covered forever including any complications that arise due to any injury inclusive of mental issues. This applies to regular enlisted as well as activated reserves. This also applies to non-combat injuries which are treated exactly the same other than the person injured in an accident would not receive a purple heart.

So financially and medically anyone who has an injury will be set for life.. although you won't be living in a high rise condo in Tampa on that salary.

My granddad was a VA psychologist from after WWII until around the end of Nam and wow he has some stories on what war does to a man's mind. That's the part that continues to be sorely lacking in post-war care.

Sandy Duncan's eyeball:
Howard pretty much ripped the guy a new one this morning on his show. Howard also implied that the guy really milked his sob story for all that it was worth in Vegas, but he couldn't go into detail about it since those shows haven't aired yet.

They also mentioned that his ex-wife said that she doesn't remember him having any stutter. I don't know if she was with him at the time that he claims to have been injured and acquired the stutter, but maybe some Farker less lazy than me wants to investigate...

I was rolling my eyes watching, going, "Oh here comes the sappy war hero story!" and was put off by his aww-shucks demeanor. Now at least I get to feel justified in my distaste.

Inflatable Rhetoric: Hawnkee: Inflatable Rhetoric: Tat'dGreaser: Scumbag

I met a lot of guys that claimed to have been in Vietnam. If you asked them too many questions, they'd say "It's classified", even 20 or more years later.

One dufus told me he flew B-52's out of Danang.

I know that guy! He also pulled me out of a fox hole while the Germans were bombing Perl Harbor.

I didn't correct him, it would just improve his story.

On the other hand, a lot of people wouldn't know that B-52's didn't fly out of any bases in Vietnam.

In my experience.. there are only a couple ways you know someone was in 'Nam.

1. They're a parent and you heard their nightmarish screaming in the middle of the night (though no explanations were forthcoming .. ever). Saw a couple pictures of them in fatigues in some shiathole in a jungle or a flightdeck on a carrier but never got an explanation..
2. They're a parent of a friend and your friend tells you that their dad did "something in nam." Or in one case my X-Wifes grandfather who was a gunner on UH-2s and was shot down -4- farking times.. not that you would know it from him. He would walk away if anyone said anything relating to Vietnam.
3. You read their obituary.

Even to this day and my dad is like almost 70 now he refuses to talk about it. The last time I asked .. many years ago, "Dad you were in Nam what was it like?" My dad replied "Yep I was in Vietnam and Murder She Wrote is on so shut up." The only thing I know is that he flew F4s off the Forrestal and got shot down then POWed for awhile. Its kind of sad because I think whatever he went through really defined who he is (generally a drunk asshole). He also hates John McCain.. Something else I've never gotten an explanation for.

"Trust me, the military always has accurate information in its records."

edmo: "Trust me, the military always has accurate information in its records."

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It does happen, but none of his buddies are coming forward to support him. In fact, the regular guys (not the brass, not a Public Affairs Officer, not an "official" memo) are all saying he caught a non-combat related, ear infection and was sent home.

1. I've never heard a unit have a procedure for identifying incoming RPGs by yelling "grenade." If you tell "GRENADE!' on a patrol, everybody would be looking at their feet for a hand grenade rolling around.

2. You don't send your Supply Sergeant out on patrols. Unless your commander is one of those "Everybody is getting a Combat Action Badge on this tour!" idiots.