Stolen Valor & Military Frauds

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Scottish
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Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:02 am
Location: Ft. Carson

Stolen Valor & Military Frauds

Post by Scottish »

I'm just making this thread for the awareness regarding military frauds both in person and online- I've come across way too many to count on CS:S so I'mma finally post a guide as to spotting these guys and exposing them either for the lulz or out of respect. It's also a part-time hobby of mine to poke fun at these wanna-bes.

The Stolen Valor act of 2005 was put in by former President Bush W. Bush on December 20th, 2006 addressing it to be unlawful and unauthorized to wear, produce or sell any military decorations and medals - it also makes it a federal misdemeanor offense for someone to falsely represent and claim to have receive military medals/decorations and partial to false military service claims or records.

Recently the Stolen Valor act was ruled as “facially unconstitutional” (as of July 16th, 2010) because it ruled to violating free speech- in this case, an individual claiming to have been an Iraq war Veteran and Marine, Rick Strandlof was let go and would have been facing 5 misdemeanors for also claiming online and publicly about receiving medals throughout his phony service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXzB6FyO ... r_embedded


It really is sad to say but alot of these phonies are partaking in alot of community upbringings, speeches and have even made a presence in the Iraq Veterans Against the War group giving a bad name everywhere they go- such as Jesse Macbeth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmEPPg4y ... re=related

His phony war story and service claim (although most people would see it to be obvious he is a fake) still hurt the credibility and image of the military. The fact that he is also a part of the Iraq Veterans Against the War only adds on to it. Even some local politicians/running electives in some states have been exposed for this.


In my own experiences- frauds online will usually only mention service in a situation given for bragging rights or justification for glory or acceptance from other people. They have limited knowledge on anything or tend to say things that just don't add up to their given story, given that they are talking about it in the first place. Usually military vets or active do not like to talk about their jobs in the first place. I've also come across guys/girls who really were in the service but claim to have awards such as the Ranger tab or have served with Special Forces- so with this factor in mind, it only broadens the issue on fraud.

In person- the same applies to their stories. If they're wearing some sort of military uniform, it is usually over-decorated or they have awards or emblems that do not pertain to what branch they claim to be from. The uniform usually will be not dress-right-dress or fit the strict uniform code since the person obviously does not know how to wear it right- example and its easy to catch: Army Berets being folded or worn on the wrong side (if pictures are present from said fraud).

Unit patches are also a big thing- if the person is wearing a combat decorated uniform and has no unit patches what so ever (in a picture), it is highly questionable. And if they say they don't because they are Spec-Ops, SF or even god forbid (and I've seen people do this) claim to be "Black Ops" - don't worry, there are patches even for the most secret of the military... considering that a real soldier trying to keep their identity secret in the first place would even wear their uniform in public or even talk about it. If somebody claims to be from Fort. Bragg yet says they are part of example: the 173rd Airborne, they are full of shit- each unit regardless has a set location and history.

Remain skeptical about the person- read up or even just google something simple that every soldier would and should know such as their MOS (job), basic general orders or their unit history where they claim to be from. If theyre in depth to their war story and have details on everything- you can even google those to see how it matches up to what unit was deployed in what area.

The list goes on and on- however this is a good video to watch if you've run into any of these guys (also Don Shipley is awsome and a good resource to have pertaining to this.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWajYZM9 ... r_embedded


...and even look into this

http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies528.htm

http://www.pownetwork.org/


Got any questions regarding this or if you have someone ingame who claims to be something military- send em my way.

Hope this helps.
Last edited by Scottish on Sun Nov 20, 2011 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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