[Mumbles_45]

Well I guess my reputation as a gun nut has spread farther than I knew, as some stranger from another platoon saw me in the hallway and started to tell me about his new FN Five seveN and its "Cop Killer" bullets. I let the cop killer bullets comment slide because I didnt really feel like getting into it with him, but then he went on to talk about how he was going to get a full auto P90 from Oregon. I told him whatever he saw in Oregon was most likely the sew Semi Auto FS90 or whatever its called but he insisted that it was full auto. I told him I was pretty sure there were no P90s before May 1986, and the conversation went downhill from there with him telling all sorts of stories about "how back in Pennsylvania it doesnt matter what year a gun was made or registered or anything" and how many of his friends have machine guns. He settled down and dissapeared when I told him I was from PA and that certainly wasnt the case and there was no need to lie to make friends.

[MFL Jim McLoud]

Especially from another "Eleven Bravo" :fire:
Jim - former 11-B 3X :cuss:

[Will Learn]

It's a shame when one's enthusiasm exceeds their knowledge.:uhoh:

[IdahoFarmer]

My enthusiasm exceeds my knowledge.

That's not the problem. The problem occurs when one allows their enthusiasm to drive their actions beyond the level that their knowledge supports.

Honesty is king.

[Will Learn]

Semantics:rolleyes:

[mbs357]

Ok...I don't get it.
What's keeping him from buying a Class 3 P90 in Oregon?
There some law I don't know about over there? =/

[Hook686]

a lie might be seen as a secondary response to fear, as is hate. I see little difference in these two emotions, where one exists, so does the other.

[Diamondback6]

Yeah, they're called GCA'68 and FOPA'86 (Hughes Amendment), and they're FEDERAL laws.

GCA'68: No more imported "non-sporting" guns, especially NFA items. Don't see how NRA can call themselves "pro-gun" and like this POS law at the same time...
->PROBLEM: P90s are not made here in the States IIRC...

Hughes'86: No more non-LEO/military full-autos to be built after 5/86. This is why transferables are so expensive. If NRA were serious about being pro-gun, they'd call for scrapping this piece of raw sewage too...
->PROBLEM: The P90 is at earliest a mid- to late-1990s design. Even if it were made here, it's time alone means no transferables are available...

Hope this clarifies it. Class 3 ownership is a huge chess game, where losing means Club Fed.

[mbs357]

WHOOPS
Forgot about all that.
XD
Thanks. =p

[Spreadfire Arms]

speaking of liars.....

i had an idiot i bragging to me that he was "10 years Special Forces." when i asked him what group he was with he then said he was a former "Army Ranger."

big difference....... :confused:

[Nitrogen]

speaking of liars.....

i had an idiot i bragging to me that he was "10 years Special Forces." when i asked him what group he was with he then said he was a former "Army Ranger."

Sounds a lot like my new coworker. He's a "Marine" that was in "Special Operations"
He told me that special operations former officers can have machine guns once they leave the army, as well as "other" firearms that are "secret"

He's also exempt from the "10 round limit" clinton imposed. :cuss:

I have a hard time believing any Marine that was in Special Operations or whatever they call it would be fatter and in worse shape than I am. (I'm in pretty bad shape) but who knows.

[30-06 lover]

I know it can get annoying, but don't let it get to you too much. The good thing about liars is that they always lie, so they are easy to distinguish and then stay away from.

[Zen21Tao]

I was in a bar one morning when a guy claimed to be in "Marine Special Forces" during Vietman. I asked him "you mean Force Recon" he said no, a Marine Green Baret. Funny, when pressed by others in the bar he didn't even know what an MOS was. To make a long story short, he was asked to leave the bar for pissing off many of the real military veterans.

[Lebben-B]

Even on active duty you get those types, as Mumbles pointed out in his lead post. Pretty sad. But it's fun to catch these jokers in a lie and watch/listen to all the verbal gymnastics. Even better is when they wear unauthorized badges/tabs. That's UCMJ action. I don't suffer fools lightly, but I do so enjoy watching fools suffer.

And Mumbles - you're not a gun nut. You're a firearms enthusiast, which all good 11B's should be.

Mike

[USMCRotrHed]

When I was "in", it was all too common to meet someone in the bar who claimed to a Marine with the 82nd airborne or something stupid like that. I'd usually try to get them to buy me a beer "since we were buddies" and then ignore them the rest of the time.

[redneck2]

Basic question from a non-vet. Why are Army Rangers not considered SF?? I thought they were. Dunno. Level of training maybe??

My son-in-law was a Ranger but I've never asked him.

[Lebben-B]

Why are Army Rangers not considered SF??

It's all in the usage of the term "Special Forces." Ranger Battalions are considered Special Operations Forces. To use the term "Special Forces" is to refer only to the Green Berets. Admittedly, civilian media tends not to make the distinction and lumps anybody wearing a maroon, green, or tan beret as "Special Forces."

Mike

[Limeyfellow]

There was actually a full auto p90 at the last gunshow I went too. Got to handle it too. Lots of the semi automatic copies too. Costs way more than I am willing to pay for them. That and my wife had ahold of my wallet with all the money in thereby stopping me buying another fal. A true tragedy!

[Offwhite]

I love it when people get caught in a lie & just keep digging the grave deeper & deeper. There are 3 things I don't do:
1.I don't piss into the wind (figuratively or literally)
2.I don’t kiss strippers in the mouth
3.I don't lie-if you always tell the truth from the beginning you never have to worry about keeping up with different stories.

[High Planes Drifter]

Whenever I get cornered and some moron starts chewing my ear off telling me how he just bought a full auto .44 revolver, or such :rolleyes: , I just lay it on right back, and do it with a really stright, serious look. I've been known to brag about the brand new full-auto flux capacitator lazer complete with auto-sight goggles, plasma-grenade launcher, ionic ray beam, a morph button that enables me to change into a lion, a walkie talkie, first aid kit, and compass; and that I need this to be prepared for the invasion from the planet PhossPhatour. I suggest you try it Mumbles. You may get a really wierd look, but he'll leave you alone after if you make it sound genuine.

[Justin]

Careful. If you try to out-crazy someone who's a natural at the game, you might just end up with a new "pal."

[Nitrogen]

Whenever I get cornered and some moron starts chewing my ear off telling me how he just bought a full auto .44 revolver, or such , I just lay it on right back, and do it with a really stright, serious look. I've been known to brag about the brand new full-auto flux capacitator lazer complete with auto-sight goggles, plasma-grenade launcher, ionic ray beam, a morph button that enables me to change into a lion, a walkie talkie, first aid kit, and compass; and that I need this to be prepared for the invasion from the planet PhossPhatour. I suggest you try it Mumbles. You may get a really wierd look, but he'll leave you alone after if you make it sound genuine.

This is the coolest thing I ever read. I'll have to remember this when the "special operations" guy who sits behind me starts up again.

Or I could mention how I spent time on the SWAT team.
I really was on a SWAT team: not the police kind, but a team of network and server engineers that flew around the country deploying and fixing technology for a company I used to work for. We were called "The SWAT guys by upper management. :uhoh:

In reality, I'm just a guy with too many health problems to make it into the services, but that's the truth; it doesn't sound as good at the office.

[sterling180]

Some idiot that I had the misfortune of knowing and went to school with,claimed he had fired a Glock 17 and a Desert Eagle.My ears pricked up,because firearms in the UK,is a unpopular topic to discuss and I asked him about the licensing proceedures,club name,range officers name,allowed ammo,zeroing time etc-and guess what he couldn't give me a straight answer,because there were pauses and umms and arrs,etc,etc.

He also said that a Desert Eagle was a 9mm pistol and was not chambered in.357,.44 magnum or a .50AE,because I was considered wrong to have mentioned the other calibres and he was right-even though I showed him a picture of a Desert Eagle handgun.He called a Smith and Wesson:"A Smith and Western and claimed that his Dad was in the SAS and had a SOCOM,that fired exploding-bullets and had 9mm parabellum exploding bullets under his bed.:barf: :barf: :what: :) :confused:

A FAMAS assault-rifle was not a real gun,despite the fact that it was the French armed-forces current service-rifle.:confused: :)

His dad apparently fired an exploding bullet at the garden shed and it blewup the doors.I think that he has been watching too much of,"Lethal Weapon 3.

To all of you folks that play computer games as well,this guy claimed that the members of Umbrellas Special forces-that killed Dr Birkin-In Resident Evil 2-were armed with Uzi's and not with Heckler and Koch 9mm smgs.:) :barf:

[Deanimator]

My favorite lie is the one that 1/2 the anti-gunners in usenet start out with:

"I'm a gun owner, but..."

They then with or without prompting, proceed to recite some portion of the catalog section of the "Guns & Ammo Annual"... if they're not too lazy, which is most of the time. Usually, they'll start babbling about their grandfather's "8ga. semi-auto shotgun that he used in WWI". You demonstrate that they're liars, and it's all downhill from there. I specialize in slapping these types around in usenet. I keep all of my firearms references in a bookcase close to the computer for just that purpose. The ignorant I try to educate. The dishonest I humiliate without mercy.

[phoglund]

Liers are one of my definate pet peeves. Absolutely detest the breed. I've been fortunate enough not to run into any of these "Special Forces" braggarts but I do have a suggestion for those who do. Next time one of these guys start bragging how tough a soldier they were just look them up a down, bat your eyes at them and say, "I think soldiers are sooo sexy!" :evil:

[Leatherneck]

If you encounter a military poser, send them over to military.com and let the NCOs there take care of them. They're the most doggedly persistent and unforgiving bunch I've ever run across. For some reason, the posers gravitate toward Marines--especially Force Recon--and Green Berets. A lot of them invent service in the Vietnam war, and thy're pretty easy to out. I actually feel sorry for most of them, having to invent credentials. :rolleyes:

TC

[Strings]

heh... how about "I wasn't a SEAL: I was SAR Elite. The SEAL teams had been disbanded for a time, and SAR took up the slack"?

[Deanimator]

heh... how about "I wasn't a SEAL: I was SAR Elite. The SEAL teams had been disbanded for a time, and SAR took up the slack"?

Oh, I can EASILY top THAT!

How about:
"I was in Air Force Special Forces in Vietnam."
"Really, what unit and when?"
"Uh, uh, uh, EARLY... when all of the special forces were together!"

Thereafter, all of the REAL veterans in usenet referred to him as a member of the "Parachute Ski Marines" (Vonnegut fans will understand.)

This same genius also waxed ignorant about "AK47s with 500 round magazines".

[ball3006]

is how to BS. It goes downhill from then on, the speed picks up with the application of beer. As posted above, I don't.....
piss into the wind
don't pull Superman's cape
Don't pull the mask off the Lone Ranger
But, I sure mess with Jim......the office BSer............chris3:D

[V4Vendetta]

I just met, for the first time I think, a poser.

This guy said he was a Texas Ranger appointed by George W. Bush. He got the appointment because when he was a truck driver, he heard a guy on the CB talking in Arabic. So he called the FBI & they stopped the Arab's truck. Inside the truck the FBI found barrells of Anthrax & a dirty bomb:rolleyes: .

About that time, I'm wondering why if this was true, why wasn't it on the news:scrutiny: . I didn't say that though.

Then he shows me his CCW which is just a 2-shot derringer. Granted it fired .45ACP bullets but I would think that your CCW would need to hold more ammunition before you had to reload. Of course I'm neither a Ranger or even have a CCL. What do I know?

[Leanwolf]

OFFWHITE - "2.I don’t kiss strippers in the mouth."
________________________________________________________________

Offwhite, just where do you kiss strippers?? :)

L.W.

[real_name]

Leanwolf, you don't.

[Lebben-B]

I actually feel sorry for most of them, having to invent credentials.

Not me. The opportunity to serve is there, be it .mil, LEO/.gov or FD. I worked hard for my creds, as have others who have walked the path before me. To allow some joker to get away with lying about serving diminishes the honor and good reputation of those who've actually earned the right to be called Airborne, Ranger, Green Beret, CAG, Marine, PJ, or SEAL (Among others.) Busting posers is one of my dark joys.

I don't know if the site is still up, but VeriSEAL's Hall of Shame made for good reading.

Mike

[Zen21Tao]

Even better is when they wear unauthorized badges/tabs. That's UCMJ action.

Here is one even better. When I was in the Army Basic Training/AIT (OSUT) one of the guys in my platoon quit and was sent home. We got word that he had been arrested about a week later for trying to use the Military ID he had during basic training (which we was supposed to turn in) to gain entry to an Airforce Base (most likely to shop at the PX). This guy was such an F*** Up that it didn't suprise us a bit.

[Biker]

Man, I could tell ya stories. Guys who claim to have ridden with the HAs but don't know what a "81" Tat is, guys who claim to be killer guitar players and have owned 1958 Gibson Telecasters and guys who claimed to have served in the Nam but couldn't remember their MOS. Ya just shake your head and shine 'em on.:scrutiny:

Biker

[Lebben-B]

1958 Gibson Telecasters

:D

Or the even rarer 13-string Rickenbacker.

[Biker]

Lebben-B...
Ya run into one 'o those, PM me. Been lookin' for one...
Biker:)

[Lebben-B]

Dude, I've got one. It's the sweetest thing ever. It has humbugger pickups and I run it through a 301 watt (That's right - it's one louder.) Marshall amp. Roger McGuinn wanted to buy it when I was jammin' with him and Dylan at this truckstop outside of Lodi. But I told him that it wasn't for sale cuz it once belonged to Steven Stills.:cool:

Mike

[Correia]

I had the biggest poser ever at the gunshow the other day.

Fat sack of poop, with a big crowd of young guys surrounding him as he told his tales. I was calling in a background check, and PvtPyle was helping a customer, so we didn't get to rip him apart.

In the minute that I heard him talk, I learned that he was a Green Beret, who was recruited by MACV-SOG in Vietnam, before he joined "the company", where he trained the muhajadeen in Afghanistan on how to use Stingers to shoot down helicopters (you should be on the mountain above them, and shoot down), but then he fought in Rhodesia, and a secret war in Sri Lanka. Now he's retired, but what we need to do in Iraq, is coat all of our bullets in pig's blood, that way when you shoot the Muslims with it, they go straight to hell. Because that is how ruthless you needed to be, like when he fought Charlie in Vietnam.

At this point, I'm ready to rip his head off. PvtPyle (who served in Afghanistan) breaks away from the customer long enough to ask - "so where were you in Afghanistan?"
"Oh, well, er, it was a long time ago. I don't really remember."
"Funny, I remember every single little village I went through."
Sadly he then had to get back to the customer. That fat, lump of crap then decided that he probably needed to find another booth to tell lies in front of.

I've had posers before, but that was the most over the top. I wish that I hadn't been on hold. Luckily we don't get very many of these in the store, just because right when you walk in, we have a big curio cabinet filled with souveniers from people who either work here, or work with us. We've got stuff from every military deployment you can think of, as well as about twenty different LE agencies. I think that cabinet serves as pretty good poser be-gone.

[Biker]

Good God...this is pathetic. A Groundpounder got a beer-snort outa me. It burns...Humbugger...too many jokes there.:cool:
Biker

[real_name]

FWIW... John McLaughlin had a 13 string guitar.
http://www.7171.org/electrons/frap/article3.html

[Biker]

I'll be damned. Well, that don't count - McLaughlin ain't human.:neener:

Biker

[NineseveN]

yes, but I was the 5th Beatle. :neener:

[rchernandez]

In the minute that I heard him talk, I learned that he was a Green Beret, who was recruited by MACV-SOG in Vietnam, before he joined "the company", where he trained the muhajadeen in Afghanistan on how to use Stingers to shoot down helicopters (you should be on the mountain above them, and shoot down), but then he fought in Rhodesia, and a secret war in Sri Lanka. Now he's retired, but what we need to do in Iraq, is coat all of our bullets in pig's blood, that way when you shoot the Muslims with it, they go straight to hell. Because that is how ruthless you needed to be, like when he fought Charlie in Vietnam.

Subscription to Soldier of Fortune magazine? Vietnam...Rhodesia...Afganistan...

Sri Lanka? he must have missed a couple of issues!

[Sgt Stevo]

I can always tell.

I will spot check a BS artist. were is the gym at camp whatever? Ever been to the pier at the Kuwait harbor?

What was your Mos? Did it Rain, when you were at Lewis? Harmony church or new Hollywood? In Benning?

And when someone ask me. "were you in SF?" I say no Light inf.

Then I get something like. "you get low scores or something" Or "Did you fail out?"

Now I avoid posers if I can. But if I hear, "Just a Grunt?" One more time.:fire:

[entropy]

If you encounter a military poser, send them over to military.com and let the NCOs there take care of them. They're the most doggedly persistent and unforgiving bunch I've ever run across. For some reason, the posers gravitate toward Marines--especially Force Recon--and Green Berets. A lot of them invent service in the Vietnam war, and thy're pretty easy to out. I actually feel sorry for most of them, having to invent credentials.


Roger that, leatherneck! We bust them up pretty good at www.airbornejoe.com , also!

I have an....acquiantance......that has claimed to gals in bars that he was in Vietnam. When he says it in front of me, I just say, "What were you the drummer boy! He was 15 in '75.:rolleyes: Can't wait for some 'Nam vet to pop him in the chops...:p

[DRZinn]

"What color was the boathouse at Hereford?"

[Lebben-B]

I have an....acquiantance......that has claimed to gals in bars that he was in Vietnam. When he says it in front of me, I just say, "What were you the drummer boy! He was 15 in '75. Can't wait for some 'Nam vet to pop him in the chops

When I was single and in college I used to tell the deadhead-ettes that I was born at Woodstock. Fortunately for me, they were usually too stoned to do the math.

When I was stationed at Campbell, we got a new trooper in the Scout Platoon. He was an E-4 wearing an 82nd Combat Patch, CIB and Senior Wings. (This was just after Gulf I). As a long-time Deuce guy I asked him how long he was in Division. He said he was in 2-325 for 18 months but had more time in the desert than he had in Division. Then I asked him when he went to Jumpmaster School. He then said he "lucked into a slot" as a PFC just before they deployed. My BS meter PEGGED at that point. A paratrooper can't get into JM school without having at least 12 jumps and at a minimum be an E-4 in a leadership slot. I dismissed him, immediately called the Platoon Sergeant over and we went to see the First Sergeant about it. (He was a Viet Nam vet with the 173rd and had so much leftover shrapnel in him he set off metal detectors in airports.)

The company then did a records check and low and behold our hero had never been in Division, wasn't even Airborne qualified let alone a Senior rated Jump Master and although he had deployed, wasn't with an infantry unit and didn't have a CIB. Sadly, he went AWOL (Or UA for our Marine and Navy vets) before he could be given a much deserved Field Grade Article 15.

Mike

[AndyC]

Just in case anyone claims to have been a South African "Recce", here's a handy link: the South African Special Forces' League - Bogus Operators (http://www.recce.co.za/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=18&bid=31&btitle=Bogus%20Operators&meid=41).

Seems there's a guy on there called Bryan Bennets from Phoenix, Arizona who also claims to have been a SEAL and outed as a poser on AuthentiSEAL :rolleyes:

[johnmcl]

Hi all,



I'll be damned. Well, that don't count - McLaughlin ain't human.

Wow, I think I resemble that remark...

John

[Biker]

Johnmcl...
Is it you? No BS?

Biker

[BullfrogKen]

Offwhite said: 2.I don’t kiss strippers in the mouth

Our platoon had pictures from a weekend of liberty in Pusan of our drunk Corpsman tongue kissing a "working girl" in one of the . . . ahem . . . "houses". This had to have been about 8 hours after he distributed condoms to us all, and we HAD to have them, to go on liberty.

Being both a guy who hadn't gone thru school under Clinton's Health Secretary's term, and a virgin, I didn't even know how to use it. And I was pretty adamant that, when I was going to loose my virginity, it wasn't going to be in some dark, sleazy cathouse to someone I paid $40.

Still . . . we made fun of him for months.



Liars . . . lie. To everyone. Including being dishonest with themselves. I don't even engage them in conversation. I just say . . . "You're right, you are a real bad-ass" . . . and move on.


Anyone I've known that actually killed a man, or was engaged in mortal combat with another human being, and is a well-adjusted person, simply doesn't like to talk about it. And when they do discuss it, its not a non-chalant, look how bad-ass I am, conversation. Its usually discussed among those that have been similarly scarred.

Taking the life of another, and seeing the lives of close buddies being snuffed out, scars the soul. Its like flippantly taking about a miscarriage or an abortion. Well adjusted people just don't like to dwell on it.

[johnmcl]

Biker,

Take a breath, buddy. The guitarist JM is not me, we share the name and a love for music, and obviously a quality of not being human... :)

Now permit me to deviate from the thread momentarily.

Now there's a funny story there. I love playing pianio and years ago in Los Angeles, my mom goes into a music store to find some sheet music for me. When she goes to pay, the beach dude behind the counter says, "wow lady, so is your son John McLaughlin?" My mom is unaware of the guitarist, but is aware that I had a short concert in the neighborhood the week before and honestly answers, "Why yes is he is, that's so nice of you to remember him."

She walks out with the music free of charge.

Now back to the thread, these liars have been around since the days of the Romans. Half the Roman world must have fought with Julius Caesar if you believe what was written..

John

[Biker]

Ya had me for a second there, John. I thought ' A guitar slinger and a gunslinger too?'
There are a few of us, but if JM can shoot as accurately as he plays, Good Lord...:uhoh:

Biker:)

[confed sailor]

Did any one read about the Navy Captain (med corps) who was caught wearing a huge number of unearned awards?

Last i heard they were gonna send him to leavenworth.

I suppose im the opposite, im not even sure what awards i rate other than a NDSM, not that it matters too much, there isnt much of a reason to wear gongs in the shipyard. (though the COB got the Meritorious Service Medal at quarters today, and wore it the whole day on working khaki's ):neener:

[CTI1USNRET]

Oo oo can I play? I used to be a 7414 and a 7412. I then went on to become a 9201, 9124, and even (puff out chest) 9138. Didn't need no MOS. 98's come close though.

Name that rating (two really). Don't look at my handle. That's cheatin'.

Slightly drunk working on spreadsheets and needing a break. Oh well.

[sm]

I never served in the Military. I graduated in '73, had a draft card said I was good to go...Fall of Saigon, troops coming home I was not given a SEA paid vacation.

I lost friends/ knew of many that did not come back, or not whole if they did- that did go over there, I had mentors and elders that had served in other conflicts...and since. Honest, I get a bit angry, and upset with wannabe's, no matter "what they pretend to be".

I invented Team Walrus to use in some stories I wrote to poke fun at wannabes.

No secret I am into learning correct basic fundamentals, and one cannot buy skill and targets. Team Walrus just uses whatever is handy , the team can shoot - period. Training and Practice the key.

I do not have the link(s), I have been told on some Internet Forum somewhere, discussing firearms, Team Walrus was referenced.

Seems "these folks must be bad dudes, using only the stuff in a locale... Medium frame revolvers and double barrel shotguns...."

Note to self : copyright Team Walrus, I want my cut for the action figures and video games. :D

If you build it - they will buy itAnon.

Now you know who invented Team Walrus :D

copyright 2006 - sm on THR

[wolf_from_wv]

Heard a guy at a gun show claiming to have been in Panama (I think)... I guess the years aren't kind to some people...

Found a term the other day while doing research for an email... "Space shuttle door gunner"...


I am reminded of a question:

"What's the color of the boathouse at Hereford?"

[Hkmp5sd]

"What color was the boathouse at Hereford?"


"How the hell would I know?" :)

[creitzel]

"What color was the boathouse at Hereford?"

"Ambush? I Just ambushed you with a cup of hot coffee!" (or something like that :))

Good movie! Just watched it again a couple nights ago.

Chris

[Pilgrim]

My favorite wannabe is a barber in Hayden, ID who claims to have been a Marine fighter pilot who flew the F-15 and F-16. He instructed in the two aircraft while at Davis Monthan AFB.

Fascinated, I asked how he came to be a Marine.

He enlisted in the Navy. He didn't have to go through flight training because he already knew how to fly. When the Marines saw what a fantastic pilot he was, they offered him a direct commission in the Marines.

After I insisted he had to have gone through Navy/Marine flight training, he finally admitted he entered flight training at Gulfport, MS and finished at Miramar.

I asked him what he flew at Gulfport. He responded that he didn't have to fly at Gulfport because he already knew how to fly.

I asked him what he flew at Miramar. He said he didn't remember.

He finally asked me why I kept asking him all these questions. I told him I was a real naval aviator and I can remember exactly what I flew and where. He shut up and stopped bragging about being a Marine aviator.

Now when I go in his barbershop he has one of the other barbers cut my hair.

[BullfrogKen]

sm . . .

I am the walrus . . .


koo koo ka chooo

[real_name]

goo goo ga joob, actually.

http://www.beatlesagain.com/breflib/iatw.html

[JesseJames]

Kind of sad. Reading all these stories about "wannabes".
Are they so pathetic they need to prop themselves up by making up their crap?
I use to be open about my military service but quickly realized that civilians have no freaking idea where the hec I was coming from.
Now I don't discuss it with civilians at all. I just say "Yeah, did the Army thing. Was okay."
If I come across another military or ex-military I am delighted. If they were Army 11 series MOS, I feel like I've met a friend I haven't seen in a long time.
Funny how that is.

[depicts]

Biker, what's an "81" Tatoo? :confused:

[illini52]

My favorite wannabe is a barber in Hayden, ID who claims to have been a Marine fighter pilot who flew the F-15 and F-16. He instructed in the two aircraft while at Davis Monthan AFB.

Oh yeah, since the USMC has tons of 15s and 16s (sarcasm). He must have been "flying" all those planes sitting in the boneyard at DM.

[BullfrogKen]

eh? . . . .

My hearing isn't what it was.


If I can't be the Walrus, can I be the Eggman?

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Biker, what's an "81" Tatoo?Google "hell's angels 81 tattoo". Couldn't get an image, tho.

Disclaimer: I own a bike and ride it, but I'm not Biker.

- NF

[RustyShackelford]

I recently busted a local "combat vet" who a major newspaper IDed as a former US Navy SEAL. The "SEAL" was at a event honoring combat veterans. I emailed VeriSEAL.org and asked to check the US Navy SEAL(BUD/S) training records for this joker. The site emailed me back a few minutes later. NO RECORD FOUND! I sent this information to the corrections dept and the newspaper printed a formal correction. This pantload is a total *** for acting like that in public. More real spec ops and combat veterans should bust these ****bags when they see them. Also contact the media or public affairs if you see this fraud/waste/abuse.

If you go to the great websites: www.VeriSEAL.org and/or www.POWnetwork.org you can read more detailed incidents of fakes and wanna-be Rambo jerk-offs. :cuss:

On a lighter note; I recall a lower enlisted MP I served with in the US Army. "Rob" loved to share tall tales of high adventure. One claim he made that fell apart was that "back home in Ohio", he had a Beretta 10mm pistol. This was in 1992 before the model 96(.40S&W) was made available for sale to the general public. I asked this guy if he meant the 9mm or .40 Smith and Wesson and he swore it was a full power 10mm(just like Sonny Crockett's LOL :D ).

Rusty

[BigRobT]

Leatherneck, Military.com has been infiltrated and has decomposed to a level of military dependants, some vets, and a bunch of civvies. Most of the real vets moved here: http://usmilnet.com/smf/index.php. It's a free message board, much like The High Road.

Sgt Stevo, there was a pier off the coast of Kuwait for filling oil tankers. I watched it every day from the deck of the USS Tripoli, wondering just how far from shore we were. I have been to Kuwait Intl Airport. Wasn't much there then.


CTI, I was an AT1- USN(ret) and I had a 8377, 8379, 9585, 8303, 8304, and a 9595 NEC

[Eleven Mike]

In OSUT at Fort Benning, we had a guy named Espada, who loudly proclaimed, at every opportunity, his goal of becoming, and I quote, "Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, Green Beret." Every time we were briefed by a sergeant major or some-such, he always asked them what he should do to become "Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, Green Beret."

Later, he hurt his leg and went AWOL. But I sleep more peacefully at night knowing that he is out there, somewhere, probably crawling up behind Bin Laden with a KaBar in his teeth.

:)

[DRZinn]

To be fair, a wannabe, especially one who's partway there, is not as bad as a poser. Not even close.

[panzermk2]

I kissed a stripper in more places than her mouth Ft. Bliss 1985 over boader at Panama Jacks......Oops wrong thread and not a war story one brags about

A lady friend of mine HAD a boy friend who was an X seal and Ranger.
Now being X-CAV I have no love for the Navy. For the past 5 years that weekend in December has been very bad. But I have Seal pals that I have the utmost respect for.

Anyway it just so happens this fat slob who was managing a White Hen pantry at the time (after all that training, motivation etc. 2nd shift? anyway)
This guy we will call him Brad decided to show up at the shop I worked part time at. His timing was perfect because I brought him rite over to my pals who were holding up the gun counter and introed him to them.
Well it turn out he was in the navy all right as a cook! After he basically ran out He still told my lady friend that he was still a seal BUT to stop talking about it to everyone because it was "top secret"
He was a drunk, had left his first wife and three kids in MI with no support.

All could do is be depressed by him. An ass kicking something more akin to how I would handle someone like him just was not in me after looking at his life or lack there of

[Sgt Stevo]

Yes, Just south of the tower. Did you get to go to the shark mall, Or just the airport?

I used to go the airport and escort the buses to camp Doha. If someone has not been there, they think all kuwait is desert.

Did you ever go to diggers in Baharain? I low crawled out of there a few times.
Glad your back bro.......


I have an idea! Lets all post the most absurd, or weird pics from our deployments. Nothing to porno though, the mods will shut us down. I will get help put some up tommorrow. we can guess were they are and stuff.

[BigRobT]

Sgt Stevo, I was there in 91. There were some trailers around with some little items for sale, not much else. Tons of empty buildings. All the shore liberty we got was during Desert Shield in Abu Dhabi. We we stationed at the end of a pier in Abu Dhabi, which was ultimately called "NAS Abu Dhabi" :confused: Once the Storm started, we only hit Kuwait for a couple of missions and when we left to come back home. Never got liberty in Bahrain, unless you count on-base liberty :(

[Biker]

8 stands for H, the 8th letter of the alphabet and 1 for A.
Most HAs have 81 Tatted somewhere visible on their body as a sort of clandestine ID in that the average citizen won't know what it means but one of the bretheren will.
Biker:)

[White Horseradish]

Hoo boy... Where do I begin...

I was at a bar with a friend of mine. This friend is a sociable kinda guy and knows an amazing number of people. Can't go anywhere in town where someone doesn't know him.

So, we're there and this guy comes up. Starts up a converstaion, talks about how he was in 'Nam, and how he was the only one left from his unit.

So my friend uh-huhs for a bit and then says "Listen, buddy, my father is active in [local vet organization], he personally knows guys from that unit. You're full of **** and if you don't leave, I will call the bouncer over (and he's a real vet) and he'll toss you out." Shoulda seen him run... :evil:

And then, there was a fat guy at a local range. (Why do these people always weigh 300 pounds?) Sitting next to a minigun in the range lobby he pats it and says "You know, I trained on one of these. I was a door gunner on a Huey..."

[JesseJames]

(Chuckling) Yeah, I noticed the ex-Navy SEALS are all overweight fat slobs.
I'm like, man, talk about letting yourself go huh?
Be wary of guys who are very willing to talk about their exploits of derring do. Most likely posers.
The men who just did it and got on with life, now there are some REAL hombres.
Funny thing. I've never discussed things much with my own family come to think of it. As far as my mother was concerned I just looked handsome in my uniform.:rolleyes:
I guess they're just glad I got back in one piece.

[Browns Fan]

In the early 80's, when I was a squad leader in the 82d, I had this one soldier who was going to terminate jump status because of back problems, while at the same time telling us he was going to the sf Q course.:confused:

[History Prof]

I love watching you real guys take care of posers. I was at a gun show with my daughter when she was about 2. I was looking (at the time I was only familiar with ARs and 1911s) when I noticed an M1A. I picked it up and commented "nice M14." The owner corrected me (musta thought I was a poser, too). Then some fella in a brand new BDU jacket steps in and starts telling us about his time in "the Nam." Well, my dad and two brothers were 20 year men, so I know "the look" of a GI. This guy didn't have it. When I rolled my eyes, the guy gets weird and starts staring into the distance and says "you dad knows NOTHING about 'the Nam!'"

Ok, I'm thinking this guy is nuts. I asked him, "are you talking to my daughter? If so, you're right. I was frickin 6 years old when it ended. HOWEVER, if you're taking to me, bubba, my dad was there. Two tours in Recon."

Booth owner, who had "the look" steps in and does what you guys do with posers. Guy walked away in a huff. Then the owner says to me, "Dad was Recon, huh?" Now my turn to be embarrassed. I said, well, kinda. He was a camera technician on Recon F4Cs in the Air Force." Guy says to me, "Son, if he was there, he was *there*. No need to lie about what he did there." I never have since. :o

[Harold Mayo]

I'd caution against putting too much stock in web sites claiming to uncover "posers" and frauds. I've had dealings with one of them and have seen nothing but smoke, mirrors, insinuations and lies in support of a vendetta that they seem to have.

It being the High Road, I won't go into detail in an open forum (you're free to PM or e-mail me, however) but remember that NONE of these web sites have any official status with the US government. While some of them seem to take their hobby (and a hobby it is) seriously, their endeavors have officially been denounced as something of an irritant as the DOJ says that they have better things to do than prosecute persons for their fantasies.

[Harry Paget Flashman]

RD-0334, EW-1711, EW-1781, 7120, 6120. But mostly REMF.

In 1979 I had a guy work for me when I was a CPO. He had joined in '74 and was sporting a Vietnam Service ribbon with 3 stars and Vietnam Campaign ribbon. I went to personnel and pulled his service record and discovered he'd typed the awards onto his page 4, very sloppily at that with white-out and bad alignment. He even included the "Expert Pistol Shooter"(sic) ribbon. I had the Personnelman redact his record and set the kid straight. Or so I thought.

In 1986 I reported to NTTC Corry in Pensacola as DivO for CTM"A" school. First day on the job I am walking down the passageway and run into Petty Officer "Poser", he's in his dress whites, and the first thing he does is slap his hand over his ribbons and say, "Hello, Mr. Flashman." I pulled his service record again and saw he had re-awarded himself his "missing" ribbons. I had the the CTMCS fix the problem. That and a few other problems(trading passing test scores for sex with the female students) only got him a reduction in paygrade and and early transfer back to the crummiest ship with an open billet.

He's probably out their somewhere right now perched on a bar stool at the VFW telling how he mined Haiphong Harbor in '73, K-Bar in his teeth doing the backstroke. Who knows? He might be in Afghanistan training the locals in Krav Maga martial arts.:barf:

[AJAX22]

A buddy and I were at a party one time, and some guy was there with a cheezy british accent talking about how he was SAS and a wet work operator.

what he didn't notice apparently was the fact that he had gone to high school with my buddy 10 years prior.

to shut him up my buddy went back to the car, pulled out an enfield threw it to the guy and said 'ok skippy, field strip it'

guy couldn't even get the bolt out.

[648E]

The SAS uses Enfields? :uhoh:

[pete f]

Had a guy working for me for a while, I heard from my nephew that he had a lot of guns and was bragging about being in SEA and doing all sorts of ghoulish things. I was surprised at this, as his birth date on his license was 1963.


Now i am not skinny but i can move as needed. There is a local big box with a HUGE guy who is the gun manager who tells all and sundry about his exploits as a "shooter" in grenada and DS1. In front of his boss and a few others some guy who had the short hair cut high and tight ripped him apart.
He got fired for falsifyiing his resume.


I used to live across the alley from a little swedish american guy every one called granpa ken, Even the mailman knew him that way, super nice guy, always out in the alley washing his car or watering his yard. I had a plow on my truck and would clean up his driveway when it snowed just being nice. There was a guy I knew who had a M2 and the tripod had broken a weld on the rear footpad. I had it in the truck and when he walked out to say thanks for plowing he saw it and said "what in the hell do you have that for.....G*********N piece of F********g junk" Now this really got my attention. He never swore ever. hardly ever raised his voice except when the neighbors dog would not shut up. I said I was going to fix the broken weld. Turned out he was a gunner on PNG in the south pacific and had hauled either the tripod or the M2 all over that place. He took me in his house and started to show me pictures and letters and stuff and it turned out he was a regular war hero of the highest kind, Silver Star, purple heart, bronze star. He had a few pics of himself carrying that M2 and it seemed bigger than he did, I would have put him at 5' 6'' 130 tops. and he had the thing on his shoulder with some sort of pad tied to it. (I should say I think it was a M2 it was a .50 browning water cooled. That I know)

Last pics he showed me was his arm all wrapped up from burns when he craddled teh gun to move it and the pad was missing. He also showed me a pic of his legs after he was relieved when he was sick. His legs looked someone had let a dog gnaw on them for a long time. Said that was from the skin never drying out under the boots .


When I hear people talking about being in the service I thnk about him humping that 50 cal or the guy who lived next door to him, a little jewish guy who had a stab wound in his arm from a Japanese bayonet on tarawa who said he was carrying the radio and a 45, so he pulled the 45 out and shot the "little b****** from his balls to his brains". "just soldiers" was all they said. Just heros to me.

[sterling180]

A buddy and I were at a party one time, and some guy was there with a cheezy british accent talking about how he was SAS and a wet work operator.

what he didn't notice apparently was the fact that he had gone to high school with my buddy 10 years prior.

to shut him up my buddy went back to the car, pulled out an enfield threw it to the guy and said 'ok skippy, field strip it'

guy couldn't even get the bolt out.

I wish I was there to witness that buffoon make himself look like a complete and utter dork in front of the other people,with a few ex-SAS soilders there.I would have selected,Andy MacNab,Chris Ryan and Eddie Stone,for this particular assignment, where they could, have witnessed that idiots statement and (on my recommendations.) put him through his paces-by making him undertake the real SAS selection process and would ask the ex-SAS soilders to have given him a horrible time-especially in the interrigation section,where he would get beaten up by the mock-interrogators.One of Eddies favourite past-times-interrogation.:evil:

Or how about making him play an American Football game-where he could play against the,SAS(including Australia and New Zealand) or the Green Beret Commandos,the Navy Seals,the British Maroon Berets(Paratroopers.),Marine Commandos or the SBS.Or even make him participate in a boxing and bare-nuckle fighting competition against any of those listed.

Also a potential SAS and SBS candidate has to know how to strip a,SA80,SLR and Enfield No4 rifle.These guns are used for selection training,for new potential recruits.

[panzermk2]

The SAS uses Enfields?

No British soldier in the forty something age bracket that I am in that I know has not had his hands on one.

A pal of mine was SAS and afterwards flying squad commander in N. IR. hunting IRA types, used an enfield as a sniper rifle in NAM.
He said nothing was more accurate at the time. HIS opinion (although I do agree)
Peter was a card and in the right settings the stories that came out of this English gentleman.......

[sterling180]

648E: The SAS stopped using the Lee Enfield N04 and 5 model rifles in the mid 1950s-when the SLR L1A1 replaced these rifles.However after that period the NO4 rifle was used as a selection piece along with older-generation webbing and haversacks-until the SLR retired from active service-when the SA80 came along,in 1985/1986.Sometimes Enfields are used for training and ceremonial purposes as well and for military-club recreational shooting.

The only time the Enfield was used ,after the SLR replaced the N04s,was in a sniping role as a sniper rifle for the SAS and regular army-chambered in 7.62 Nato.The L42A1 it became,I think.Later on however the SAS started to use the Steyr SSG69,Sako and Tikka rifles,because they were considered better than the Enfields

In the mid to late 1960s the British,Australian and New Zealand SAS -regiments,started to acquire the M16 assault-rifles and were impressed at their potential as a Jungle rifle-by watching images of US soilders fighting in the dense Vietnamese Jungles and flat-plains.

The M16 saw active service in Borneo,Oman and was used by the Australian SAS regiment in Veitnam.

Today the standard-issue assault-rifle is the M16A2 rifle and the SAS also use other AR-15 weapons.

[Lebben-B]

In the early 80's, when I was a squad leader in the 82d, I had this one soldier who was going to terminate jump status because of back problems, while at the same time telling us he was going to the sf Q course

He was going to take the "Q" by correspondence course, no doubt. BTW, what reg't were you in?

The little Swedish guy story reminded me of this little Kniepe in West Berlin called "Der FalschrimJaeger." My bros and I were walking down Unter den Eichen Str. and we got the hankering for some adult refreshment. We went down a side street and found Der Falschrimjaeger. As soon as we walked in we realized we'd found our new favorite watering hole. Pictures of German drops from '40 and '41; pictures of Russia and France. There was this old guy that always tended bar. Reserved but friendly, the way most Germans are, he always brought us our beer and had a friendly word when we came in.

We were looking at one picture of a group of troopers. They dirty, grimy and most wore a dressing of some sort. We were wondering where the photo was from. The old man looked up from the bar and just said, "Maelame Flughafen, Kreta." It turned out he was the owner and all the pictures were ones he had from the war. One time we came in and he motioned for us to come over. He pulled out a case and showed us all his badges and awards from the war. Pretty cool. We didn't realize until later what a risk he was taking showing us those badges, since Nazi symbology is outlawed in W. Germany. Great guy, great place.

Mike

[Pork Fat]

I worked with a guy briefly in North Carolina who claimed to be a Viet Nam vet. I didn't question him about it, he was an appropriate age, and I treated him with the deference and respect that any vet is due.
Then he started telling stories. He apparently carried a .50 caliber machinegun on patrols, no tripod. Wincing at the unlikeliness of that, I inquired as to how he handled the full-auto recoil of the Ma Deuce.

Unfazed, he explained that he always butted it up against a tree when he fired it.:rolleyes:


This same guy illustrated the weakness of the M-1 carbine by telling of shooting at wet sheets on a clothesline with one. Apparently the bullets were caught by the loosely hanging fabric and slid to the ground beneath.:confused:

[NMshooter]

Used to work for a guy who claimed to be either a genuine Air Commando or Army Special Forces in Vietnam, he had trouble keeping his story straight.

He did spend some time in Thailand as a missile maintenance tech, and was suprised we were able to get a copy of his DD214.:evil:

For some reason folks who have never served seem a bit let down when I tell them I served in the Air Force, fixing radios. Guess they were hoping for some exciting stories, instead of "There I was, minding my own business, when I heard an explosion! Another airman in my shop completed the circuit in a 2000V power supply and there were chunks of diodes from the rectifier everywhere...";)

Yep, puts 'em to sleep everytime.:D

[Eleven Mike]

Why was that boy puttin' diodes in his rectifier? I knew you Air Force boys was a little funny, but my goodness!:what:

[Strings]

Odd... almost all my stories from my time in the Nav revolve around "so, this idiot officer..."

I was an IC tech, for two years. Then I had a little disagreement with my XO... :(

[MillCreek]

He enlisted in the Navy. He didn't have to go through flight training because he already knew how to fly.

Interestingly enough, back in WWII, my dad enlisted in the Navy at age 17.5 after graduating from high school. He actually did have his pilot's license already which he had earned by doing odd jobs at the local airport. The Navy had a special commissioning program (the 90 day wonders) for civilian pilots. They went to a 90 day officer's basic, and then went to flight school. If I recall correctly, if you already had soloed and had your pilot's license, you were put in some sort of advanced standing for basic flight school, but still had to take the regular advanced flight school at the same pace as everyone else. He went on to fly Corsairs off the Enterprise as part of a night-fighter squadron starting in early 1945.

It has been many years since my Dad talked about this, so any errors in the above are due to my faulty recall.

[sterling180]

After reading very-somewhat amusing-accounts from all of you posters,(As well as writing about my own experiances.),I will say that there is a huge problem with wannabes everywhere.Now these people think that it is about blowing door-hinges off with hatton-rounds and lobbing stun-grenades in,then killing a terrorist with an Mp5 smg.Or by doing a " Rambo":barf: in the Jungle with an M16,Minimi or a Gpmg.Or even copying other Hollywood movies,by imatating Chuck Norris, -Arnie,Van-Damme or even Steven Segal,because they the "heroes" cooly killed the bad guys.

Well it is and it isn't.But before one can even get close to the action,one has to be absolutely suited and committed at,100%,before they are allowed to even wear the coverted
badged-beret,uniforms,etc.The real special-forces assignments are somewhat unpleasant tasks at the best of times and are more daunting and both physically;mentally challenging,than the tasks regular forces have to face-on a daily basis

This is why selection processes are used,to separate those elite soilders,sailors;and airmen from those who haven't got
the "special ability" to be of any use to the special forces regiments.

The stories about the "fat guys", who claimed that they were in the Navy Seals,makes me laugh,because the armed-forces insill fitness-regimes into a person-especially for elite units,like the Navy Seals.Now I know that a person could get fat,from leaving the forces and some do,but special-forces also instills, mental toughness into a person,making them somewhat harder inside.Most ex-special-forces guys don't openly brag about their operations openly,in a happy-tone-they either write books,get into private-security or law-enforcement,or into other types of civillian jobs.

Most of them openly critisize those stupid books written by "supposed experts" and refer to them as "Walter-mitty or "Micky Mouse" books.

Examples of such behaviour was seen on the British reality tv programme,SAS:are you tough enough?,-where a contestant was being shouted at, by one of the SAS instructors for mentioning a "supposed experts" accounts of the SAS,when, it was discovered that this "expert" never served in the regiment or in any other known special forces regiment-and the material that was stated in their book-was not what the SAS did,nor what any other special-forces unit did,for that matter.

[Pilgrim]

Interestingly enough, back in WWII, my dad enlisted in the Navy at age 17.5 after graduating from high school. He actually did have his pilot's license already which he had earned by doing odd jobs at the local airport. The Navy had a special commissioning program (the 90 day wonders) for civilian pilots. They went to a 90 day officer's basic, and then went to flight school. If I recall correctly, if you already had soloed and had your pilot's license, you were put in some sort of advanced standing for basic flight school, but still had to take the regular advanced flight school at the same pace as everyone else. He went on to fly Corsairs off the Enterprise as part of a night-fighter squadron starting in early 1945.
I already had my private pilot's license when I reported to NAS Saufley Field for Primary Flight Training. As a result, the flight syllabus for me in the T-34B was shortened. After that, Basic Jet in the T2 and Advanced Jet in the TF-9J was the same as it was for those student naval aviators who had no prior flight experience.

The official Navy line with regards to prior flight experience was that the advantage in flight grades soon faded to nothing by the time all students were in the Basic Jet syllabus.

[dleong]

And then, there was a fat guy at a local range. (Why do these people always weigh 300 pounds?) Sitting next to a minigun in the range lobby he pats it and says "You know, I trained on one of these. I was a door gunner on a Huey..."
"... minigun in the range lobby..."

The Burnsville Pistol Range, perhaps? :)

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Knew one who was probably genuine once. Marine not in active service, built like a bulldozer, nice guy, didn't say much about what he'd done. But one day he was talking about being stationed "over in one of those Asian countries... oh, yeah... Thailand."

I asked him what he'd done in Thailand, as the Vietnam War didn't officially extend that far west, AFAIK.

Silence...

Still wonder what was up.


- NF

[gunsmith]

Very briefly, in the seventies. This guy in my platoon was an E2, on weekends he would dress up with that braid that I think Airborne was wearing at the time
and wear spec 4 rank!
I was the opposite, I could wait to get into civies.

A guy I knew in the 80's was claiming to be a Navy Seal, only he didn't know port, bow, stern or aft and had no idea what a dd214 was!

[full auto seer]

This thread seems as good as any to say THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE!

I would call myself a "wouldn't-wannabe", but I sure as shootin admire
anyone who has made the sacrifice, even if it pi$$es them off sometimes...:o

-seer-

p.s. I'll apologize now for wearing unmatched camo in public.:p

[Browns Fan]

Lebben-B, I was in the 82d Signal Battalion at the time.

[El Tejon]

The best stories of posers come from gun shoppes.:D

Our intrepid hero, the stunningly handsome El Tejon, is manning the gun counter at Galyan's sporting goods. Someone from "The Teams", 5'6" and at least 275 lbs, he had a hard time climbing up the steps to the hunting/fishing department.

After telling young El T want a great warrior he was, our SEEL takes a quick survey of the gun section and wants to see the P35. Umm, O.K., customer is always right. I give him the Browning.

He starts jumping around with it like some bad cop drama.:eek: He braced it on the moveable display walls (with the scope bases and the deer scents) and starts covering the other customers.

My buddy hit him high, I hit him low. The boys in blue from IPD took him off to "the brig". Hopefully he got the help he needed.:D

[wheelgunslinger]

He starts jumping around with it like some bad cop drama. He braced it on the moveable display walls (with the scope bases and the deer scents) and starts covering the other customers.

My buddy hit him high, I hit him low. The boys in blue from IPD took him off to "the brig". Hopefully he got the help he needed.

Jeez. What a nutjob.
Seems like gunstores do bring out the wannabes.

[Harold Mayo]

I was in a gun store the other day and asked the guy behind the counter if I could see a Springfield M1A that was on the rack. There was a synthetic-stocked "standard" version along with a SOCOM II there.

He turned and said, "What?". I asked again and pointed.

He sneered (or grinned smugly) and picked it up, saying "Oh, you mean the M-16...I used one of these in the 'Nam."

"Really...?", I replied, chamber-checking the rifle.

Why do they all say "THE" 'Nam instead of just "Vietnam" or even "'Nam"...?:mad:

[real_name]

I asked him what he'd done in Thailand, as the Vietnam War didn't officially extend that far west, AFAIK.

I've been to Thailand quite a few times, mainly the north and north-east. Also Laos and Cambodia.
There were US airbases in Thailand, in Ubon Ratchatani, Nakhon Phanom and Udorn Thani IIRC. I assume there was also some kind of port deal in the Bangkok region.

Edit to add. I found this map, it's a wiki so it may be inaccurate but it confirms what I recall. Don Muang marked on the map is the location of Bangkok international today.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f6/Usaf-thailand-map.jpg/408px-Usaf-thailand-map.jpg

[Medusa]

Hmm, if I did applied to the sniper school here, does it make me a sniper wannabe? Fundamental question :o .
Never understand the posers, why they just don't live up their dreams and join in? My thought was too that during the sniper school I should pump my training up to the level I could apply to SF with. It isn't so hard if to try and make things happen.
Some kids told me how they play military games (I was a teacher once), like Flashpoint, and how good the graphics are and how realistic, and how much there's still to improve. I told them that instead upgrading their computer to the level in which it can handle ultrarealistic graphic they should rather join the military and do the "real thing".

[bthest86]

I met this new guy at work a few weeks ago. I think he was around 18, barely old enough to be hired. He was one of those kids who likes to talk alot of s**t.

Anyway we sort of became buddies. One day he jokingly says something about coming to my house and beating me up if I didn't come to work on Saturday. So I laughed and mentioned something about me having my guns ready for him.

He suddenly becomes defensive and goes on to say that if I ever pointed a gun a gun at him he would knock it out of my hands (because he is a blackbelt or what ever) and do terrible things to me.

Then he goes on to tell me about how someguy tried to rob him at gunpoint and he kicked the gun out of his hands and then beat him until the cops came and pulled him off. I sort of gave him a blank stare for minute and then changed the subject.

Anyway, he quit after a few days of work. He was a liar and a lazy *******.

[El Tejon]

Stupid kid. Only Chuck Norris can kick guns out of hands (and he wears elf boots when he does it).

[Lebben-B]

Lebben-B, I was in the 82d Signal Battalion at the time.

Cool. I'm a long-time '04 guy. (Easy on the "Oh-Four" jokes.) You do know the 82d Sig is no more right?

Mike

[Legionnaire]

Never served (despite the handle). Came of age in those couple of years following Vietnam when they not only stopped the draft, but let some of us through without even registering. Dad served in the Navy at the tail end of WWII; two uncles retired USAF as bird colonels; younger brother served 12 years as a logistics officer in the Marines, and my son is a USMC reservist. Many's the time I regret not putting in my time; too old and out of shape at this point.

But to all of you who have and/or are still serving: Thanks!

[Rezin]

There are more folks CLAIMING to be VN vets than actual people who served in the war.

Some are bad, but others. man, do they go all out or what.

Take a peek at these posers: http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies.htm

Thousands of them, some COLD busted, but still pretending.

[bill2]

Stolen Valor, read it. part of it's funny, when the wanna be's get busted but reading it also will piss you off.
I served 4 yrs in the Army, Combat Engr's - '74 - '78. When I was in basic, we had a guy who came in saying that he had joined the Rangers to "take a vacation", and that he had just spent 3 months in the Mojave desert surviving on what he could catch and had gained 15 pounds. he also said that he had been an assassin. yes he actually said that. I think it was for the Mafia. It really does amaze you sometimes, listening to the cr## that people put out and actually expect someone to believe them.

[Old Dog]

It really does amaze you sometimes, listening to the cr## that people put out and actually expect someone to believe them.Well, not really ... they're simply people who feel they're missing something in their real lives and have some strange need for public validation. In the late '80s, I once caught a young admin clerk in an EM club wearing Combat Aircrew wings, a Purple Heart and an Air Medal while drunkenly expounding on his door-gunner experiences ... even though he was too young by ten or fifteen years to have served in Viet Nam.

Not a one of the guys I've known or still know who really did have extensive combat experience or had been members of elite units or special teams ever would have tried to impress strangers, co-workers, the fellas down at the gunshop or gunshow, or even women [they were trying to pick up] with their "special" status ... *

*Of course, this doesn't apply to fighter pilots ... who are typically identified by the fact that they always wear polo shirts and big wristwatches while on liberty (especially in the Med) ... and have been known to let women know, in the first few seconds of an encounter, of their exalted flyboy status ...

[Moondoggie]

Old Dog...+1 on the fighter jocks....yech!

A note about some of the SF claims...Every Marine infantry battalion goes through a series of training workups prior to going on a "float" (aka 6 months "Grey & Underway" in the Med or Pacific) that qualifies the unit as "Special Operations Capable". The intent is to make them capable of conducting raids/rescues, rapid response to any situation where military force is ordered...etc. To maintain the "Special Ops Capable" designation the unit must conduct a refresher training syllabus every so often. I can see where some bragging amongst the troopies could lead to statements about being involved in "Special Ops Work".

[dillonuser]

Not a one of the guys I've known or still know who really did have extensive combat experience or had been members of elite units or special teams ever would have tried to impress strangers, co-workers, the fellas down at the gunshop or gunshow, or even women [they were trying to pick up] with their "special" status ...

I didn't serve but my brother was a Marine fighter pilot in Viet Nam. I recall he flew an F4 in a group or squadron called "The Black Knights".
He had a 13 month tour, and when he got home I had to ask and ask and ask to get any info from him.I found out he had received some awards. As I remember one was called a Distinguished Flying Cross and another a Silver star. Would he talk about it? Very little.. Was he proud? Yes. Bragger? Never.

[billybob]

There are now more Vietnam vets than there were troops.

[DRZinn]

Waiting in a high-school girlfriend's house, perusing the knick-knacks on the shelf, and there was a Bronze Star. The citation was with it, something about charging a machine-gun nest in Korea.

I'd talked to her dad a bit, and hadn't even known he had ever been in the Army.

[Kalashnikov]

Wow....I feel kinda stupid. I have no clue what a DD214 is, and I'm in the 2nd MLG, Ammo Co. Ouch...:o

[DRZinn]

You'll find out when you get out. ;)

[PinnedAndRecessed]

Kind of like many around here (and elsewhere on the net).

:scrutiny:

http://sigforum.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/100106684

[ABTOMAT]

Listen to enough of these guys talk about their "service" and you'll realize why we lost the war. With so many SEAL hand-to-hand specialists, Marine snipers, and Air Cav door gunners, there wasn't enough room in the country for anyone else. :)

I mean really, when was the last time some overweight 45-year-old in a bar bragged about his 'Nam service as a medic, or a helicopter mechanic, or Navy weather man, or a radioman?

Why do they all say "THE" 'Nam instead of just "Vietnam" or even "'Nam"...?

'Cause, man, it's the way it was in the bush. All you guys who weren't tail gunners in Navy OH-6's will never understand understand. :)

[Browns Fan]

Quote:
"You do know the 82d Sig is no more right?"

Really? Did they slice 'em out to the regiments on a permanent basis?

[sterling180]

Visit the deprived White City housing estate in West London and you would never guess that this was the starting-point in life for the man who went on to murder one of the most popular television presenters in the country.

Barry George grew up as a difficult child in a broken home, always restless, always seeking something more glamorous for himself.

A family friend, Charlie Tobin, used to baby-sit the young Barry, but found him a demanding child.

"He was hyperactive, things went wrong, I wanted to get out," Mr Tobin told the BBC.

Fantasy world


George has a previous conviction for attempted rape

As a young man Barry George developed a taste for inventing fantasy lives.

He told the local newspaper he was the British Karate champion and that he was planning to jump four buses on roller-skates. He also said he was actually called Paul Gadd, the real name for Gary Glitter, and managed three rock-groups.

He joined the Territorial Army and a gun club and told his friends he was really in the SAS. But the TA and club soon rejected him.

He claimed he was called Steve Majors after the actor Lee Majors and his TV character Steve Austin, the Bionic Man.

George would also stand in the street directing traffic, impersonating a policeman. He once announced he was cousin to Freddy Mercury.

He must have found his real identity unbearably dull and frustrating. Eventually it led him to violence.

Attempted rape

In the 1980s he assaulted a woman living in his tower-block and was jailed for attempted rape. Another neighbour was assaulted by him as well.

"They start with indecent assault," she says, " and go on to rape and then to what happened to poor Jill Dando."

George had a fascination with showbusiness. He longed to be in that world. But apart from a brief spell as a BBC messenger, he never was.

One of his closest friends was a lollipop-lady, Angela Hope. "He wasn't all right up there," she says.

"Not a maniac or anything, but not quite normal."

Obsessed by guns

She thinks all his fantasies were harmless, and that he was trustworthy.

"He never carried a gun or anything," she remembers.

But he was certainly obsessed with guns, and lonely, and disappointed at never being famous. Things were getting to him.

One psychologist reckons he craved attention more than anything, especially from women. Shooting Jill Dando was the ultimate answer to that.

But he isn't famous, as he wanted. He's notorious. And many will ask why his problems weren't noticed earlier, and why he wasn't stopped sooner.

Trouble is-did Barry George actually kill Jill Dando?,because I got the impression,that he was as unintelligent,as Martin Bryant.

He pretended that he was in the SAS and that he was called,Tommy Palmer-one of the SAS soilders,along with Eddie Stone and John Mackerleese,-who rescued British and Iranian hostages from Iraqi terrorists,in May 1980,from the Iranian embassy,in Shepards Bush-west London.

Problem was he was born in 1960 and a year younger than Andy MacNab and a year older than Chris Ryan.If he joined the army and later the SAS,he would have been serving with Ryan and MacNab and would have seen service in the Gulf war in 1991.

The real Tommy Palmer-I believe-is in his late 50s or in his 60s in this year,2006.

This guy actually said that he was the actual Tommy Palmer,whose gear got tangled up and was set alight by the fires caused by the stun grenades and explosive charges-placed on the doors-to blow open the closed doors.
Unbelieveable or what.

What a total pathetic creep,loser,etc-even if he didn't kill Dando.A total Bum or waster.

Oh and by the way,the name, Territorial Army,means National Guard.

[wingnutx]

A few months ago I met a former "colonel in the Navy SEALS" at circle-k.

[p35]

My father in law served in the Pacific during WW2- one of the few Japanese-Americans who did, as a translator for Military Intelligence. The only story he's ever told me about those days was something that happened after he came back. No use repeating it, but it had to do with being called a "dirty Jap" while wearing his US Army uniform incuding campaign ribbons.

Sadly, you see a lot of obits for that generation these days. In the JACL newsletter, there's always a mention of "442 RCT vet" if applicable. Carries huge respect in the JA community- the older folks who went through those days will tell you that the 442 RCT bought them their status as equal Americans with their blood. I defy you to find one of those vets who would talk about his experiences in the 442 while alive.

[sa-xd-russ]

Just read through most of the topic. I may not be on the up-and-up about military units, etc.. but you can always just "tell" when someone is lying.

On a side note, I'm proud to say that I am in the process of joining the Army. Had my physical this past Thursday and I'm waiting for a waiver for my knee surgery. Will be going 11X!! I can't wait.

I had 6 months of service in the Air Force before I got cought up in that force reduction crap. I'm hoping I can stay in the Army for as long as possible.

A big hats off to all others who have served. Nothing greater than serving yoru country.

[sterling180]

sa-xd-russ: Well good luck to you, in the US Army and I hope your new career, will be alot better and successful there, than in your previous one in the Airforce.:) :)

[Nashmack]

I was in the Army, not for long though. I was chaptered out in the early stages of OSUT. I will be reenlisting as soon as I get my finances taken care of and get a waiver for my chapter.

[Lebben-B]

Really? Did they slice 'em out to the regiments on a permanent basis?

Each BCT now has it's own Sig company in the Brigade Support Battalion. 35th Sig deactivates in a year or so.

Mike

[45Guy]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and just found this post. Wondering if you guys could answer this question. I was enlisted in the Marine Corps wnet through 2 of the 3 phases but was discharged because of health problems. I have a DD214 and all the other paperwork. I wear USMC T-shirts sometimes and have occaisionally been asked if I was in and I say Yes but explain the circumstances. Does this make me a poser or not?

[Biker]

IMO, and take it for what it's worth, if you were discharged honorably, stand proud.
edit: I was never a Marine, just an Army cannon-cocker. Don't want any misunderstandings.
Biker

[Fu-man Shoe]

You may be a marine at heart, but you didn't make it.

You tried though, and that's worth a lot. Stand tall.

[Archie]

Sweeping, Wiping and Assorted Tasks.


But I wasn't there long enough to get the Green cleaning rag.

[shell70634]

sa-xd-russ
when you get tired of 11 series , EOD makes a great career field and i think they still recruit from active ranks. look into it.

[joab]

I was in and I say Yes but explain the circumstances. Does this make me a poser or not?Not.
Trying to explain a chest full of medals collected in that time would make you a poser.

[RustyShackelford]

In the US Army you are considered a honorable discharged veteran if you served at least 180 days on active duty. The policy may be different for other military-service branches(USMC/USMCR/NG/US Navy-USNR/USAF/Air National Guard/US Coast Guard/etc). In my area last year a sworn police officer killed in the line of duty could not be placed in a state veterans plot because he did not meet the active duty service requirements(he was an honorable discharge from the USMC Reserves).

For details about military records, service requirements, etc see:

www.military.com www.firstgov.gov www.nara.gov www.army.mil www.va.gov

Rusty

:cool:

[RocketMan]

45Guy,

It doesn't make you a poser, but you aren't a Marine.
You did not make it through boot. Sorry.
But unlike many, at least you gave it a shot.

RocketMan
Fmr. Sgt. USMC/USMC(R)

[Lebben-B]

In the US Army you are considered a honorable discharged veteran if you served at least 180 days on active duty

That's not just the Army, it's a DoD regulation. And it's not an Honorable Discharge, it's classified as a General, Under Honorable Conditions Discharge. Recruits separated at the Basic/Boot stage are classified as Entry Level Sparations (That's the Army term, I don't know it's equivalent in the USMC.) ELS's are given when a Soldier/Marine "washes out" for whatever reason - Medical, failure to adapt, even homosexuality. The exception is a punitive discharge in conjunction with UCMJ action, in which case the characterization of service block on the DD214 will read "General, Under Other Than Honorable Conditions."

Mike

[ATAShooter]

Funny short story... My Dad was 26th Inf, 328 Reg WWII ETO campaign. He didn't take well to draft dodgers or "wannabees". We were in Atlantic City in 2003, and Dad always wore his MOPH hat that has a big Purple Heart on it. This guy comes over, fairly older fella, but not as old as Dad, and said "I was WWII also". Dad said "What Division?" The man replied " We weren't Divided, we were all one platoon". Dad said " Go to hell you damn Zoot Suiter". I thought for a minute there Dad was gonna pop him with his cane...

[V4Vendetta]

"Zoot Suiter"


What's that?:confused:

[BigRobT]

*Of course, this doesn't apply to fighter pilots ... who are typically identified by the fact that they always wear polo shirts and big wristwatches while on liberty (especially in the Med) ... and have been known to let women know, in the first few seconds of an encounter, of their exalted flyboy status ...

Hey now !!! Take it easy on us Airdales !!! :D

[ATAShooter]

V4Vendetta...Back in the '40's there were draft dodgers that used to go to dance clubs or sneak into USO dances to hookup with the ladies (especially lonely soldiers girls ). They wore these outrageous outfits that was a double breasted high waist suit with a panama type hat with a big feather in the hatband and black & white wing tip cordovans, not to forget the 2 foot long pocket watch chain. They were Zoot Suiters. GI's would have loved to beat the heck out of them. For a somewhat depiction of them, Watch a comedy movie with John Belushi & Dan Ankroyd called "1941", You'll see exactly what a Zoot Suiter looks like. During the 40's there was a hell of a clash betwen Navy boys and "Original" Zoot suiters who were Mexican. It was called the Zoot Suit Riots of L.A. It was ugly.What Dad was referring to was the ones who were "wannabee" zoot suiters who thought it was cool. Kinda like a wannabee homey, like " Malibu's most wanted" type of mentality. Below is a pic of the modern day zoot suit,...The ones in the '40's had a tad more flair.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/ATAShooter/zootsuit.jpg

[Biker]

Yup, wouldn't mind feeding some knuckle to guys such as you describe.
Biker

[p35]

Anyone remember Admiral Michael Boorda? About 10 years ago, while CNO, he shot himself rather than face an inquiry into whether he was wearing unauthorized decorations. From what I remember, and I'm not an expert on this stuff, it was at worst an honest mistake about whether serving on a destroyer off the coast of Vietnam made him a combat veteran.

Makes it all the worse when some loser wears medals for something he was never even near.

[bill2]

Here's another one - fresh out of the hot steaming oven:

He's claiming to be a former Ranger who served in Iraq, but people are claiming he's bogus.

http://www.indepundit.com/archive2/2006/05/winter_soldiers.html#

[Weimadog]

Seems like this Jesse Macbeth wants some drama in his life.

http://www.socialistalternative.org/news/article13.php?id=261


Jesse Macbeth, formerly a Special Forces Ranger in Iraq, is now active with Iraq Veterans Against the War in Tacoma, Washington. The Rangers are elite units sent door-to-door in Iraq to combat the insurgency. They were also sent into Fallujah to crush all opposition to the occupation of that city. Justice recently interviewed Jesse.

How did you end up in the military?
I grew up on the streets. I got into trouble for fighting. The same judge that I'd been dealing with my whole life told me that I wouldn't have to do adult time if I signed up for the military immediately. Sometimes I kinda wish I went to jail instead.


How did you become a Special Forces Ranger?
Basic training was easy for me. Growing up on the streets, I was used to running from cops. I was used to not eating for days. I got picked to go to Ranger School.


What did your division do?
I was in the Third Ranger Battalion. Our job was to strike fear in the hearts of the Iraqi people.


We would go into people's houses and plow down entire families. We would interrogate people. If we didn't like the answers that they gave, then we would kill the youngest child. If they gave more answers that we didn't like, then we'd move on to the rest of the family. They could've been innocent people.


We would leave the bodies in the streets and blame it on the Shi'ites or the Sunnis. [In Fallujah] we were ordered to go into mosques and slaughter people while they were praying. I won't go into full detail because I'm still haunted by the memories.

[bill2]

Seems like this Jesse Macbeth wants some drama in his life.
____________________________

Yeah, it looks like his regular life was such a downer he had to invent this whole other life. It turns out he wasn't even close to being a Ranger, even as this report says "a Special Forces Ranger". wow, he must really be special. there have now been numerous blogs ripping this guy a new one. Oh well, he gave the anti-war crowd a big thrill for a week or two.

[grizz5675]

I know a guy who is in Iraq right now and he doesn't know the maximum efficient range of his own personal weapon.When i was in the military i went in as a grunt -11b,but was attached to S1 operations with HHQ, at that time i was not working in my mos and today couldn't tell you what mos i was working in. There's a misconception that to be in special forces you have been in a re-con group, this is not true.There are people who have been considered special forces who have been paper pushers in such things as operations-supply-intellagence and many other areas.So this guy who didn't know what his mos was ,very well could have been prior special forces especially with a few beers under his belt.While i was in a infantry unit when i was in air assault a guy was just getting out with a vietnam tour behind him.The guy was so messed up on drugs ,he could barely communicate.Many of the guy's gave him **** calling him a dumbass.Well to make a long story short ,this dumbass was special forces with many confirmed kills.Never completly judge a book by it's cover is what i guess im trying to say.

[Hokkmike]

Just an ironic note that I am from Washington (Tacoma) and now live in PA. I hear the "full auto" stories all the time.

[CB1961]

I had a cousin that I think used to lie just to have something to say. Sounds like some of you may have met him. I lost track of him a few years back and I'm making no attempt to find him. I like to be ethusiastic about firearms, but I try to keep my knowledge up to speed with my talk. Getting a kick out of talking about rifles, handguns, etc. is ok, but making up stories about who you are or what you have done is not. I'm new to this forum so hopefully I can enjoy it without made up stories. So far I am enjoying everything I read.