07AUG09 I hate fakes

Working at my gun counter, I run across a lot of these clowns. I'd venture to guess that about 1 in 4 Vietnam 'combat' Veterans I run into on a daily basis are actually Vietnam Era Veterans who never stepped foot into Vietnam beyond reading books or passing through on aircraft that landed and refueled.

Nobody 'disappears'. If a man goes Special Forces, SEAL, PJ/CCT, Ranger, TACP, or anything else, the fact he attended school is a matter of public record and can be discovered. Whatever he did however, remains classified to the appropriate level. All you need to do is file a Freedom Of Information Access request to verify actual service. Checkout the site setup by B.G. Burkett, author of "Stolen Valor" (www.stolenvalor.com) for further guidance in this regard.

There are many non-tabbed service members who support the Special Operations units and can claim to have served as a member in support of such operations; however some go on to claim to have been actual operators themselves. This is dis-honorable and such individuals deserved the lowest contempt. I'd gladly spit in their face and slap them silly.

I really don't care if you are clerk at a finance office on some Air Force base, or an Infantryman with three tours in Iraq. You are a veteran who should proud of what you do and have no need to lie. You did what 99% of the population couldn't do, and thats raise your right hand and swear to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic! Even if its done sitting behind a computer at an Air Force base or the TOC on a FOB in Iraq.

I've had my fill of action my first tour, and I've had my fill of admin "FOBbit" life my second tour. I'd be happy to help anyone who wants to verify my service if questioned. Why? Fakes piss me off to much and thats why.

What do you look for to find a real vet? Its hard to say, I've been in and when I spot a fake its normally just easy and second nature for me anymore. Get to know a real vet, and you'll start finding fakes I guess. Most of the time fakes tell wonderful yarns about being so high speed they 'didn't officially exist' or were 'sole survivors' (of which there are so few that the real ones are in the history books!) of a team that got wiped out. Some fake vets are vets, but never went beyond being a clerk and have insecurities about being a clerk and go so far as to falsify their DD-214 paperwork to reflect a service background that matches their fantasies. If you don't think this happens, take a look at the book "Stolen Valor". Life is full of frauds in every walk of life, and the Veteran community has their fair share (most are usually involved with the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace btw...).

All the real operators I worked with in the military were really quite humble (except for the SEALs I've met...). They tend to be quiet about it, and you'd never know if they didn't have the tabs and badges on their BDU's, ACU's, DCU's, or dress uniforms. When they are civvies, you might be able to dig a little out them once in a blue moon, but never any real major stories until they get to know you real well; and even then they tend to be reserved... Sometimes there are some big heads that brag and are real Operators, but they tend to have A LOT more Operator humility than the Blow-Hard Fakes.

I hate fakes. I hate them when they come to my gun counter, my eyes glaze over and I just have to either walk away or ignore the story while the fill out paper work (few do, along with fake 'operator' status comes the usual paranoia about being 'watched' by THEM if they fill out the NICS background check paperwork required to purchase a new firearm). I especially don't like fakes when I run across them here on DA.