I'm a member of the Army Reserve, spent a year in Baghdad (2004) in support of OIF. I've written a book on my experiences and I've got a website set up with pictures from my tour.
About a week ago I was contacted by a guy who claimed that he thought a moderator on an online forum was using my pictures from my website and claiming them as his from his tour in Iraq.
I visited the forum and sure enough, all 6 or 7 pictures he had in his BIO posting were pictures from my website. Fair enough, but then he had captions for each one of them with completely bogus stories! He even claimed the picture of me shooting a crow from a guard tower was him. WTF?
I registered as a member of the site to be able to view his public profile, and here is what it showed:
What platform do you use?:
PC
Biography:
Why don't you ask? Way to be anti-social..
Location:
Iowa
Interests:
Guns, Cigars & Women
Occupation:
Ex Military (10 Years of Service, Including Operation Iraqi Freedom) Now a member of a SWAT Element My guess is that as a SWAT member, he is undoubtedly a sniper and has at LEAST 40 kills to his name.
In a nutshell, this guy REALLY could have picked a much cooler and much more badass dude to impersonate. I mean, I was a friggin armorer while I was over there and I spent most of my time inside the post walls. Yes we got mortared frequently, but I was no "out on patrol" hero. Also, I'm really not that attractive. As far as veterans to impersonate, he struck out choosing me.
hatAny recommendations? I'm not sure what to do. Seems that what he is doing isn't illegal as far as I can tell, just showing himself to be a shitbag. Any suggestions?
Thanks a ton!
Shane A. Bernskoetter
Author of:
Surviving Twilight: A Soldier's Chronicle of Daily Life in Iraq
www.survivingtwilight.com