I met a guy this weekend and mentioned something about guns.  He said he won't have any in his house.  He had enough of guns in the military.  Then he says he was a SEAL for 8 years.  He's telling all of these "I've been here and I've been there, I've done this and I've done that" type stories.

Being USAF and having very limited contact with the SF community I didn't want to call the guy on it, but I got the impression he was just bragging waaaaaay to much about it.  

Any thoughts from you guys who have been there?

Having been around SF types from several branches I've never heard one bragging about being SF/SEAL/PJ etc. To a "T" most of them we quiet unassuming guys that's you'd never expect to be an operator unless you were told. My money is on "He's an assclown" FWIW.

See the link:

[url]http://sec-global.com/services/ctp/vsg/news/950700.html[/url]

i second the assclown.
Real SF guys i know are quiet but they have a spooky aura about them.  this is going to be hard for me to describe but it's not the 1000 yd stare, but a quiet intensity kind of like the difference between a bunch of cotton shirts fresh from the dryer that smell like fabric softener vs one that was ironed set too hot.  almost a scorched cotton smell.  but it's not a smell but a part of their soul.  weird but i have a great deal of respect for them.  they are different folks and i have never met any other people i can say i will bet my life that they will come thru for me.  these friends will.  it's an honor to be in their presence.    

We had a fake SEAL when I was with 3/6 at Camp Lejeune.

One day he was walking around as a Corporal, with the SEAL badge on his uniform, and the next day I saw him walking around as a PFC, without the badge.

Seems that while we were deployed to the Med, we has several SEALs (real ones) TAD to our little operation. One of the real ones spotted the fake, and went back to his buddies.

I would think that a Marine wearing a SEAL badge was extremely rare. So did the SEALs.

So, a few messages later, the fraud was uncovered. Several months later, after a very quiet investigation, the Marine, and evidently the clerk at MEPS were charged with conduct unbecoming.

A past discussion on this subject, and a great one, titled [i]"Fake Rambos"[/i]:

[url]www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=77&t=141726[/url]


Chris

I figured somebody who had a resume like that wouldn't advertise it.  That sort of thing ticks me off thoroughly.  I'm no hero, and although participating in a supporting role in a few operations I am not even tempted to embellish my record.  

I heard somebody say that one of the benefits of being honest is you can afford to have a bad memory (You don't have to try to remember who you told what to).  

I agree Ive never met a Force recon or SEAL that would brag to those who wernt working with them, I met a few guys on the boat and at SERE and all of them by the way they acted were very profesional and soft spoken, even after a few beers at port.

Brohawk has it right.  Although I was with 1st SOCOM in Psychological Operations, we were not the extreme guys. getting to actually play around with them every once in a while was great though and none of them would go around bragging about being SF/Delta or anything else.

Actually the scorched cotton is a good analogy! When I went through cold Weather survival training (HS NJROTC) one of the instructors was a 1st class who'd been in hte Teams for 9 years. I never once heard him get loud, even when laughing and joking, he never bragged. Hell it was almost hard to get the guy to talk sometimes. He'd answer a question if asked, he was quiet, he was professional, and above all you KNEW he was in charge without ever him speaking. Same with most of the Army types I knew. SFC T was a wild assed soldier till he got married, when I met him he was a SSG in super shape, always quiet (even when chewing someone a new one) well the first tiem I saw him in BDU's I understood....he was a Ranger, Jumpmaster, Rappelmaster, had been in the RGT, did time in LRSD, all kinds of shit. He walkedthe walk. Awseome guy really, we went fishing and shot the shit about cars & whatnot till he went back to Korea.

One guy I worked with was a SEAL who effed up and got his quals pulled. He was nothing short of a 5'6" ball of muscle and I used to call him "killer" until I was told by a guy in his unit that he WAS a SEAL. I'd have never known. Lots of guys like that around. I have yet tto meet one that ever bragged. OTOH I've know all kinds of fat assed lazy support guys who never cease to talk about their time In proup. [rolleyes]

If I run into him again I think I'll try to get dates, unit numbers, etc from him and then use the handy website provided by EOD Guy.  If I score I'll nail his carcass to this board for the world to see.

There are a lot of fake Rangers and Force Recon wannabes out there also. The fake Rangers are easy to flush out with an archaic bit of trivia. Who is Big John? Anyone who had gone through Ranger training between 1958 and 2000 will know exactly who he is, or more exactly, what he is. Force Recon wannabes never know what "dual cool" means either. I am not familiar enough with the SEAL teams to be able to readily identify the wannabes, but I imagine that from just talking to them they will make it obvious. And god forbid if a delta operator would publicly reveal themselves. I have never met any delta guys, but I did run into a "Defense Mapping Agency" team in Peru in 1996. For some reason they did not look like cartographers and surveyors to me.

Anyway, posers and wannabes should be arrested for claiming titles and accolades that they did not earn, plain and simple. I take pleasure every time one of them is exposed.

I sent you an IM about it.

A few things to ask specifically for SEALs:

BUD/S Class # (has never been a SEAL who did not attend BUD/S or UDTR, even the super secret squirrel guys went to BUD/S)

Officer in Charge of BUD/S class
Date of Grad, and their current age. (this helps big time since guys who are in their 20's or 30's could not have attended the lower BUD/S classes)

There are many other ways as well, but if you can track down a name from someone claiming to be a SEAL (spelling counts), their class number they claim to have graduated with, date of Grad, and what this guy is saying about his time in the Teams, the Phony Check guys will look into it, and expose them to everyone if the guy is in fact a phony.

They generally only check on guys claiming themselves to be SEALs, not 2nd or 3rd hand info.  FWIW.

Once you get his info, have these guys verify it:

[url]http://www.cyberseals.org/[/url]

What about someone claiming to be an ex-ranger. Guy I work with, and are good friends with,claims he was a Ranger in Vietnam. But a couple of points keep sticking in my head...

1. He says he graduated from H.S. in 1973, which after going through Basic, Airborne, RIP,etc., he wouldn't not have went to Vietnam. Didn't we quit sending troops around '73?

2. Makes all these claims about killing people and seeing alot of combat, but comes across as a dumbass when it comes to weapons and tatics. Seems to me being a Ranger, he would be up to speed on these subjects.

3.Claims he was with the 3rd Batt. I know there are three Batts. of Rangers now, but what about in 1973?

It has came to a head and the next time he spouts off about "Ranger this and Ranger That", I am going to call him out, friends or not.

Oh, yeah, I have no idea who "Big John" is so I can't ask him that one. He could feed me a line of B.S. and I wouldn't know it.

I believe, but I could be wrong, that the Rangers left in late '71 or early '72.

The Rangers in RVN weren't in battalions like today.  Rangers were in companies, and each company was a part/supported a infantry division.  I think it was the very late 1970's before 1st and 2nd Batt were stood up.  3rd Batt came sometime time after Grenada.

I'm not a Ranger, nor claim to be, but am fascinated by the history.  As a result, some of my information may be incorrect.

-Zmeja

I've met a few of the real deal. Very quiet.

You mean you weren't?  ;)

I have a SEAL friend, who I have known only minimally for the past 2 years. My description of him is that physically, he looks like the guy from the bowflex commercial and the look in his eye is that of a "predator". I have seen this same look in the eyes of a lion and it makes me smile to know that he is one of ours.

There's some shitknuckle here at my office claiming to be a Marine 8541 from Vietnam-era....The CEO believes him, but I don't.  My dog knows more about shooting.

I thought it was a screen door gunner on a Sub.

Nah subs have deck guns and the screen door has kevlar/ballistice screen so it's bullet proof.