I took the bait, too, at first. But, like you, I did some checking and figured it out. In fact your post (subsequently retracted) was what piqued my curiosity about who this guy was and why your information didn’t match the byline info.
The truth is that you smoked out the truth before anyone else and now, days later, we still see pictures and stories about the NY State Guard guy. BTW, it does appear that the NY State Guard guy was at one time a member of the NY National Guard. He’s either now retired or resigned from the National Guard.
Well good! At least my thread served that purpose.
I almost wonder if the thread shouldn't have stood -- to inform the uninformed -- but I was worried I might expose FR to a lawsuit....