Posted on 05/11/2011 11:55:13 AM PDT by ThinkingBuddha
Navy SEAL wannabes lie to get free beers, to get women into bed, to further their civilian careers or to get military benefits. And the number of phonies will probably only grow with the SEALs in the spotlight for the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.
In fact, there might be more fakes than the real thing so despite being outnumbered, retired SEALs and others are doing what they can to stop impostors from stealing the valor that rightly belongs to others who have trained for some of the world's toughest military missions.
"There were about 500 SEALs that operated in Vietnam, and I've met all 20,000 of them," joked Steve Waterman, a retired Navy diver from South Thomaston, who said he has exposed more than 100 phony SEALs over the years.
The latest crop of fakes includes a Pennsylvania minister who let his congregation believe he was a SEAL and repeated the lie to a newspaper.
It's easy enough to spot a phony, the SEAL sleuths say. For starters, bona fide SEALs trained to operate on sea, air and land don't boast about their top-secret exploits. And the fakes' stories often unravel upon questioning. Sometimes, they're plots pulled from movies. Other times, they're too fanciful to be true.
"The more outrageous a story is, in a lot of cases, the more it's believed. These guys do a terrible amount of damage," said Don Shipley, a retired SEAL from Chesapeake, Va., who devotes much of his time to exposing the phonies.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I am a NAVY SEAL...
It says so with my skill level playing SOCOM: NAVY SEALS on the PS3.
Here is what I have read about Jessie Ventura.
The “Official” Word on Jesse Ventura
A source at the Naval Special Warfare Command states:
Our take is that Jesse Ventura is a SEAL. He even did his reserve time in SEAL Team ONE. He earned and wears the trident....Captain Larry Bailey is probably the best guy to talk to about this, but OFFICIALLY, we think its splitting hairs by Salisbury and the Navy considers Jesse Ventura as a former SEAL.. Hope that helps.
Captain Larry Bailey states:
JESSE VENTURA SEAL OR NOT?
Jesse Ventura went through UDT/SEAL Class 58 in 1970 and was assigned to UDT-12, where he spent three years (including three deployments fo Subic Bay, Philippines). As a UDT frogman, he operated in Viet Nam waters and earned the US Viet Nam Service Ribbon. He undoubtedly, like so may UDT men of that era, went ashore in Viet Nam for short periods of time. After he was released from active duty in 1973, he joined Reserve SEAL Team ONE. The point here is that all graduates of BUD/S are referred to within the Naval Special Warfare community as SEALs. They received the same training, whether they went to SEAL Teams or Underwater Demolition Teams. The case made by Commander Salisbury on Fox News Channel recently is without merit; Jesse Ventura is a SEAL by any definition.
Larry Bailey, Captain, USN (Ret.)
R.D. and Pam Russell, Co-Directors of Navel Special Warfare Archives state:
The official view point of the Archives is that Jesse was a SEAL. He completed BUD/S and the SEAL course in the desert. The west coast used UDT as a man power pool so they could pull people at any time without there being a training delay.
There you have it, three “official” statements, draw your own conclusions...
Piece o’ cake to out one: What’s your BUD/S class number?
I work with one guy that claims “5 combat jumps” and a “bronze star” in the Army. Another claims to have been in A’stan in 1999-2000 as an enlisted intelligence officer. Another claims 82nd in Panama doing jumps from helos.
We haven’t the heart to tell them they work with several SEALs, several 82nd officers, and a whole host of military pilots and space cadets.
Why would anyone lie about going to Nam? I mean seriously, while I ahve no problems with my service, I would have been perfectly happy to stay home. I don’t like bugs, I don’t like snakes and I sure don’t like being shot at.
Wow! I was stationed on the Atlantis. What ship were you on?
A few over the years. The scumbags are always out there.
Yes, that is when a real Marine asked to prove his service....he disappeared. Shortly before that another freeper had questioned his “often repeated” comments about his Vietnam service and he suddenly decided he wasn’t going to give personal information. He is a fake who posted here for years claiming to have been both Navy and Marine Corps, but his name indicated Seals.
Mr. U, thanks for pinging RA - I couldn’t come up with his name - he knows very well the story of this faker! lol
I was aquainted with the late Mitchell Paige (USMC, Guadalcanal Medal of Honor); he told me that he spent much of his following career in the Marine Corps - and even after retiring - chasing phony MOH claimants.
I have never met a fake SEAL; I find the need to lie like that very strange.
I am familiar with one, though I have not seen him in almost 20 years. He was a few years younger than me at college, and one heck of a tough rugby player.
Sad commentary on life when, to make one appear brave, they revert to lying about their own life.
Thanks for the ping. It was kind of fun to bait him along and then drop the hammer on him. He was truly a first class poser.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1680231/posts
He came to a quick end once y’all called him.
Yes, it was sad but he deserved it - actually he deserved for a few REAL Marines or Seals to tell him up close and personal what a douche they think he is.
Sorry about that. I was typing fast.
What a bunch of d-bags. I have certainly never been a SEAL. Now, my great-grandfather, he was a SEAL in WWI. He killed more Australians than you can imagine.....
Especially since I was a member of a super-secret WALRUS team...
One of the most desired *I was there* patches among Special Forces folks in Vietnam was the US Forest Service Junior Ranger patch handed out to SF folks who helped the USFS test some experimental equipment [including mosquito repellent formulations] under harsher than routine conditions.
The current patches don't get it- they just depict a Ranger's hat. The old ones had Smoky the Bear.
o
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