Fake Navy Seal Accuses Team Members of Torture

TAMPA, Florida - A former California National Guard soldier who accused others in his unit of torturing Iraqi prisoners may have military justice problems of his own.

Frank "Greg" Ford claims to have witnessed members of his National Guard battalion torturing Iraqi prisoners while his unit was stationed in Samarra in 2003, according to David DeBatto, a former National Guard Tactical HUMINT Team (THT) member and author of a story titled "Whitewashing Torture" published on a far left web site in early December.

DeBatto says that Ford reported the alleged abuse to his commanding officer and, hours later, was strapped to a gurney and flown out of Iraq for psychiatric evaluation. According to Army sources contacted by VeriSEAL, an informal investigation pursuant to Rules for Courts-Martial was conducted in response to Ford's allegations and the allegations were determined to be unfounded. Ford was medevaced from Iraq only after exhibiting what was described as delusional behavior.

Ford's claims of torture and abuse witnessed while in Iraq are not the only contentious issues surrounding him. Over the years he has made numerous unsubstantiated claims including being a medical doctor, a Navy SEAL, and a member of President Nixon's security detail. In May 2003, Ford claimed to know the exact whereabouts of Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid known as "Chemical Ali". Hussein and al-Majid were not located and captured until many months later.

Just prior to his battalion's deployment to Iraq, Ford was photographed at Fort Lewis in Washington state wearing unauthorized insignia on his Battle Dress Uniform. The insignia -- a Navy SEAL Trident -- is authorized to be worn only by qualified U.S. Navy SEALs, something Ford is not and never was.

While in Iraq, Ford also claims to have saved the life of a wounded soldier. According to sources familiar with the incident, sworn affidavits from medics and other witnesses at the scene say Ford did nothing more than hold the wounded soldier's IV bag.

As for wearing a Navy SEAL "budweiser" on his Army uniform, Ford has said he attended a discontinued BUD/S program for Navy corpsmen in the 1980s and was a "medic" assigned to a Navy SEAL team. While there once was such a program for SEAL corpsmen who, at the time, were precluded by the Geneva Conventions from attending BUD/S, Navy records held by VeriSEAL do not list Ford among the graduates of that program.

"The subdued Trident on his BDUs is easily recognizable by any Naval Special Warfare personnel as the SEAL breast insignia," says Kent Dillingham, a retired Navy SEAL who is the founder and project director of VeriSEAL. "He wasn't a SEAL. He wasn't authorized to wear it. Period."

Dillingham, a 30-year veteran of the active duty military, recently retired after returning from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with a Naval Special Warfare unit.

David DeBatto acknowledges that while in Iraq he personally did not witness any incidents similar to those reported by Ford. He maintains "every army psychiatrist diagnosed Sergeant Ford as completely normal with absolutely no psychological or mental health issues whatsoever."

DeBatto is currently writing a work of fiction based on Army counter-intelligence which is said due to be published in 2005.

Ford is reportedly close to retirement as a prison guard at California's Folsom State Prison. He claims to have retired with 30 years service in the Navy, Coast Guard and Army. VeriSEAL researchers are puzzled as to how he could have spent 30 years in the armed forces along with a presumed 20-year career as a prison guard. It is not known if the Army is investigating Ford's UCMJ violations or false military qualification claims. Wearing unauthorized insignia is a violation of both military and federal law and is punishable by up to six months in jail.

I recall a story that AP published before the election. The Liberal reporter had several sources that "substantiated" some wild charge AP wanted to stick. One man claimed to be a Navy SEAL.AP reported his name, it was something like "Muhammad Al-Jaheir Mubak." He claimed he was a SEAL in Vietnam. It would have been comical if it was not so ridiculous.

It appears the news cycle is now this:

Hatch a false story in the newsrooms intended to damage a Republican.
Print or broadcast the story.
Hope nobody in the general populace, especially internet bloggers, discovers your lie.
Lie is discovered by internet bloggers.
Deny lie.
Deny lie.
Admit lie.
Make up new story out of whole cloth and proceed to first step.

Below is the link to the thread where our own Travis McGee outed the phoney Islamodumbo Seal you mentioned.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1214014/posts

AP Uses Fake SEAL to Back Kerry, Slam Bush
AP, Multiple ^ | September 12, 2004 | Travis McGee

Posted on 09/12/2004 12:33:28 PM PDT by Travis McGee

AP Uses Fake SEAL to Back Kerry, Slam Bush
Authentic or not, Bush memos no big deal to retired guardsmen

U.S. Servicemen React to Bush Guard Memos (spreading the lie)

Allegations of suspect conduct during the Vietnam war also have been leveled at John Kerry, who won three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in Vietnam.

A group sponsoring television ads challenging his wartime record contends Kerry's own gunfire caused the wound that brought his first Purple Heart. Navy records and other veterans do not support the charge.

Ahmad Majied of Albany (GA) says the latest allegations about Bush's military record are more troubling to him than allegations about service honors leveled at Democratic challenger Kerry.

Majied, a Democrat from Albany who served 30 years in the Navy, including five years as a SEAL in Vietnam, said the memos support his belief that Bush was a "playboy" during his service years.

"He had enough money to get what he wanted," Majied said. "I think his main concern was not to go to Southeast Asia. I bet he never dreamed it would come back to haunt him."

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So Criminal Number 18F checked him out. Here's the reply from "authentiseal."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Official Reply

NOT A SEAL

Thanks for checking with us - we greatly appreciate your interest in upholding the honor of the US Navy SEAL Teams, and your search for the TRUTH. If the name you provided was "spelled accurately", we do NOT have a listing for anyone named "Majied" in our entire database of slightly more than 10,000 names. Unless he has undertaken the unlikely action of a full legal name change since his claimed service with the SEAL Teams, I can state conclusively that the man NEVER completed SEAL training, and thus he is not now, nor was he ever a Navy SEAL. While there are other training steps that must be completed on the path to becoming a SEAL, BUD/S training is the first and most vital, and that training course is totally unclassified. Without having first completed BUD/S training, a man cannot go on to become a SEAL. There are definitely secret SEAL missions, but despite anything the man might have said, there are NO secret SEALs. If you choose to confront the man regarding his fraudulent SEAL claims, please show him this email message and invite him to contact me - a real SEAL - directly by email with information that will support his claims. I'd enjoy hearing his stories first hand, but I've extended this offer to literally thousands of individuals over the last three years, and in all that time I've received only a scant handful of replies, so I don't really expect to hear from him either.

Again, please visit our web page www.authentiseal.org/realitycheck.htm for some very specific information related to the realities of SEAL training, SEAL duties, and the claims most often made by SEAL imposters.

Thank you again for your assistance in upholding the honor of the US Navy SEAL Teams.

Respectfully, Gregory Platt

UDT/SEAL 1970-1974

SEAL Authentication Team - Investigator

"The only service where all investigators are US Navy SEALs"

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