Question about Stolen Valor (2024)

Wright there's a huge difference between wearing a set of BDU's and wearing BDU'a with rank, unit patch, and trying to pull off being either in the service or having served.

We had a guy at the place I work at come in one day wearing headgear with an insignia on it. My supervisor asked him what the pin was. He stated it was air assault combat. I thought it kind of odd, but didn't say anything at first. A couple days later one of the guys was talking about having been to Australia on his way home from Viet Nam in the late 60's. Well this kid goes in on how he was a ranger, was air assault, had jumped into Iraq, and was the first person to wear some sort of dragon skin armor.

I asked him where he did basic at. Now this is in 2014, and the kid is 19. He stated Fort Dix. Didn't say a word to him about that obvious lie. He had a tattoo so I asked him what the tattoo was. He said it was his units insignia. Tattoo was a combo of the Swedish flag, The Air Force medical unit out of Buffalo and the Buffalo Sabres insignia's/logos.

Then we started asking about his service in Iraq. Some of the crap he spewed was hilarious. I know people who had been in for 20 years that hadn't done as much as he had in the 19 years of his life. Asked him how long he had been in. 4 years was his answer.

Well we started calling him a liar and a bunch of other things. He went to management about us harassing him about his service. Well we all got called in to the office. So we started asking him the same questions as before, and amazingly he gave the same answers.

The one owner was thanking him for his service when I interrupted him and started stating the obvious. He was 19 had done all of this in 4 years. Told the owner to do the math.

Went to the tattoo. Showed him the the Swedish flag, the part of the Air Force units insignia, and the Buff sabres logo.

Then I hit him with the good ole, Fort Dix has been closed to basic training since before the kid was born.

Didn't even get to go into the ranger schooling, dragon skin armor, and how the pin he was wearing on his hat was actually a pin you got with a special edition of one of the Call of Duty games. The owner, who was also a Viet Nam vet told him to leave the building and never come back. Also told him that if he ever heard of, or saw him trying to pull off having been in the military he'd personally kick his butt. It wasn't so nicely put. It was pretty colorful.

Thanks you guys. I wrote that then went to look at sets and found myself adjitated. Feeling much better now lol.
Lots of Badges, Hearts, and Flags in my family, none by me.
The last sentences in Warriors post is the message they conveyed to me.

Dad got hit three different times but only one Purple Heart. Guess what? He did not care. He was glad to get back. Others luckier, some not.

Nope . The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 still stands.

I guess I'm guilty...

I've worn a boatload of old fatigues (without badges, patches, nametags) to hunt in... Cheap, plentiful, and the surplus store is close by...

I also keep a field jacket behind the seat of my truck for backup. It has saved me a few times... It fits under FR coveralls whereas my Carhartt won't.

Mike

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2013

JMO, I have no problem with folks wearing old surplus stuff. Heck, I did it running the woods as a kid. Those pockets hold alot of 410 shells or a couple squirrels.

I'd like to see patches pulled before its surpluses but so what. Just don't try to claim it as your's if you ain't earned it. Lying is lying civilian or vet. Civilian claiming to be a vet is insulting to those of us who are. Vet lying to claim undue honor is unacceptable as they know better. The first I can laugh off, the second I can't.

And in the case of tampon Tim cutting and running is beyond the pale.

Same here, I doubt there was a guy in my class that didn’t have a military jacket of some type or other most still had rank and unit patches ect on them, started to see less and less of it through middle and high school

I never served but have the utmost respect for those that have so maybe I am biased but I have nothing against someone wearing military gear if they want but if their trying to pass as military then theirs a problem

Figured it would be common sense to take off any patches and the like for casual wear...

Will ay though there sure seme to be a lot of folks who are hunting for there chance to call stolen valor, most never served.

I wear my old ACU bottoms as work pants a lot . I swear they mop the floor with the OCPs when it comes to durability,anyhow I've had more then a few people come up to me and ask if I earned those or whatever. Usually when I told them my MOS unit ect they would be lost as all get out

People in the military usually never really care it seems, guess it because we can spot each other out pretty well.that and people trying to act like they where in the military are always about the same type of person vs some kid wearing their dad's stuff because they think its cool

ROTC kids and kids fresh Outta basic do get in my nerves though lol

Fake Navy Seals are easy to spot if you know what questions to ask. :-)

Was asked to be part of local parade color guard in Dress Blues, Had to refuse as have lost so much weight since retiring even the best tailor could not of taken enough material in so looked even half way presentable, will take a totally new uniform fitting.

Had a couple wanna bees try to convince folks they were "former AD" and were bragging about their service here or there until they were confronted by actual participants. They were lucky they weren't stripped of their "uniforms" before they were sent down the road.

Better to have pants too tight than a mill stone too heavy !

It's not so much of wearing a uniform as it is the wearing of unearned / unauthorized ribbons / medals. MOST military personnel, depending the time of service will, or would recognize such "awards" and their order of precedence. Here's an example of what a Navy Master Chief from the Naval Academy and myself observed during a Sea Cadet "inspection" from a visiting "LT. Commander" who also claimed he was a Marine and Army Ranger!. . . . "we advised" him of the problem shortly after the "inspection". His "Command HQ" was notified of the issue. I don't have any further info of what the outcome was.

Gotta funny story or two about that.

Was up at that camp in Granda MS....for got the name of it , lil bitty one in the middle of nowhere surrounded by cotton fields and timber . Had gotten switched over from the FSC I was with to this quartermaster unit... Really I was one of the few people other then some of the older NCO's that had any experience with combat arms types. one of the special forces groups ( 20th I think )does alot of training there , just go in and disappear for a week..or four lol. Would see those supped up 4x4 's of there scooting around a decent bit . Well we're in the little PX and a group of obvious snake eaters walks in. Dirty quiet rigged up , well one on these cherry Privates goes up and starts grilling one of them on there uniforms just yapping about how he didn't know who they thought they where but there gun belts weren't in regs , how they need to blouse there boots I mean and these guys just looking that him like a pack of coyotes to a happy lil dog. I walked up grabbed him by the shirt collar and and told him to shut the absolute (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) up ! Kid wanted to try and get uppity and one of the dudes just gave him a look and said " you better thank him because I was about to take your soul kid" just gave him a look that took all the buck outta him.
Drug him outside and explained that that guy was SF and he really needed to shut up until he learned more about the army past his lil office bubble.

Also works with a nice lil old Cajun dude at Lowe's . Really sweet soft spoken always smiling. One day he walked in wearing a camo vest. Only vets wear camo vests. Well I walked up and told him I don't know how was in the service. And he happily said " o yeah bae I was in that Vietnam a while back you know" . Now I'm expecting he was just a cook or something again really sweet old guys not super big real nice guy, so I just kinda asked what her did.
" O not much you know , did a whole lotta walking yep , up thea in ole LAos CAMbodIA and the like.....lotta walking and listening what we did" just super nonchalantly while putting up stock
And I'm just here like because only a handful of type sof people went up there o I asked did he was MCVSOG
"O no no no bae naw we worked with them boys some but nah I was just a LRRP nothin to special, yeah they liked us boys from down my way cuz we where good in that typa stuff already" again not boasting just matter of fact that he was in one of the most bad (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) units of American warfare.
And I had many a conversation with him , the stuff he'd tell you about jungle warfare and navigation is that lil ole 70yr man shook my hand one time and I swear just shaking his hand I could tell he could kill me in a few different ways still