Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
technically, as long as it doesn't still have the U.S. (army, navy, air force, marines or coast guard) service branch patch on it, that is on the left side of the chest (over the heart), then you are fine.
Surplus stores still sell old cammies with names and patches on them. I quit wearing mine until I get to hunting grounds as too often people approach wanting to thank me. Now I can afford purpose made camo and gave away all my old surplus stuff.
-------or promising that you will (pick one:end the fed/repeal obamacare/provide "hope and change"/negotiate peace in the Middle East). These are all falsehoods that people tell for their own benefit, to the detriment of others, and none of them are criminal offenses.NoCapo
I regard the perpetrator of such false promises as being a criminal. Millions could be the victims.
Last edited by Steve McDonald; 11-27-2016 at 08:05 PM..
Doing UNREPS off the Atlantic coast may not have someone shooting at you (t'was the Cold War), may even be "routine", but two (or three) multi thousand ton ships tied together by steel cables under high tension while moving at 20-30 knots happens to be dangerous.
Or working with a helicopter on a small ship. There is a reason why the extra money is called hazardous duty pay. Of course, the curious thing about that was that one only got the pay if the copter landed like 6 times in a month (as I recall, it was over 25 years ago); working with it hovering didn't count for the cash but it still was dangerous. It was nice to know the facts of the matter that if said copter crashed, I could be buried under it (small ship, no control booth, out there on the deck) and odds were decent that the Captain could order up turns, a hard rudder, and slide bird, me & whoever else off the deck, into the sea, if the ship was threatened.
That's the way it was.
As to the subject, I don't think it matters to those who accuse since in their mind, they are right, regardless.
When one is accused, it depends on the situation if it is a brush off or if it hurts or if it is frustrating or for that matter, ironic in that one's camouflage is so perfect in that they are not to be believed.
But that's the A and B of it. A: People who have not been in the military probably can't believe all the things that might go inside the military, good, bad, or otherwise.
B: Even if one was willing to prove it to them, I doubt they would understand anything but an ID card or a DD214. Ie, if someone ever challenged me at my bank for parking in a veteran spot, I might show them my USAA proof of insurance. But once again, unless one has been in, they may not understand what it means.
USAA insurance does not mean you're a Vet. You can be related in some way to a Vet and have the insurance (my friend is a USAA agent of 20 years)...
USAA insurance does not mean you're a Vet. You can be related in some way to a Vet and have the insurance (my friend is a USAA agent of 20 years)...
True enough, such as the spouse of a deceased or maybe the child of someone (though when I turned 26ish, they sure made me redo my paperwork to reflect that I was in the Navy and not the daughter of my father)...................
....................but the eligibility requirements sure reduce the odds that one isn't, nevertheless.
this thread reminds me of one the time I was at this bar in the the town where I went to college. I had on some shirt that had the word "marine" on it somewhere. But it was marine as in like aquatics/boating. And this woman walks up to me starting **** about my shirt. It clearly had nothing to do with THEE marines. I just walked away from her. Never wore that shirt again, because her stupid townee ass. She wasn't even in the military, she was one of those "my brother...my father was in the...." people.
Actually wearing a uniform when someone hasn't served is rather...foolish. Unit patches and such on surplus clothing should be removed. I have a couple pieces of gear I wear that are issue, like my night desert parka that I wear when it's raining. For it's utilitarian qualities. I was never in uniformed service, but I was issued or given most of the stuff I have by the servicemen I worked alongside for 18 years.
I didn't carry a weapon but we chewed the same dirt. The guys and gals in uniform helped we contractor types out a lot that way. We were the ones making sure they had heating, cooling, hot and cold running water and made sure it stayed working 24/7. The company didn't always give us the best foul weather gear and the soldiers and Marines scored us some very cool swag. The Marines and the SpecOps crews were extremely generous but regardless of who we were supporting we made sure they were taken care of.
One SEAL team gave us a whole pile of massive cool gear they were ditching because they received all new stuff before they deployed. And we put it to good use. Still have and use most of it. Wearing an article of military clothing doesn't automatically make someone a poser. I have one of my Dads collar rank pins on my cowboy hat. My hat is a testimonial. Bout who I am and where I come from. It's there in memory of someone who was more than dear to me.
Now, someone who is a poser, lies about service, wears uniform articles and claims to have worn such things in combat, etc, yea that's more than annoying. But taking everyone whos wearing a field jacket , or maybe a hat to task as such ain't right either. Personally, I don't pose. But neither do I feel obligated to explain any military kit I might utilize. And neither is it my place to call out someone who is a poser. They aren't hard to spot, but somebody else can out them if they want. They ain't worth my time.
Not exactly a "stolen valor" situation, but an interesting incident of false claims of military service:
In the book "Homicide: A Year On the Killing Streets", an incident was mentioned where homicide detectives responded to a call at a bar. The barmaid told the detectives that two guys were drinking and talking amiably at the bar when they got into an argument over who was in the "tougher" outfit in Viet Nam. The argument escalated to the point that they both drew knives and stabbed each other - fatally. Upon looking at their identification, it was discovered that when the war in Viet Nam ended, one of the guys was 13 and the other was 11.
There was an old timer, enlisted US Navy, that put his uniform on and marched in every local parade. He wore a US Navy Seals Badge. I knew he had been in the navy before the Seals were formed (1962). I thought about challenging him but he was always first to march and show patriotism so I let it go.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Marines and the SpecOps crews were extremely generous but regardless of who we were supporting we made sure they were taken care of. 
