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That's about true for any the special operations forces and certainly true of combat Veteran's in general.
Wannabe's are lying, but they know enough to understand that if they give very much information, they can be caught. That's why they won't tell you their unit, where they were, when they were there or any details about operations.
The biggest red flag is when you're talking to someone who claims to be a combat Veteran and they say something like, "I can't tell you that. It's classified, you know?"
A REAL SpecOps soldier won't even tell you that much!
Out here in trucking, I'd guess more than half of the "C.B. Rambos" I hear claim they were Navy SEALS, Special Forces or one of the other elite military specialties. I once ran into a trucker that claimed he flew F-4s & F-15s. When I asked him a question about the aircraft that even a good maintainer would know, he quickly changed his tune...
Out here in trucking, I'd guess more than half of the "C.B. Rambos" I hear claim they were Navy SEALS, Special Forces or one of the other elite military specialties. I once ran into a trucker that claimed he flew F-4s & F-15s. When I asked him a question about the aircraft that even a good maintainer would know, he quickly changed his tune...
Back when I was driving, I once came up behind some guy running his head about having been in the Infantry in Vietnam. He was telling some Gawd-awful war stories!
Since I actually WAS in Vietnam with the Army Infantry, I asked him a few questions which he could not answer. He didn't even know what a CIB was!
Finally, he said something like, "I don't have to prove myself to you."
I said, "You do if you want to keep your front teeth because I'm right behind you."
A friend and I were double dating once - blind date for me. Her date said he was a Navy Seal. Having just broken off with a REAL Navy Sealman myself at the time, I made a joke about his height (about 6'2) and how rough it must be to get razzed about being a giant all the time. He said, nah - most of the guys in his unit were taller than him.
Most, if not all SpecOps (Seals, Rangers etc...), won't even mention they were in the military. I know of 2, and both tell no one. (Yeah I know..but few others do.)
Reminds me of the guys back in the 80's who were in their 20's and claiming they were Vietnam Vets.
I catch people lying about their service from time to time. Most often it's about the job they held, conditions in which they were deployed, or training they received. Often times it's the wash-outs who flunk from the Special Forces schools who claim they were Seals or Rangers. They know just enough about the lingo, training, and what they do to pass themselves off to the uninformed masses. Lot's of guys out there who claim to be Snipers and EOD too.
I was a memeber Navy SEAL from 1980-1986, based out of Little Creek, VA., and then later Rosey Roads in the PR. I continually run into wannabes, especially in bars. I used to trip them up with questions, shaming them into realizing that I knew they were full of crapola--even though I never came out and called them liars. Nowadays I don't even try to call 'em on it, I just let it slide. Life's too short to worry about sadsacks trying to prop themselves up. I just try to take it as a compliment that they're so envious of what I did that they are compelled to lie about it.
BTW--there used to be a website--it was called "SEAL Check" or something--where you could enter in the name and age of a dude and it would tell you if he wasever graduated from our 29-week SEAL/BUDS school in Coronado. I'm not sure if that site is still around, and I hear the training locales have changed as well.
The way I look at it is anyone who lies about being in spec ops, in combat, let alone the military in general is doing nothing more than dishonoring those who indeed sacrificed in order to serve, and more than anything, those that made the ultimate sacrifice.
These impostors are nothing more than scum who just feel the need for attention, as far as I'm concerned
A true warrior doesn't need to brag about their accomplishments.
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