Posers

[chris]

I have a Military ID card that says "Retired." And I ain't showing it.

are you affraid to show your age?

[epilepticninja]

are you affraid to show your age?

Naw. I'm 43. I retired when I was 42. I went in at the ripe old age of 18. Kinda of scary when I see it in print.

[themailman]

Lol at coins. "Coin me" and I'll laugh at you.

[chris]

Naw. I'm 43. I retired when I was 42. I went in at the ripe old age of 18. Kinda of scary when I see it in print.

i'm 40 and been in for 23 yrs. and can't retire due my civilian job tied to the Reserves. i want to retire and keep my job but it's not happening just yet.

[Outta Control]

Hahahah!!

chuck norris invented "the total gym"
Frank Dux invented "The Total Package"

anyways....I cant believe people actually have the nerve to pretend they are in the military. That out of control.

Chuck Norris reads Maxim magazine,
Maxim magzine reads Frank Dux

[Mr.Caketown]

I'd have to say no. It's possible he could have been commissioned under your scenario. Which would make him 21-22 at commissioning? He's not going to make CPT (O3) in 2-3 years.

The ARMY offers the IPAP medical program which is two years long at FSH. If you successfully complete the program you get a Masters Degree on the civilian side of things and supposedly now as of 2010 you get a Captain rank . I think it used to be 1LT before

[SGT Loco]

The ARMY offers the IPAP medical program which is two years long at FSH. If you successfully complete the program you get a Masters Degree on the civilian side of things and supposedly now as of 2010 you get a Captain rank . I think it used to be 1LT before

So the dude is a Marine, an Army Captain, and a doctor? By 24? No wonder she went for him, guy's going places

[VytamenC Tactical]

Have inexplicably been on the otherside of this, with some complete moron questioning not only my service but 10 or so of my closest friends who I served with, I get very touchy about this subject.

I had a guy do this to me in a bar while a group of me and my military buddies were celebrating a bachelor party. Somebody told this idiot, we were military. He felt our hair was too long for that to be true and decided to call us all liars. If I had been sober I would have let it go. I wasn't.

999999 times out of 1000000 the guy is who he says he is. Here he is serving (or having had served) his country with honor and some jerk comes up to him and calls him a liar. You didn't do that, but guys on Calguns brag about doing so all the time. And it pisses me off. Because the odds that they were wrong are just way too high.

I can think of nothing more disgraceful than to question the honor of a service member, especially one who sacraficed their mental or physical well being in service of this country. So posts like these really piss me off. I have yet to see one that had clear evidence the guy was not who he says he was. Usually the things people use as evidence in these posts are things like position of insignia (which change 10 different times during my enlistment) or weight of the individual (I've seen soldiers with ranger tabs pushing 300lbs on active duty while on deployment) and even a guy wearing sneakers with his uniform (happens constantly for medical reasons - a temporary waiver is given while their feet heal) none of it qualifying as proof and all had perfectly logical explinations.

In your case alsholism combined with a large does of nostalgia could explain why an ex-marine would pull his uniform out of the bottom of the closet and disgrace himself. Clearly he has issues. That doesn't mean he is not a Marine. No such thing as an ex-Marine.

So if you are wrong, and you confront some guy you think is a poser...you just disgraced yourself and this country beyond words. Way beyond anything a poser could do. Especially if the reason the guy is so "off" is that he has PTSD or something worse as a result of his service.

Younger guys who did not grow up surround by Vietnam vets like we older guys did don't realize just how messed up guys can get. What you describe in your post is how a huge number of guys turned out after Vietnam. Today more help is made available, but a lot of guys are coming back really messed up. No matter how messed up they are, as a fellow service member who clearly had it better than they did it is our duty to treat them with with respect. For all you know that bum you're disgusted with is a hero.

+1
let me start by saying i have no military experience at all.

tc i can tell you i have a friend who was a marine (special forces) in iraq desert storm. when he came back he couldnt deal with dc he started drinking and doing all kinds of drugs. he would put on his uniform and walk around the block at all hours of the night. the experience messed him up in the head. it society take away from being a marine or him serving his country.

guys if you know somebody is a poser you dont have to call him out swallow your pride and laugh inside. you never know just who your calling out.

[Outta Control]

...tc i can tell you i have a friend who was a marine (special forces) in iraq desert storm. when he came back he couldnt deal with dc he started drinking and doing all kinds of drugs. he would put on his uniform and walk around the block at all hours of the night. the experience messed him up in the head. it society take away from being a marine or him serving his country.

guys if you know somebody is a poser you dont have to call him out swallow your pride and laugh inside. you never know just who your calling out.

It is interesting your friend is going through what you described. Typically anyone going through SF course are observed for any psychological issues during trailing to see if they can handle the stress related to that position.

[MRX9989]

I don't think anyone answered my question. How is it that overweight soldiers are deployed?

Height/weight and APFT failures are currently waiverable for a deployment.

[Outta Control]

Chuck Norris reads Maxim magazine,
Maxim magzine reads Frank Dux

Charlie Sheen = Winning
Frank Dux = Won

[EOD3]

Height/weight and APFT failures are currently waiverable for a deployment.

Back in the days of "reality", being pretty in uniform was NOT a requirement. Pass your PT test and your SQT test and you were fine. Then they started the "pretty" soldier BS and started the body-fat measurements (known as pinch an inch) and drove out huge numbers of qualified soldiers.

Remember the old saying? "The BS stops when the hammer drops"

[jdberger]

I will say that i feel like a lot of bums use the term "Vet" to get more money. Every once in a while (usually if i have had a few drinks) I like to talk to these guys. I would say about 25% are lying. I usually just ask them simple questions...What unit were you with? Where were you stationed? and so on. Not to call them out just to shoot the sh*t. A lot of them have no idea what im talking about. I dont care what any one says if you cant remember the units you served in then you never served.

Not necessarily.

I was a Reservist/NG and can't remember either of the units I was in. Of course, if I really needed to remember, I could always pull my paperwork. It's in there - but it's not important enough to memorize.

My MOS even changed a couple times - 19__. Again, not important enough to remember.

I do - for some reason - remember my OSUT class number from Ft. Knox, though. Maybe it's because I had to scream it everyday....

On another note - IIRC the Stolen Valor Act was deemed unconstitional.

[tacticalcity]

It is interesting your friend is going through what you described. Typically anyone going through SF course are observed for any psychological issues during trailing to see if they can handle the stress related to that position.

I grew up with two brothers, both of which became Navy Seals. Both have issues with drinking and depression. At one point they both worked for Blackwater (now called Xe) and Triple Canopy. One is currently back in the real world, and holding down a civilian job...but constantly battling alcoholism and still struggles with fitting in with civilian life. The other still works as a private contractor. He tried civilian life and couldn't stand it. He functions better when under stress, and enjoys that enviorment. Neither could ever be confused as a poser. I bring them up to point out that a lot of these guys come home with more than their fair share of bagage. No test or oberservation technique can determine who will handle the stress of that life style and have zero adjustment problems or who will struggle with it.

As a side note, one of the brothers was involved in a rather famous incident along the Pakistan border. He and his teammates were arrested and violently beaten by Pakistani police simply for being US Private Contractors. Never mind that the US state department hired them to be there and their government consented to it as well. They could have resisted and fought, but then they would be dead. They were out numbered and out armed. The State Department eventually secured their release. But I cannot imagine that a few months in a Pakistani prison does much for your mental state.

I respect and admire both men greatly, so I am not mentioning their names. I simply wanted to point out that a lot of guys who serve in harms way come back with issues you can't always see.

As for appearances, I personally deployed with Army Rangers, Army Special Forces, Navy Seals, and Marines. They come in all shapes and sizes. From the little tiny nerdy twig you used to bully in gym class to the really big fat guy who looks like he is one twinky away from a heart attack. Most of them fall somewhere in the middle, but they do have the occassional exception. So before you get in somebody's face because you think he wasn't really a Ranger or a Seal, make sure your dental plan is paid up. Fat, skinny, or whatever...he is gonna kick your rear.

I will say, that after my little incident many years back that almost landed myself and my buddies in jail I decided to keep my now expired military ID in my wallet. Just to shut some jerk up if starts to mouth off. As for challenge coins, I always thought they were lame. I had a couple issued to me. They make a nice little collectors item, but that is about it. Nobody ever actually pulled them out and slapped them on the bar. That was way too Hollywood for us. That in itself seems a little poserish to me. Not posing to be military, but posing to be a badass. If any pulled that on me and my buddies we would definately make him buy the round just for being so GI Jane.

[Outta Control]

@TC I have no doubts that there would issues from the example both of you have placed but I should have clarified it a little more. I would believe that the ration of Spec Ops folks that results with mental issues would be a very small percentage.

BTW: I still have my active duty ID. They forgot to ask for it when I left Langley.