It was a snowy night in Prague. I bought a round of beers for my Ranger buddy and two Brits we had just met at the bar. One of the Brits decided to show me a small pin he had stuck inside his wallet.
“You know what that is?” he asked.
I knew what I was looking at. A SAS lapel pin.
“Special Air Service.”
“That’s right, mate.”
Curious, I bought the round of drinks and handed a beer to the Brit.
“I knew you would buy,” he told me. “Because you know who the better man is.”
This was getting weird, not to mention insulting. He was also getting slippery about specifics of his service.
“Where did you deploy?” I asked. My sniper partner and I had just gotten back from Afghanistan.
“Northern Ireland, mate. That’s all you need to know.”
Soon, he asked me to buy another round of drinks. Apparently, our SAS friend was a little strapped for cash.
“Buy your own fucking drink.”
Perhaps the most popular issue among veterans on social media and various military-themed websites is stolen valor. You know, those sad, pathetic pukes who throw on medals and pretend to be soldiers. That SAS poser in Prague is a good example. We all delight in exposing these frauds for what they are. We like to examine their photographs on Facebook and use our keen military insider knowledge of AR-670-1 to critique what is wrong with their uniforms. Then we like to continuously point out how stupid these people are.
But it doesn’t stop there. Not to be deterred in our search for the faux soldiers and with our insatiable desire to expose stolen-valor cases—we always need fresh meat for the grinder—we start turning on each other. Veterans are in such a hurry to “out” people they suspect of stolen valor, they take to social media and accuse real veterans of being fakers. We’ve seen this happen over and over again where veterans jump the gun, acting like keyboard commandos suffering from small-penis syndrome.
I actually respect many of the websites and individuals out there who expose stolen valor. Military frauds can do real damage to people. Using fraudulent credentials, they get hired for jobs they are not qualified for. Some of them lure in unsuspecting women with their fake war stories. Their stupidity in public can make actual veterans look like idiots. Some of these fakers even collect money for their fake military charities for personal enrichment. These are perfectly good reasons to call bullshit on the bullshitters.
What I find disturbing is that many veterans seem to have nothing better to do than troll the Internet looking for stolen valor. When they don’t find it, they find legitimate veterans that they have an issue with and start attacking them. As one friend told me, “We don’t have a war to fight anymore, so it is like we fight each other instead.” Take, for instance, the pissing contest between Michael Hawke and Joe Teti. Ultimately, this fight isn’t about stolen valor, it is about a perceived loss of business opportunities in the entertainment industry. Stolen valor is just the window dressing, but the public doesn’t know that.
Eating our own is something we do very well, especially in the Special Operations community.
At the end of the day, I give not a single fuck about stolen valor. As the editor-in-chief of SOFREP, I made a deliberate editorial decision that we would talk about the issue of stolen valor only occasionally, and only when warranted. Call me crazy, but I think that the conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq are a little more important.
What actual American soldiers are doing is much more important. I think writing about what our friends in Denmark’s Jaeger Corps, Poland’s GROM, and Australia’s Commandos are doing in the War on Terror is a bit more important than some goofy asshole who throws on some Special Forces patches on his jacket.
Do you know why I don’t care about stolen valor?
Because I have a life. You could work 24/7 trying to track down stolen-valor cases; that is how prolific these clowns are. The question you have to ask yourself is, is it worth your effort? Don’t you have professional and personal goals to meet in life? If I spend all my time writing about stolen valor, do you know what I’m not writing about? Real soldiers. I’ll be damned if I’m going to write about fake soldiers when I can write about real ones—some of them quite heroic.
The fake CIA-SEALs like Jamie Smith can say whatever they like, but it won’t take away a single thing that I, or any of my teammates, accomplished during our military service. Our actions speak a hell of a lot louder than the bullshit on the Internet.
Looking for the perfect Holiday gift or maybe just something to spoil yourself? Crate Club is the #1 men's subscription box containing some of the best tactical & survival gear in the nation. Every piece of gear is hand-picked and tested by a team of Special Operations veterans (talk about quality control!). Check it out and get yours at https://www.crateclub.us/
Join our community. To comment on this article please join/login. Here's a sample of the comments on this post.
You can thank B.G.(Jug) Burkett for having the cajones and wherewithall to go after those hiding in the halls of government and the corporate world! Read his book "Stolen Valor"...As he said to me many years ago during my post-Vietnam hunting days, and I paraphrase.. if you're correct, do what needs done and I'll back your play all the way... THAT is a man of conviction and I respect him eternally!
Love your article.
Great piece and great points, Jack - American has much better things to worry about!
Personally I could care less about the random Stolen Valor nutcase going around as an overweight Special Forces "Sergeant LT Major" sporting a five o'clock shadow and a fuzzy beret of the wrong color. Or the one holding up a sign at the side of the road claiming to be a Homeless Vietnam Vet but looked like he was born two days after Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. I do care about the ones that falsify their records and service in order to bilk NGOs and Private Charities of resources that should have gone to genuine Veteran recipients. Or the ones that made a career for themselves in the upper echelons of government setting national policies based on falsified credentials. What's funny is that many of these individuals that do get caught could have easily gotten away with it with less ostentatious uniform and a lesser rank. What's wrong with just being a SPC or CPL? You are still going to get that five percent discount at the local frozen yogurt stand.
Thanks, I have been waiting a long time for some one to mention this. Here is how I see the whole thing. Their are people who dress up like Civil War soldiers, Nobody says "STOLEN HISTORY!", People pose as Bikers and trailer their Harleys behind $150,000 buses headed for Sturgis every year. I saw a guy at Sams club wearing a Bret Favre jersey. I work with an youth organization that collects a few enthusiastic folks for some reason fount themselves with out any military service and to old to join or were not eligible ,or never thought to until 911. These are people who are Fans of the Greatest Game on earth. Battle! They know more about a lot of Navy shit than I do. And I was in for 10 years. If they happen to get a few ribbons out of place, who cares. What it says to me is that they wish that they could have been with me but because the failed the entry test, they play the games , re-enact and collect posters at the fair. They are the clingy folks who just want to hang. The Greatest form of flattery is Imitation! Come on are they really fooling any one. I once ran into a guy in Big Fork, MT at the Garden Bar who heard I was a Bubble Head, He did know a lot about Subs. More than I was willing to confirm. His friend piped up and volunteered some information. Apparently he had found himself in that awkward spot of having to stick with what ever he had been telling friends and continue talking Subs or come clean. So I said "Oh, what Boat were you on?" his answer was " Oh, it was so long ago, I forget." To which I said " Submariners ,Once! " he smiled and raised his head. And I moved down the bar towards my Brother. Who incidentally served on the USS Bremerton SSN 698 with me, Had over heard and answered "Submariners Twice!".