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Home Front: WoT
Army Veteran Explains Why He Called Out Phony Soldier in Shopping Mall
2014-12-07
In a crowded Pennsylvania shopping mall on Black Friday, an Army veteran spots a suspicious-looking man in uniform.

"Where'd you get your three CIBs at?" asks Ryan Berk, a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan in 2010-11, referring to Combat Infantryman Badges and recording the encounter at Oxford Valley Mall on his phone.

The video, which has gone viral, shows Berk, 26, outraged by what he calls a "phony soldier" and "stolen valor." This morning, he appeared on Fox and Friends to expand on the incident and explain why he believes the imposter deserves to be prosecuted.
Posted by:Shinenter Thrasing1575

#9  Heh - http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/take-one-for-the-team/

"Do you have a video or image of a faker that you were planning on exposing to Guardian of Valor or This Ain’t Hell? Don’t. Just post the image with appropriate information to the Al Jazeera Facebook Page with some judicious comments.

When the terrorists strike, if they ever do, who are they going to hit? We definitely don’t want to have to worry about getting ambushed back at home. I know some would enjoy the opportunity to get stuck back in with deadly intent but a firefight with the kids along could be a drag.

This solution may also absolve some of the boys who like to play dress up by giving them a real chance to actually earn the oxygen they breathe instead of just wasting it by being fat posing retards with delusions of adequacy."
Posted by: newc   2014-12-07 23:20  

#8  Don't be, #4 Shinenter - you earned it.
Posted by: Barbara   2014-12-07 23:09  

#7  I thank veterans for the simple reason they have stood guard for my/nations' protection. Accept the thanks - they come from the heart
Posted by: Frank G   2014-12-07 21:02  

#6  non-hacker in the military sense of the phrase, not the internet/computer version.
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-12-07 20:31  

#5  I wish I could put those stolen valor guys inside a memory for just a single minute of screaming hell that is the reality of how you earn a bronze star or other award. Be no need to threaten them with anything after that.

Thing is, any non-hacker with enough knowledge of the awards to put them on properly had to do enough research to pick up at least a minimal understanding of their meaning, and would therefore end up not impersonating a soldier.

And yeah, Shin, I'm with you on the Thank You For Your Service. I always tell them I appreciate it but to be sure to thank the current ones. They are paying the price now for things we left unfinished (thanks to the politicians). Same as it ever was.

Full Disclosure: I was well paid enough after service as a government civilian then as a contractor to help remedy things left unfinished in some places - and they still haven't been remedied completely, thanks to State Dept idiots and the politicians with them
Posted by: OldSpook   2014-12-07 20:30  

#4  Stolen Valor is a serious ego-stroke form of bull$hitting.

OTOH, I'm a little uncomfortable with strangers thanking me for my (now long past) service.
Posted by: Shinenter Thrasing1575    2014-12-07 19:35  

#3  Let's see him walk blackface in Ferguson. Umbrage will be taken there too. File under - things you do not do.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2014-12-07 09:53  

#2  ...This is being followed in detail (and legend-level snark) at http://thisainthell.us/blog/ . One comment on the CIB thing - Numbnuts didn't do a lot of research on it. The way the award periods are set up, he'd have to be in his 80s to have three. Apparently there are a handful of triple CIB winners, but Round Boy ain't one of 'em.

BONUS: Turns out the guy was also involved in a thoroughly creepy incident a while back - he was impersonating a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=56879

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2014-12-07 09:07  

#1  Hat tip to SGT Ryan Berk.
Posted by: Besoeker   2014-12-07 01:50  

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