<p>The two wounded SEALs mentioned by Stars and Stripes were treated by CC member NavyDoc’s medical team, and will be fine. Just heard it straight from him. Way to go, Classmate! </p>
<p>As a side note, now you see why people really care about what someone wears in their “chest candy”, and why posers are so reviled. How would you feel about someone you saw wearing a Silver Star they HADN’T earned, after this brave man paid for his with his life while covering his Teammates?</p>
<p>Isn’t it illegal to wear military medals you haven’t been awarded? Are there a lot of instances where soldiers or sailers pin on bogus medals they weren’t awarded? I wasn’t aware that was a problem in the services.
Wow. That would be a big deal if a soldier was caught wearing bogus medals. Zaph, what happens if a sailor gets caught wearing a purple heart, silver star etc and their superiors find out about it?</p>
<p>The sacrifices of our service members are certainly degraded by anyone that would don a uniform and display medals they hadn’t been earned in the service of their country.</p>
Basically, yes. The extent of the legality is something I’m not certain of, but I do know that it is ILLEGAL (as in “Act of Congress”) to wear a Medal of Honor you have not earned. In fact, I THINK it is ILLEGAL to possess a real one unless it was earned or passed down from someone who earned one. </p>
<p>
Sadly, yes, but normally only among the newest members who think it’s cool. In the case of the little pins at USNA, they denote such silly things as Color Company, service selection, Varsity N, etc. Nothing serious, but the principle stands.</p>
<p>There was the case I mentioned above of the Mid caught with the Navy Cross (he was on restriction forever), and there are other occaisional cases.</p>
<p>For example a favorite of mine is the young recruit who went home to Nowhere USA after boot camp or some such thing, and claimed to be the youngest-ever Special Forces Sniper. NONE of it was true, and when the picture and story in the hometown paper got back to the Army, they were NOT amused. He ended up getting NJP at the hands of his senior NCO’s, as well as having to serve his extra duty among the members of the team whose insignia and fame he had co-opted. Probably would have been better to just be court-martialed and shot. If I find the link I’ll post it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it’s COMMON, but it does happen. Most of the time, however, it’s civilians claiming to be former SEALs or Special Forces. </p>
<p>
You’re not whistling Dixie. </p>
<p>
Well, I’m no JAG, but I suspect a lot will depend upon the command he is in and the medal(s) being falsely worn. I would suspect that if caught wearing, say, a Good Conduct Ribbon, the guy would get NJP (restriction, reduced a paygrade, etc.) but that’s it. Caught wearing something serious like a combat medal or something, and it will all depend upon the CO of the command in question.</p>
<p>Frankly, I LOATHE posers with a blazing passion. Be proud of what you earned, but don’t wear anything you haven’t. If you want it, EARN it, then wear it with PRIDE.</p>
<p>Note the SF flash and rocker, but no jump wings. Also, they don’t let PFC’s in SF. We’ll also ignore the fact that SF doesn’t use Browning A-Bolts in stainless (damned fine rifle, though). :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I also found this little tidbit:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>High price to pay for playing bada$$ to impress the folks at home.</p>
<p>Be advised: The folks over there use some colorful language. :)</p>
<p>In short, he got NJP (maxed out) under Article 15, UCMJ, and was required to write a formal apology to 10th SFG.</p>
<p>Punishment under a field grade Art 15 maxes out at 45 days restriction (usually to barracks, work, mess hall, and place of worship), 45 days extra duty (usually 1700-2400 on duty days, 0800-2400 on non-duty days), reduction to the grade E-1, and forfiture of 1/2 month’s pay for 2 months (for an E-3 with under 2 years service, that = $703), and a verbal or written reprimand.</p>
<p>IIRC, he was required to serve his extra duty WITH the 10th SFG. Who ever said CO’s don’t have a sense of humor? :D</p>
<p>Note: Above text borrowed from linked site.</p>
<p>Undoubtably the most tragic case involving questionable medals is that of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Boorda who in 1986 shot himself an hour before an interview with a Newsweek reporter about his Vietnam combat medals. The issue in question was whether he was entitled to wear the “V” for valor device on his Navy Commendation and Navy Achievement Medals. While there is still debate about whether he qualified for the “V”, he had stopped wearing the valor devices about a year before his death. </p>
<p>I’ll remember Adm. Boorda not because he dropped out of high school and lied about his age to join the Navy at 17, or because he was the first person in the Navy to rise from seaman recruit to CNO, I’ll always remember him fondly because when I wrote him a letter about the challenges of retaining outstanding naval personnel during the drawdown period following the end of the Cold War he sent me a handwritten response.</p>
<p>ADM Boorda was the man. He quite literally took one for the team. The man was a god in the eyes of almost all of us in uniform at the time, and we were both shocked and saddened at his tragic death.</p>
<p>Personally, I refuse to believe he actually wore something he knew he didn’t earn. Mistakes can happen, and he did earn them during Vietnam, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he didn’t want to expose the Navy to the media. I’ll leave further comments on that matter for another thread.</p>
<p>RIP, Admiral. You were one of the few really good ones. :(</p>
</p>![http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper164/20041206_FPG_MIKE_CHABOT.JPG[/url]](http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper164/20041206_FPG_MIKE_CHABOT.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
