Poser Busting

[SpongeBob*24]

The question is...is this posing or just lack of info? If he rotated his beret about 45 degrees counter-clockwise and dropped some service stripes....would he be good?

I only bring this up because usually POSERS have at least 13 more BRONZE STARS then this guy.....maybe he just needs a NCO to square him away!!!!

 

[Marauder06]

The question is...is this posing or just lack of info? If he rotated his beret about 45 degrees counter-clockwise and dropped some service stripes....would he be good?

I only bring this up because usually POSERS have at least 13 more BRONZE STARS then this guy.....maybe he just needs a NCO to square him away!!!!

Maybe. But there's a lot going on here.

He said he was commissioned in 1973 and did 20 years as an officer. So he would have retired in 1993. The Army didn't start issuing the black beret to the general purpose force until 2001 (I remember that goat rope...). So he's wearing headgear that he didn't have when he was in. Moreover, he's wearing it indoors, which literally anyone in the Army, officer or NCO, knows not to do except in very specific circumstances. He's got more service stripes than he's authorized, and is wearing them on his officer's uniform, which we don't do. We also don't wear marksmanship badges. It doesn't appear that he's wearing any tabs, but I can't tell. And I can't tell if he's sporting a combat patch or any combat stripes.

It's possible that he threw this thing together based on memory and just got a lot of stuff badly wrong. But it's embarrassing and I hope someone helps him fix it. :)

 

[SpongeBob*24]

Copy that sir!

 

[Cookie_]

It's possible that he threw this thing together based on memory and just got a lot of stuff badly wrong. But it's embarrassing and I hope someone helps him fix it. :)

It good very well be bad memory and lack of help/good help.

I remember having some old Nam vets come to Campbell for Week of the Eagle, and some of us volunteering to help them complete their Dress Uniforms or even rebuild completely (my grandfather being one).

Might explain some of the disparity in the image, but not all

 

[Marauder06]

It good very well be bad memory and lack of help/good help.

I remember having some old Nam vets come to Campbell for Week of the Eagle, and some of us volunteering to help them complete their Dress Uniforms or even rebuild completely (my grandfather being one).

Might explain some of the disparity in the image, but not all

I did a lot of funeral details early in my career and we'd always get to the funeral home early so we could view the deceased. for two reasons: 1) to find out how many people we'd need to carry him, and 2) to make sure his uniform was right. Most of the time, they weren't.

The main reason I'm not more accepting of this particular guy is that those service stripes didn't just jump out of his footlocker and onto his uniform. It's hard for me to see how that one was an accident.

 

[compforce]

As noted, officers don't wear service stripes (I don't know why, it's one of those O things). But service stripes are allocated 1 for every three years of service. I can't get a good count on his stripes because they all kind of run together in the pic, but it looks like they are in the teens, which would indicate over 30 years of service. He claims 27 years, so his story isn't matching his uniform.

I count 9 after blowing it up so it would be right if he wasn't an O. I give people like this the benefit of the doubt. I've seen guys at Group that were currently serving that screwed up things on their uniform along these lines. If you don't wear your dress uniform very often, it's easy to forget whether you were supposed to wear something that you earned or not. Add in that he's wearing dress greens, that means that it has been a LONG time since he last wore them. If it were an ASU, I'd be less forgiving. Greens means that he retired before ASU became the uniform. ASU's were issued in 2010, meaning that is what he would be wearing if he retired at any point from then on. The beret is troubling, but outside of SOF and Combat Arms, you see jacked up berets all the time... His awards look about right, he's not claiming any of the major awards, that's an MSM sitting on top that he likely received when he retired.

Personally, I'd give this one a pass. Not a poser, just a jacked up uniform.

 

[Marauder06]

I count 9 after blowing it up so it would be right if he wasn't an O. I give people like this the benefit of the doubt. I've seen guys at Group that were currently serving that screwed up things on their uniform along these lines. If you don't wear your dress uniform very often, it's easy to forget whether you were supposed to wear something that you earned or not. Add in that he's wearing dress greens, that means that it has been a LONG time since he last wore them. If it were an ASU, I'd be less forgiving. Greens means that he retired before ASU became the uniform. ASU's were issued in 2010, meaning that is what he would be wearing if he retired at any point from then on. The beret is troubling, but outside of SOF and Combat Arms, you see jacked up berets all the time... His awards look about right, he's not claiming any of the major awards, that's an MSM sitting on top that he likely received when he retired.

Personally, I'd give this one a pass. Not a poser, just a jacked up uniform.

I think that's a very rational and compassionate response.

One point of clarification though: The ASU was a modification to the "dress blues" that were already in service. IIRC all we really did was sew on sleeve stripes and get a few more gadgets to wear. If he was an officer for 20 years he probably had a set at one time. Probably not anymore, though, given what he's wearing in the photo.

 

[The Quartermaster]

I typed in MAJ (Ret) Lynn Kite and it goes to a Facebook page. Anyone that has Facebook might find more pics. I don't have Facebook so unable to see.

I have Facebook.

Would you like to have me ask him some questions on your behalf? Just post them in here, I will copy & paste, then IF I even get a reply, I will copy and paste back here.

 

[Marauder06]

I have Facebook.

Would you like to have me ask him some questions on your behalf? Just post them in here, I will copy & paste, then IF I even get a reply, I will copy and paste back here.

Nah, I think we show the guy some grace and just let it go. I thought about what others have said here and concur that it's probably bad memory and bad judgement and not an attempt at posing.

Note to self: with the way my memory is going, I probably need to take a picture of myself on my last day in the Army so I (or the funeral director) don't have to try to remember what right looks like down the road ;)

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

So I posted it because he worked with my gf's mother about 20 years ago at a marketing firm. Apparently use to kinda stalk her in the day and I got a friend request, saw his uniform and was like oh fuck no... Yeah I think he served, but is lying his ass off. Doubt he made it to Maj, doubt he retired and obviously his uniform is fooked. He ain't trying to be a ninja with tabs and awards. But still all the same.

 

[LimaPanther]

My concern would be where he wears the uniform. The picture posted appears to be a school gym. The little children with him are dressed in patriotic clothes so he may be at either a veterans day school program or a 4th of July program. The little boy's uniform seems to have a major's rank on it so maybe a grandson. If you are going to wear a uniform then wear it right. He had to know what he was doing when he took time to buy the services stripes and then sew them on. Maybe someone that could communicate with him just pass the word that they saw the stripes and wondered about them. Maybe he will get the word he is being watched.

 

[compforce]

Note to self: with the way my memory is going, I probably need to take a picture of myself on my last day in the Army so I (or the funeral director) don't have to try to remember what right looks like down the road ;)

My ASU is sitting in a garment bag fully assembled and ready to go for exactly that reason.

 

[The Quartermaster]

Retiring in 2011 got me to sneak out of having to have a set ASU's.

I'm perfectly content with the greens still ready to go. I'd be out of uniform though as the ARCOM is missing an additional oak leaf cluster. Oh well.

 

[DA SWO]

I thought retirees could wear a current uniform for appropriate occasions, so a new uniform shouldn't be a flag.
Fucked up beret is nothing, half the clowns on Ft Sam wear it wrong.
Ribbon rack really doesn't spell fake.

 

[Salt USMC]

Also kinda weird to pose as an MP

 

[RackMaster]

Also kinda weird to pose as an MP

Even us Sigs guy's get our posers. There's enough posers for all of us.

 

[Devildoc]

As noted, officers don't wear service stripes (I don't know why, it's one of those O things). But service stripes are allocated 1 for every three years of service. I can't get a good count on his stripes because they all kind of run together in the pic, but it looks like they are in the teens, which would indicate over 30 years of service. He claims 27 years, so his story isn't matching his uniform.

The difference between Navy officer and E uniforms are many and multiple, but subtle. I am convinced it's because if people go Mustang (I did) they have to shell out big $ for a whole new seabag.

I pick on the army for all of it's baubles, beads, badges, and patches, but I admire the history and enjoy reading this thread to learn more.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Be on the lookout for some poser ass bitches straight out of Boot Camp!

National Defense Service Medal won’t be awarded after December

 

[Intel Nerd]

Be on the lookout for some poser ass bitches straight out of Boot Camp!

National Defense Service Medal won’t be awarded after December

What a time to be alive. They'll keep the GWOT and GWOT-EM, but only for those very small limited missions.

It's been over 20 years since this wasn't issued. To think my dumb*** just went indefinite a few months ago, but the wars are over.

 

[Devildoc]

After GWOT kicked off the AD guys were getting the NDS medal out of boot/basic, but reservists weren't. A guy from my unit contacted our senator at the time, Elizabeth Dole. In fact, he drove to her office, which was 10 minutes from our unit. Her office contacted him the following week, said they reached out to DoD, and it wasn't long after when they said that every swinging dick would be eligible.

I harbor no illusions that he or Dole lit the fire, but I imagine their were a lot of people who reacted similarly and that got the conversation going.