How can I tell if my brother-in-law was a legitimate Special Forces member, Airborne, or a lot of hot air?

SFC (Join to see) - Will you be going back to the Batts?

CPT (Join to see) nope. I'm in a very low density MOS and there's no spot for me. I had a chance before, but my choice was go back, or take my lifelong dream of going to Japan.
I took Japan

SFC (Join to see) - Everything considered, I believe you made the right choice. Have you ever considered becoming a warrant or commissioned officer?

CPT (Join to see) I love my MOS, but it's also the only career field with no officers, whatsoever. Now, I'm almost 40 and 16 years in the Army so there would be very few options for me.

True as we already know he is full of scrap. Thanx

SGT Koliha: You make a good point. I would be subtle about this and perhaps have a private talk with him if you discover he is a fraud. You don't want to ruin a family relationship or get your sister mad at you over it. I think it is important to correct people who are misrepresenting the uniform, medals, badges, etc. in an inappropriate way but I agree it should be done in a respectful and tactful manner. If it was my brother-in-law, I would probably let it alone (he has a heart condition). When I caught someone trying to join my unit wearing the Silver Star and CIB, I checked his record and found out they were not reflected in his file. I did not accuse him of being a fraud but I did recommend he correct his military records because his 201 File did not reflect those awards. I don't go around checking service members' uniforms but sometimes egregious affronts to our traditions and history are obvious and irritating. For example, last Memorial Day a SSG showed up at the service wearing ribbons for medals he obviously did not earn (e.g., Distinguished Service Medal, etc.). It was brought to my attention by a senior NCO and I left it up to him to quietly confront the Soldier but I did go with him and suggested the Soldier verify his awards because he bought a couple ribbons that did not appear to have been earned. I mentioned in an earlier post that you cannot always count on DD 214s to be 100% accurate as well. I think it is wrong when a service member, veteran, or civilian wears decorations, badges, or rank he or she did not earn. I also believe that a man could have been SF or a SPECOPS-type and be overweight or "not look the part." That does not mean he wasn't at one time a hard-charger, although most SF guys I know are lean, mean, fighting machines even in old age. One of the toughest men I know is a former UDT (later SEAL) who is in his late 80's. Thank you for the post. One option would be to allow your brother-in-law to spin all of the tall tails he can imagine and not worry about it. I have heard some Marines in my Marine Corps League Detachment talk of military exploits I know for a fact they did not do but I don't challenge them because I think it is more an issue of these good Marines getting older and I don't think they realize sometimes what they are saying due to medical, mental, or the "passion of the moment" factors. It is up to each service member or veteran to decide if he or she will intervene in such instances and you are right, sometimes it is inappropriate to intervene but I would argue sometimes it is the right thing to do. God Bless You, Sergeant. I always thought being a Marine "Sergeant" was one of my greatest accomplishments. Semper Fi, COL L

COL Jon Lopey - Sir, I don't think that I would even go that far. If the brother-in-law is full of sh*t, PO1 Malott"s sister already knows it. What good will come of any confrontation? Nothing.

You are right - You can go on-line and request a record for just about anyone in this modern age and a lot of records can be verified in various data systems. COL L

COL Jon Lopey Sir, it’s not even that. It’s called a REDD Report. DMDC access with CAC Card only.

Thank you for the heads-up on that. I have been retired for a few years and did not renew my CAC. Thanks for the helpful information. It is appreciated! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I probably should get my account activated again and get with the program...! Thanks for serving this great nation! Semper Fi, COL L

Using a SSN to access and release information contained in a records system for this purpose would likely violate privacy act, as well as DOD and serve policies. He can ask to see his friedn's DD214, or contact a SG group and give them his name if he is that concerned.