Is there any resources for someone can go to confirm information about someone's service?

2014-10-09T08:02:24-04:00

Is there some place where a person can go to vet claims of service especially in a spec ops MOS. If so please point me in the right direction.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 9 at 2014 8:13 AM

2014-10-09T08:13:30-04:00

Sir, I know of official records checks, but they're for official use only. How about connecting with special ops folks here on RallyPoint who may have knowledge of the individual?

Response by 1SG Steven Stankovich made Oct 9 at 2014 12:18 PM

2014-10-09T12:18:52-04:00

Sir, the folks at Guardian of Valor seem to be the "lead" if you will on the internet when it comes to looking into possible false claims of service. I follow some of their stories that they post and they seem to do their homework. Check out the link below and see what you think.

http://guardianofvalor.com/

Guardian Of Valor

Outing those who Steal Valor from those that earned it.

Response by 1LT Anthony Piccone made Oct 9 at 2014 12:23 PM

2014-10-09T12:23:56-04:00

...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 9 at 2014 1:10 PM

2014-10-09T13:10:02-04:00

It's a long process but you can request a copy of their DD214 via FOIA, especially if you are an employer and have a reasonable suspicion.

Here is some info, I'm not affiliated with any sites in any way, just something I've come across:

If you know of someone that has a questionable "Special Forces" or "Green Beret" background or might be a phony feel free to contact us:

[login to see]

or you if you have someone claiming to be a Seal:

Fake Navy SEAL Verification - Fake Navy SEAL Check Navy SEAL BUDS Training Program

http://www.extremesealexperience.com

(you have to pay for the info with this site, he used to do it for free but the demand to expose fakers has increased. Don Shipley is the real deal when exposing fake Seals)

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 9 at 2014 1:25 PM

2014-10-09T13:25:53-04:00

If it were me depending on the situation I'd ask for DoD ID, or DD214. SOC is a small community though and if they know anything about it they wouldn't talk about much. But if they do, see if what they think they know is correct, and if not, i'd say they're lying sir.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 28 at 2014 9:15 PM

2014-10-28T21:15:01-04:00

The always hilarious "This Ain't Hell" has a good section on the FOIA/records request process...they do a lot of this in conjunction with Senior Chief Shipley, as SSG Private RallyPoint Member already mentioned.

http://thisainthell.us/blog/?page_id=39605

Military Records

I get questions all of the time about getting military records. If you're trying to find the records of a deceased family member or your own records, you can us

Response by Cpl Glynis Sakowicz made Nov 20 at 2014 11:27 PM

2014-11-20T23:27:42-05:00

One down.... so many more to go....
You have to wonder why people who so desperately want to BE Military, didn't join up like we all did, instead of being shown up for the idiots they are when they try to BLEND in with us...
Stolen Valor: Woman claimed to be Marine for years
By Parrish Alleman
Published: November 19, 2014, 3:42 pm Updated: November 20, 2014, 9:57 pm
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Semper Fidelis.

It means always faithful. That dedication and loyalty to country is honored at military funerals.

It was at a military funeral ceremony that WIAT 42 found someone claiming to be one of those faithful — one of the few and the proud.

She was convincing a lot of people at the event, some veterans, the Patriot Guard that she rode there with, even me.

I interviewed Julee Johns a few days before Memorial Day at the Alabama National Cemetery, a sacred place. She told me she was a 16-year veteran, a retired master sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and a war veteran on two separate fields of battle.

“I was in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom,” Julee Johns said during the interview in June.

After the story aired, it was shared online at wiat.com. Then it started gaining attention in Facebook groups for female Marines, and something about Johns’ story didn’t sit right with them.

“There were over 1300 posts attached to that thing. Us women were angry!” retired Marine Reserves Master Sergeant Katheryn Brennan said.

I received dozens of emails from Marines. All of them claimed that Johns was an imposter.

The WIAT 42 News Investigative team flew to South Carolina to speak to three of them in person.

“How dare you, how dare you try to steal the honor that my sisters have earned?” Katheryn Brennan said.

“We put a lot of effort into becoming Marines. I would just say shame on you for just having the guts to say that you’re a Marine,” Marine veteran Helen Breen added.

They told me to be a Marine means they proved a lot people wrong.

“I had people tell me I couldn’t do it,” Breen said.

“I surprised them all,” Marine veteran Beth Rainbolt said.

It means they’re part of an exclusive group: female Marines.

“I went in the 80s, and even so there was still a lot of the hold back that women don’t belong here. Don’t claim my title I earned it,” Brennan said.

So we dug deeper into Julee Johns’ past. Was she lying?

Throughout my entire five month investigation, I spoke with Johns on the phone five times and went to her house three times. She never wanted to be recorded, but she did talk to me. No matter what the accusation, Johns had an explanation for everything.

The female Marines called the medals and ribbons Johns wore during our interview a red flag.

“To a civilian they just look like eye candy, but to somebody who’s been in the military, especially somebody who’s been in a while, it’s a story,” Brennan said. “She had three Bronze Stars sitting on there, a drill instructor ribbon indicating she’d been on the drill field 11 times; how do you accomplish that in 16 years?”

Johns told me the medals weren’t hers. She said they belonged to friends of hers and she wore them as a tribute.

“No Marine would do that,” Brennan said.

The female Marines told me to ask Johns for her discharge papers.

“We all have one. If you don’t have it in your possession, you can contact headquarters,” Breen said.

I kept digging and kept checking everything Johns had ever told me.

She told me she was medically discharged and received benefits from Veterans Affairs.

The VA Medical Center in Birmingham told me they were “unable to locate any information on Ms. Johns.”

Which means Johns never received VA benefits in Alabama.

Johns also told me she was a drill instructor on Parris Island. I contacted the deputy director of public affairs on Parris Island. She checked their records and said: “If Julee Johns were a drill instructor we would definitely have a record of he, and we don’t.”

Finally, I contacted the U.S. Marines Manpower division. They pulled Johns’ official file from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.

Their records show Julee Johns reported to recruit training on January 6, 1997, and was released on January 21, 1997.

She was in boot camp for 16 days. Normally boot camp is 13 weeks long.

Her story never quite added up, but here’s what did.

I investigated for more than 160 days, made dozens of phone calls and emails, and traveled nearly 500 miles.

Finally, after five months, our WIAT 42 News Investigative Team visited her house one final time on Oct. 28. Johns called me back Nov. 4, finally ready to set the record straight.

She didn’t want to do an interview. She still didn’t want to be recorded. But she did have a message.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t do it to hurt anybody.”

She finally admitted she didn’t serve 16 years. Rather, she served 16 days. She said she was released from boot camp for minor medical reasons and never went back.

She said she started lying about her service record around 2000 after some difficult moments in her life.

“It was easier to carry on with a whole different life,” Johns told me.

Her message to the real Marines and to those who have served in war, like she claimed to: “I have the upmost respect for them.”

“I don’t think sorry is going to be enough but I don’t know what else to say,” she added.

“I come from a military family, I realized what I did. I realize what I did was completely unacceptable.”

At the end of our conversation, I asked if there was anything else she wanted to say to female Marines or to military members everywhere.

“That it will never happen again,” she said.

If you suspect someone of lying about their military service, you can visit the POW Network Fake Warrior Project and make a report.

Copyright 2014 WIAT 42 News

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Apr 16 at 2015 3:43 AM

2015-04-16T03:43:28-04:00