Why is it that Military Posers all use the same story - Ranger, Seal, SF, etc.?

In mho it is the fact that the Ranger, Seal, SF, Delta Force, and Marine Recon (and all the others) get all the cool stuff. I am refering to the uniform bling, the Trident, the Tabs, the Beret, etc... and because of the all the movies about them and their bad a$$ ways people want to make others think of them like that. When Top Gun came out there was a large number of people that started wearing flight gear and wings.

I actually ran into a pos that was trying to pass the ESWS as a carrier qualification wings. A submarine device for water ditch qual. This guy said he got all of it from the Army Navy store and that is what the clerk told him they were.

The biggest problem I see is that so much of this stuff is available from the surplus stores and online. The other problem is that the people selling the stuff have no scrupples and ar just out for the money.

My brother was Special Forces & the true warrior in our family. He has always been reticent about telling stories about those times and his 31 years as a fireman, except for the goofy events. We had not really talked about his experiences until he had a hip replacement surgery about 18 months ago and over a long afternoon in the hospital, we shared the most ever in our lives. Nor as he ever talked about people who are posers, probably because he does not care to talk about people who are assholes. My brother is my hero and a quiet one.

I was a medic. I never left the States. My job was just as important as anyone's while working in a trauma center treating wounded and burned soldiers and Maribes from the Beirut bombing and Grenada invasion. There's nothing not to be proud of if you served.

I guess I'm the only one that remembers Steven Segal's primary MOS was a cook. FYI that is where the Navy/Marines get the SEALs.

Hell I am proud as hell if my service but most people wouldn't even recognize this retired vet. I get tired of the did you ever kill anyone. It's suck a stupid question. Can't stand civilians 90% of the time and the ones I do don't ask stupid questions. They appreciate my service and drive on that is it.

The posers seem to love "bling" and "do-dads" thinking they look more heroic if their uniforms are covered with stuff. They pick the Army uniform because that service often has more badges, ribbons, and other accoutrements than the other services (Air Force may have more ribbons). It's not a hit on the Army, but just the way the services do things. Also stories in the public domain from Soldiers are more readily available than those of other services.

It would be more difficult to convincing act and sound like a Navy Submariner if you actually ran into a Navy person with any submarine knowledge or experience. One probably can't adequately describe landing and taking off from an aircraft carrier unless they have actually done it making Naval Aviation less susceptible of spoofing.

A lot of Air Force work is pretty mundane and seldom lends itself to heroic stories in the press. PJs do save lives and see combat. Special forces aircraft and helicopters fly some very challenging missions. Fighter pilots would have great air-to-air combat stories if there was a real opposition air force in Iraq or Afghanistan--there isn't. Air mobility pilots probably have a few good stories about airdrops and landings into challenging airfields. All of these require specialized technical knowledge to tell the story convincingly. Most posers wouldn't have that knowledge. Certainly a real airman could uncover a fake in a couple of minutes' conversation. Of course, the Air Force uniform is almost as plain as the Navy, so those interested in bling wouldn't be attracted to it.

I want one of these guys to tell me he or she cleaned a toilet. I would totally believe them. I cleaned out a conex box full of kerosene or propane (I reallydon't remember other than it could go boom) in 100+ degree heat. I am the bomb (no pun intended lol).

I guess they have a feeling of inadequacy in their life and feel the need to embellish great deeds of heroism. For the most part I enjoyed my time in the Army, 1989-98. I started out as 16R and reclassified to 96B. Nothing fancy there, quit boring at times. Now and then I meet up some younger vets and sometimes they question me. I don't have any old uniforms left and I wouldn't wear them out in public if I had them. I don't remember lot of stuff, too many concussions and and getting hurt in training exercises. I've been asked how many people I've killed.. I reply with "Oh I've killed hundreds of pop-up and paper people." Get the deer in headlights on that..

Because Hollywood glamourizes the shit out of elite units... If I was wanting to impress people (which I think the whole objectives of these idiots who pretend to be military is), I am not going to tell the people that I am trying to impress that I am some sort of support MOS... That's not impressive enough for them... they want to be the guy who has 200 confirmed kills and are considered bad-asses... The problem is, they don't want to put in the work that it takes to be an elite bad-ass... If the did, they would realize that it's not all glamorous like Hollywood makes it out to be.
The problem that they run into, is when they ACTUALLY meet a vet/service member. I can pick an active duty service member out of a crowd in an airport from 150 feet away... It's not about what we are wearing, it's how we carry ourselves. When I see one in uniform that seems out of place, I will generally ask them some questions that they could only answer if they were actually military. Questions like "What post are you headed to?", "What's your MOS?", "What unit are you in? Where's that?" etc...
Usually, the only ones who are wearing their uniform while traveling are fresh out of AIT. They are happy to answer your questions. They will also have folders with them carrying their orders. If you identify yourself as a veteran to them, they will generally have questions for you, because you have knowledge or experience... they NEVER try to one-up you. I helped out 4 soldiers heading from Atlanta to El Paso... I started talking to them, they asked me questions about Fort Bliss... I bought one of them dinner... it was nice. Not once did I tell them any war stories, or try to impress them with my bad-assery. A real veteran won't do that.

BULLSHIT THEY WOULD NOT BE A PIMPLE ON A MARINES ARMY NAVY AIR FORCE COAST GUARD COMBAT VET ASS.THIS CRAP PISS ME OFF