People Claiming to be Military on ATS, A Rant.

Never said I was a pilot, I said I was in the National Guard (Holding the rank of Sergeant, and in my case, that means I am a grenadier squad leader) currently, and before that I was a grenadier scout (observator, to be exact).
Thats the Army, Both of them, I am a foot soldier... Though we drove around in eagles and gd's (mercedes jeep's) doing recon. Not to be mistaken by, mechanized infantry.

Storm Trooper eh.... I wish we had some of the equipment that storm troopers have. I bet Storm Troopers dont have boots that melt in the desert sun, rifles that jam every contact, overheavy body armour. I have never seen a Storm Trooper waiting for the helicopter to arrive because the pilots and craft are so overstretched that you may as well take a road vehicle and get hit by an IED on the way.

OP your right there are so many "Fakers" on here that us genuine ex and still serving members can spot them a mile away. I can usually tell if its a genuine brother in arms by the end of their first paragraph. I remember on here about 3-4 year ago arguing with some member about how the UK Army really works. That kid argued with me to the death. when i put up my credentials and military service i asked him to do the same. The kid was like 15 and answered with "Well im only a school cadet at the moment but im going to join the military when im older" End of conversation right there!!!!!!

OP build up a friend list of people from all walks of life. That way you have many experienced people to question when you come across these bogus members.

I have to say though there is honestly a lot of us ex serving and still serving military people on ATS. A hell of a lot!!!!!!

reply to post by PokeyJoe


“ Once A Marine Always A Marine”

It is a T&C Violation to deliberately post false information, but its also mostly impossible to check or verify. However, in some rare cases in which a persons claims become important to a popular thread topic, the OP in question may send us his I.D. to confirm his identity (if he so wishes).

There are indeeda lot of fakes. But then, what would life be like without them? Could you imagine...a world where no one uses these false facades and personas for their own agenda? One word describes that - anarchy.

I wouldn't let it get to me personally. Those are the types of people I rarely gt into open minded discussions with. If they are not willing to be forth-coming and honest than I am not even willing to listen....

I rarely state that I served...only on rare occasions. It's not that I'm not proud, it just seldom seems of importance.

Deny ignorance(and unsubstantiated claims of grandeur!)


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by Agree2Disagree

I rarely state that I served...only on rare occasions. It's not that I'm not proud, it just seldom seems of importance.

Deny ignorance(and unsubstantiated claims of grandeur!)

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

This... If you haved served for anything longer than a normal conscription period, you wouldnt go around bragging about it.
It a job.... Nothing else.

Reply to post by Tetragrammaton

Well...for some it is a job. Honestly, it comes down to perception.

I did two combat tours with the marine corps. How is that just a job? I am a very modest person. I just do not see the correlation between what I did then, and for example, what I do now as a civilian.....


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

never prove to anyone that you are in or where in the army because of security reasons..
you just dont know who is listening ...

Who cares who is listening? Fear is their game and if "they" really want to know who you are because you posted something, that flagged you up for more attention do you really think that playing Mr Anonymous in some forum is going to keep you safe? Wrong!

My Millitary number 25013612 former Paratrooper and Royal corp of Signals.







[edit on 29-8-2009 by Dissemination]

reply to post by IDK88


So how are you telling if someone is misrepresenting themselves? What criteria are you using?

I am former Military....Ft. Bliss, White Sands, and Holloman AFB 87-90......

reply to post by Agree2Disagree


Of course I can only speak for myself.
But to me and my colleagues we consider what we do to be just as important, as someone working garbage disposal as a civilian, he could just as well be hit by a bus or something while working.
I have no illusion, that I as a soldier am doing a greater job in protecting our civilization. We are all needed, difference is just where in the world you are doing your job.
But of course it is more than a job, I get fulfilment and gratification, and I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t mean anything to me.
But when push comes to shove, it’s a job, to me at least.
I am a professional, and if I have a job to do. I do it.

Originally posted by FantasmaTaans

Originally posted by PokeyJoe
3C052....

And you?

2A353

Crew Chief

What's your job title? lol, idk what that is.

lol, its a Computer Systems Programmer, although I have done pretty much everything you can do with computers over the years.

reply to post by desertdreamer


The only criteria is common sense...most people in the civilian world aren't experts at everything, but, if they are lucky, just one thing. So, when a person comes by and presents themselves as an expert, with a fully round view of the War of T (full knowledge of military, economics, finance and diplomacy, etc.), unless their name is Robert Gates or Mike Mullen, I'd assume that they are misrepresenting themselves.

Any military themed topic would gain value by the input of someone that is currently in the field, but to attempt to shut down a discussion of a military topic between civilians because we're not on the battlefield and to brush the opinions expressed or suspicions and concerns is just grandstanding.

The phrase..."I am in Afghanistan what do you know about it?" is grandstanding and misleading. You could be over there cooking food for all I know, a necessary function that contributes to success, but hardly, it would seem, a qualifier of expertise with regards to the total war effort.

I'd say that a graduate student of history and languages of Afghanistan that has never been in a uniform, carried a rifle or been to Afghanistan, would be a better resource to understanding the conflict than a whole team of soldiers in the field. That's just me though.

[edit on 29-8-2009 by IDK88]

I talk to a US Captain who is currently in Afghanistan on another board (a fan site with a big OT chat area). I cant know if he really is doing that, but comparing what he knows to what he doesn't, the way he posts, his opinions etc. it all adds up.
He got into a thread correcting some mistaken ideas about military deployments under the auspices of the UN; some wild ideas & ATS were mentioned. He said he'd heard of it but if he joined his "ass would be grass!" People asked why & he said "I could tell you but I'd have to shoot you!" which some didn't realise was a joke (he'd talked about his specialist job elsewhere).
I'd just joined ATS tho, so I was interested & PMed him (we dont agree on much but argue civilly so it seemed ok). He told me its because the equipment & expertise of his unit could be used to get online pretty much anywhere, so in theory, they could post eyewitness accounts, pix or video of real-time events. Apparently, although personnel are not supposed to put stuff like this online, they do anyway. The difference is that by the time "the scuttlebut" has got back to base, if anything newsworthy happened, there is already an Official Story & any later evidence can be explained within its context, "if you get my drift" he added. However, prior info might be embarrassing. Any media outlet could spin the story & make it look like the Official line was bunk.
So, joining a site like ATS would make his unit a "security risk".
Well, I thought about that. I'd describe his attitude as pro US policy, pro military, but not gung ho, & also fully cognisant of his responsibilities, so I really couldn't imagine this man posting anything his superiors wouldn't like. More interesting to me tho, was that this Captain either knows or believes that his superiors would find out!
Re the OP: I think this mans job does give him a broader view than most soldiers/airmen of operational matters over there, but we aren't going to hear more than the MSM version & also he's got a very limited understanding of politics.

First, cool it on the rant. I can understand why you think as you do, but keep in mind that MANY of the ATS members are prior service. Myself, an 03 in the USMC. Very simple job. One of the reasons there are so many of us here is because we've seen things that couldn't be explained. We come closer to death and more often than others. We have to question our existence on a daily basis and do so out of mortal fear or curiosity. While it's not a pleasant way to live, it allows you to see the harsher side of reality through an objective lens. In otherwords, you become desensitized to certain things. For awhile. We follow orders, not always know what we're being told. That's part of the job. But it raises questions in us. Why were we in the middle of nowhere guarding a pile of rocks? Why did we secure an installation THERE, where the was zero possiblity of attack and no apparent reason to defend it?

You don't get in the service by being close minded and idiotic. (Well, sometimes those things are requirements...) You don't get advanced without independant thought and the ability to take the initiative. Don't hammer on us because we're military. Thank the military, for they create the type of mind that hungers for what can be found on ATS. Add to that, that some of the most convicing arguments for a variety of subjects on these boards come from prior-service members. Why? Because their service time lends them credibility. As I've stated in a previous post, nothing unusual or extraordinary has ever happened to me. Not in my personal life or during military duty. But I saw things that made me ask 'why'. Things that I couldn't ASK much less have answered while in uniform. These questions haunted me until I had readjusted to civvy life and I didn't know it. I felt like there were too many unkowns. So I began to read. I began to learn how to weed out fact from fiction. To take four different stories on the same topic and find the nugget of truth. And I did so in a logical, progressive fashion that was instilled in me by my service.

When you read the forums, look at how many topics wander into the realm of the service. Look at how much credibility is given to the service members who back them up and ask yourself why. Of all the people of the world, there is no group more suited to this site and its content than we.

Originally posted by PokeyJoe
Oh, and the so called replaceable Storm Troopers are the ones out there every day doing the work. The Air Force probably has spent about 100,000 dollars training me in the past 6 years.

I can't help but laugh out loud at this statement; and also feel very sad.

The Air Force spends more then that on bombs that are functionally significant for about as long as the drop takes.

Expensive, effective and replaceable. If you were honest with yourself you would find yourself having more in common with that bomb than those who send the two of you off to meet someone elses insides.

Originally posted by spines

Originally posted by PokeyJoe
Oh, and the so called replaceable Storm Troopers are the ones out there every day doing the work. The Air Force probably has spent about 100,000 dollars training me in the past 6 years.

I can't help but laugh out loud at this statement; and also feel very sad.

The Air Force spends more then that on bombs that are functionally significant for about as long as the drop takes.

Expensive, effective and replaceable. If you were honest with yourself you would find yourself having more in common with that bomb than those who send the two of you off to meet someone elses insides.

Oh lord...okay buddy. I knew someone was going to come in and try to rain on the parade. Considering thats a little less than an Ivy league degree costs, I would consider myself well trained.

If you want to try and belittle me, why dont you tell us how much YOUR education is worth????

To be honest, most of the people on here that are military or ex military probably expect you not to believe them. I have told people in the past about events that Ive been involved in and witnessed and a lot of the time there is complete disbelief from other people. For example I once mentioned that we let an Iranian P3 aircraft fly over us twice a day in the persian gulf (I have served onboard both destroyers and aircraft carriers in the area) because we simply could not do anything about it. We were in international waters and not at war with Iran. Therefore everyday the Iranians fly low over ever military ship in the area simply to prove a point and collect info. They even talk to us over the emergency frequency (Guard) at times.
Now when I have mentioned something as simple as that the response from some people has been "That's complete Bull, we would never allow that to happen" and "Rubbish, we would have blown them out of the sky for even trying that" as well as "Do you really expect me to believe that we let a possible hostile nation fly over our fleet of warships and take photographs?"
I once tried explaining how we organised the field hospitals in Iraq to a somebody on a board. As soon as I mentioned that we had injured Iraqis on the same ward as injured allies there was uproar. Complete disbelief. I was accused of lying and one person even sugested that we don't help Injured Iraqi prisoners of war so they couldn't possibly be treated by the allies in a field hospital.
So if people don't believe such a simple events as these then I wouldn't expect them to believe anything more complex. the reason for this ? Most civilians don't know the half of it and unless they have been there they could never understand.

To be honest, most of the people on here that are military or ex military probably expect you not to believe them. I have told people in the past about events that Ive been involved in and witnessed and a lot of the time there is complete disbelief from other people. For example I once mentioned that we let an Iranian P3 aircraft fly over us twice a day in the persian gulf (I have served onboard both destroyers and aircraft carriers in the area) because we simply could not do anything about it. We were in international waters and not at war with Iran. Therefore everyday the Iranians fly low over ever military ship in the area simply to prove a point and collect info. They even talk to us over the emergency frequency (Guard) at times.
Now when I have mentioned something as simple as that the response from some people has been "That's complete Bull, we would never allow that to happen" and "Rubbish, we would have blown them out of the sky for even trying that" as well as "Do you really expect me to believe that we let a possible hostile nation fly over our fleet of warships and take photographs?"
I once tried explaining how we organised the field hospitals in Iraq to a somebody on a board. As soon as I mentioned that we had injured Iraqis on the same ward as injured allies there was uproar. Complete disbelief. I was accused of lying and one person even sugested that we don't help Injured Iraqi prisoners of war so they couldn't possibly be treated by the allies in a field hospital.
So if people don't believe such a simple events as these then I wouldn't expect them to believe anything more complex. the reason for this ? Most civilians don't know the half of it and unless they have been there they could never understand.

The Air Force spends more then that on bombs that are functionally significant for about as long as the drop takes.

That's not necessarily true. The function of a bomb during a time of war is not to just explode. If that were the case, we'd just detonate a bunch. The bombs have a function much farther reaching than just exploding. Hiroshima is a perfect example. The function of it was to end the war. A broad and far-reaching function. The same goes, to a lesser degree, to every weapon deployed during war.