I was at work the other day, and a patient told me he had a history of PTSD because he was in 9/11. He is 71 years old, meaning he was in his mid-40s on that day. Making conversation, I asked him how he was there, thinking he may have been in one of the buildings.
Nope, he replied he was a Navy SEAL and was helping search the pile for several weeks. To the best of my knowledge, there were no SEALs doing that work. So I asked a follow up: “What BUD/S class were you in?”
He replied that he was in class 100 with a SEAL named Jim Weber. Then he went on to tell me he was an Electrician’s mate and attended Nuclear Power School in Orlando in 1971.
For some reason, the people who participate in stolen valor always claim to be SEALS or some other badass occupation. No one ever says “I was a cook.”
There are only about 7,000 former (i.e. non-serving) Navy SEALs scattered among our nation’s population of 313+MILLION. That’s approximately one (1) former Navy SEAL for every 45 THOUSAND citizens
You have far greater chance of meeting a former NFL football player than you have of ever encountering a real Navy SEAL. With that said, the FBI estimates that there are 300 SEAL Imposters for every living Navy SEAL.
His claims are bullshit for the following reasons:
- BUD/S Class 100 graduated in 1979 (Class 102 graduated in May 1979, and Class 101/103 also took place in 1979). If he was in Nuclear Power School in 1971, there is a massive, unexplained 8-year gap before he graduated from BUD/S. While not strictly impossible if someone cross-rated later in their career, it is highly unusual given the strict age cut-offs for SEAL training (usually 28 and under).
- He entered the Navy around 1970 and was still active duty on September 11, 2001. He was in the Navy for 30 years, and retired as an E6? Under the military’s strict “Up or Out” high-year tenure (HYT) laws, an enlisted sailor cannot remain on active duty for 30 years without reaching the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9).
- Navy Nuclear Power school was not in Orlando until 1976. A person who was in the nuclear power pipeline in 1971 would have attended the school in either Bainbridge, Maryland or Mare Island, California.
- With him being 71 years old now, he would have been 15 or 16 years old when he attended Power School in 1971.
I run into people who claim to have served all the time. One of the worst was this loser named John who was my boss many years ago. He claimed to everyone that he knew that he had been in Vietnam as the door gunner in a Chinook, his helicopter was shot down, and he spent years (I can’t remember how many) as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. The story of the chopper being shot down was my first clue- he said the pilot was killed, and described reaching over the pilot’s shoulder from his door gunning position and tried to prevent the crash. It seemed far-fetched.
That just didn’t seem likely to me, so I wrote to the POW/MIA association and inquired if a person by his name was ever a POW in Vietnam. The answer was no, he was not.
Stolen valor is a real issue. There are a lot of losers out there who try to steal military coolness for themselves. When people ask me what I did in the military, I either give them the real story (I was an electrician) or I make a joke and tell them I killed over 200 men. When they say, “Wow! Were you like a SEAL or something?” I reply that I was either an aircraft mechanic or a cook. I recently was working with a Lt. Colonel in the reserves (a Doctor) and he instantly laughed when I said cook, and replied with “No shit.”
18 Comments
Don Curton · September 9, 2026 at 6:22 am
I’d never do it because I’m a decent person, but yeah, I always thought if I wanted to fake military experience I’d just come up with something so boring no one would ever ask me the details, like oh, after basic they figured out I could file so they put me in payroll. I spent four years as a desk jockey during desert storm. Most boring years of my life.
J J · September 9, 2026 at 7:08 am
I was just a lowly RM3(SS) on fast attack boats out of San Diego. Never had any desire to claim to be something that I wasn’t.
Special Forces associations are constantly shining spotlights on impostors.
http://guardiansofthegreenberet.com/
JimmyPx · September 9, 2026 at 10:05 am
They are ALWAYS SEALS, the trident is the poser cherry on the top.
I absolutely love some idiot wearing a Marine uniform as a Master Guns with stripes up their arm with both wings AND a trident.
They are so stupid and ignorant that they can’t even lie well.
Most of these aholes either never were in the military OR were basic wash outs.
I don’t know why they can’t be honest. I have a buddy that did 8 years in the Navy as a paper pusher. He says that he was proud to serve his country but his job was uber boring just pushing paper around.
Then there is my cousin who served 30 years in the Army and retired as a WO.
I know for a fact he was a Ranger early in his career and saw A LOT of action in Iraq but he NEVER talks about it or wants to talk about it. He says “I did my duty but we lost some really great guys over there”.
THAT’S how you can tell the real deal from a BSer.
Dave · September 9, 2026 at 10:25 am
My standard line when this comes up is- “Really? I used to be a seal. I was never in the navy but I lived under the docks in Monterrey and ate raw fish. It was a crazy summer.”
Flugelman · September 9, 2026 at 12:37 pm
I spent time at North Island and would go down towards Imperial Beach on liberty. Bars there sometimes had small groups of guys from the Teams in drinking beer. We knew not to fuck with them but they were mostly friendly. The only close SEAL friend I ever knew was a neighbor in Navy housing at Barbers Point that was in the special boat crews at Pearl. Helluva nice guy when he wasn’t drinking, scary as hell otherwise.
Andrew · September 9, 2026 at 2:28 pm
I got a “reverse” on that.
30ish years ago, first week on my first teenage summer job.
Coworker tells me “I heard (….) was a Navy SEAL.”
The Charlie Sheen film had played recently on TV and I’d also read Dick Marcinko’s book Rogue Warrior recently.
Word got back to (….) and he quickly set it straight.
He had been in the Navy and had “trained with the SEALS”.
Basically said “they used some of us sometimes for practice. Imagine crash test dummies, or something like that.”
Pondering, this was before the internet was in everyone’s pocket, so he could’ve just gone with it, but did not.
oldvet50 · September 9, 2026 at 3:47 pm
As a VN era vet myself, the whole stolen valor thing doesn’t bother me. There are a-holes everywhere and soon enough they will be found out and (hopefully) embarrassed. It’s when they use it for financial gain that it crosses the line – then there should be serious consequences.
John canada · September 9, 2026 at 4:47 pm
Your post about stolen valor kindeled some long forgotten memories. I spent my 4 yr career on the USS Petrel. ASR-14 out of Charleston. 1976-1980. We had a radioman by the name of Andy Tefalski report on board. He was hell bent on becoming a seal. We would both run around the base as I was helping him get in shape for seal training. Eventually he went to seal training. Fast forward to around 2019. I was an assistant scout master and one of our scout dads brought a former seal to a scout meeting. I said to him ” I’m sure you get this all the time, but do you know master chief Andy Tafslski? His response was that master chief trained him!!! Master Chief has endured an amazing amount of incredible grief in his time. But just wanted to let you know what a small world it is we live in!
Plague Monk · September 9, 2026 at 6:07 pm
Two anecdotes:
1. When I was in USAF tech school in late 1977, the base PX sold rank insignia for all ranks. A pair of 4 star general insignia was about 5 dollars. Anyone could buy them, and a lot of young enlisted men wore t-shirts with these on their shoulders. Everyone knew the rules: no wearing these on base, and no one claimed something they hadn’t EARNED. I still have my 462 weapons mechanic shirt, almost 50 years later.
In the 1980s, my wife and I went to the first Watchfire ceremony in Syracuse NY. The announcer asked all veterans to step forward. We had been talking with a Korean War veteran who wore a Chosin Few shirt with pin. He started toward the assembly are, while we held back, believing that this was for combat veterans only. He turned and asked why we weren’t coming, and we explained that we didn’t feel worthy.
He replied that we served, combat or not, and that was what counted. He just about dragged us into the group. We talked with these guys for over an hour afterwards. I doubt any of them are left, but we haven’t forgotten, and I still tear up a bit when I hear that another MIA has been recovered, or that these last few are dying off. I dropped my membership in the Libertarian Party after being told by the LP’s VP that looking for the remains was a waste of tax dollars.
Jester · September 9, 2026 at 6:47 pm
I tell folks that did not serve the way you tell a liar about their service there’s two major symbols. 1, they claim Green Berets, Seals, Rangers, Delta Force or MARSOC and can’t tell you anything because it’s always top secret. 2, they claim to be some decorated hero that did a lot of bad ass shit. You might get someone to talk about some of the cool shit 1, if they trust you and that takes a long time, even if you are a Veteran yourself sometimes. 2, well if they correctly identify you as a legit Veteran as well. Anyone in your workplace, the bars, out in public that claims any of that probally 99 out of 100 times is a out right liar. They might have washed out of basic so they know just enough about military structure to sound legit to a non Veteran sometimes. (Funny how those guys will try to pull one over on me and they all sound -exactly- the same)
Steve the Engineer · September 9, 2026 at 7:45 pm
Most people I know have respect for veterans, somewhere between quiet respect and a great deal of respect. I was on an assignment in Normandy for about 1/2 a year in 1998, and visiting the WW2 cemeteries near the beaches was a humbling and somber experience.
Veterans day will be here before you know it, and that means Andrew Wilkow will be running his annual Veterans day fund raiser Operation Close Air Support – where a minimum donation gets you a tee shirt and most of the funds collected go to veterans organizations.
Look up the fund raiser soon if interested, it usually appears on his website.
Meanoldfart · September 10, 2026 at 7:14 am
I can get into a conversation w/someone & within a very short period I can usually tell if they’re bullshitting about their service, if any. Usually because their stories are so outrageously over the top. They honestly don’t know what WTF they’re talking about. And it’s usually some variation of navy SEALS or army Rangers. I deployed to the Navy’s Amphibious Warfare training facility at Coronado & watched their training. Among other things, they’re world class athletes. I was a perfectly healthy 19 year old Marine & those trainees made me tired just looking at the training process.
Tsgt Joe · September 10, 2026 at 9:51 am
Got very little tolerance for the phony’s. My dad was burdened with his experiences his whole life. I was in my 40’s before he would talk about the “bad parts”. One of his brothers, who had fought across europe in the infantry never talked about it except to my dad. He never spoke of his service to any of his kids even though his sons were in the army and marines.
Joe · September 10, 2026 at 11:18 am
We had a guy come into the local Eagles Aerie. After a bit of the usual bar B.S. he claimed he was a former S.E.A.L.. we were all thinking yea right, dismissed him and he didn’t push it. The next time he came by he brought all the documentation and we accepted him then. He never does brag about his experiences or tell many storys.
Allen H in Geotgia · September 10, 2026 at 6:32 pm
I was in the Navy from 1970 to 1976. I was an electronics technician, ETN-2. After boot camp in Orlando and ETA school at Great Lakes, I was stationed at Naval Communications Station in Asmara, Ethiopia for 18 months. After my tour there was complete I served aboard an ocean going tug, the USS Salinan, ATF-161. I have two service ribbons, a good conduct and national defense ribbon. I was 18 when I enlisted, the fellow you mentioned is now 70 and would have to have been 14 or 15 in 1970. I didn’t do anything heroic, just worked on radios and radars.
Mark Canada · September 11, 2026 at 3:57 pm
The Naval Reserve Stole My Valor.
graduated from SUNY Maritime in 1971, having finished the NROTC program I was commissioned an Ensign. ( I have the document with the requirement to maintain my standing for my 6 years. It was pretty simple, ship on my license for 6 months a year or complete 1 month of active duty for each year I didn’t ship the 6 months. In 1972 shipping jobs were scarce so I went on active duty for 1 month that year.
The Navy sent me to the WWII destroyer, Beattie, (I have a copy of my orders) in Tampa which was under going work before it was supposed to be given to the Columbians. This was in February and upon arrival I found myself helping prep the ship for Gasparilla festival…Unbeknownst to me this was the local Mardi Gras boat parade. Making a long interesting story short, the ship was pulled out of the Reserve slip and moored along side the coastal waterway for the parade.
I, along with most everyone else were lined along the channel side of the weather deck. My position was on the bow next to the forward turret. Well, apparently the Captain wanted to give a “gun” salute to the boats in the parade and had the #1 turret traverse from fore and aft toward the water way. I heard through the turret for the gun to go to “ready air starboard”.
I could plainly hear the turret team try to get the 5” gun to fire until it actually did. Right over my head. Several days later, I found out that the Captain wanted a parade charge, but the gun fired a “half charge” right over my head. I don’t remember Sick Bay ever being open after that…..
Fast forward to 1996 and exactly 25 years after I signed up, Yes, I found out by mail over the years, that I had been assigned a “Running Mate” from the Naval Academy and was promoted when that person was…..I received discharge papers from the Navy Reserve as an 03. (I have my discharge papers)
I found out that I wasn’t a veteran when I enquired of the V.A. about getting hearing aids…..
They can K.M.A.
CE · September 17, 2026 at 8:37 am
That’s pretty funny, “I killed over 200 men, I was a cook.” hahahhhahaha!
Stolen From the Dead – Area Ocho · September 13, 2026 at 3:14 am
[…] guess one of the things that bothered me about the guy who claimed to be a SEAL working on the pile at ground zero was due to the sound in this video: (watch it with the sound […]
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