I was at a Halloween party last weekend. A guy was there dressed up as a Soldier. More importantly an SF Trooper. Had the Green Beret, SF tab, the whole works. He clearly stated to me that he was not, nor had ever been an SF Trooper or for that matter a Soldier of any type. Fine with me, it WAS a costume party. However, my buddy became enraged with him and threatened to beat his ass for this :Stolen Valor" violation.
What do you guys think? OK being that it was a costume party? Or is he a "poser"? In my mind this is no different than a kid dressing up as Spiderman. Spiderman is his hero. Maybe to this guy, SF Troopers are his heroes( but I would think that a Cavalry Scout would be a little more bada$$ ).

SCOUTS OUT!!! TWO BAGS FULL!!!

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 pertains to the unauthorized display, manufacture and sale of certain medals.

Was the guy wearing the CMOH, DSC, NC, AFC, SS, DFC, BS, PH, or other medals in between those I just listed? What was his gain if he was? Fame? Fortune? Or was he just a kid who didn't know any better?

Should my wife not have worn my Woodland BDUs to a Cub Scout Halloween Party the Pack held one year in the now distance past (I was wearing my six-color chocolate chip BDUs). The Pack got a kick out of it.

The true posers are the ones wearing unauthorized medals and getting something out of it (like the Judge in Illinois who displayed a CMOH in a frame in his office that he was never awarded, or the former Marine who appeared on the front page of the local newspaper on Memorial Day, wearing all false awards except his shooting badge and MC GCM then was exposed as a fraud a couple of months later).

I know of a case where a guy openly wore seventeen unearned medals to different events and was actually given a job because the company thought they were hiring a high-ranking, highly decorated war hero. Now THAT is illegal.

How about the guy who had a picture on his MySpace account who was smiling while wearing a white open collared shirt with USN MCPO anchors on it, a SEAL trident above multiple rows of ribbons, with a USCG Port Security Unit (PSU) Pin, a USCG Cutterman's Pin, a USCG Coxswain Pin (which had been displayed upside down), and every single USCG ribbon that the USCG has, in order, but with no "O" Operational devices on the, no multiple award devices, nor was he wearing any USN awards at all (he should have had NAVY stuff, not USCG stuff - DOH!).

And all of his "friends" were kids 14 to 17 YOA. Now that's just plain creepy! Plus he had a link to his profile at his job, and it displayed all of the phony certificates he made up for all of those USCG medals and ribbons that he never earned as a MCPO in the USN.

Yes folks, there are a WHOLE lot of real posers out there, not just on Halloween...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JerryG,

False Claims About Receipt of Military Medals- Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or BADGES awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such BADGE, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.';


I believe it's not just Medals.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

My question is not if this was a violation under the Stolen Valor law. I was more or less looking for opinions as to whether or not someone thinks that this guy is a "poser" for wearing the aforementioned uniform to a party.

SCOUTS OUT!!! TWO BAGS FULL!!!

Who cares, it was obviously a halloween costume and when asked he obviously denied any type of service. Maybe his dad was an SF soldier and his dad is his hero! He wasn't doing it for personal gain, because, obviously I think, no real soldier is going to a halloween party dressed as a..........soldier. (If they did they need to be slapped for being retarded)

Even if he was in violation of Stolen Valor, there's a line you need to draw between an innocent halloween costume and some guy out there claiming to be SF with all kinds of medals scamming for VA benefits.

quote:

Originally posted by Erikwithak86:

Even if he was in violation of Stolen Valor, there's a line you need to draw between an innocent halloween costume and some guy out there claiming to be SF with all kinds of medals scamming for VA benefits.

Agreed.

SCOUTS OUT!!! TWO BAGS FULL!!!

Your friend needs to take a chill pill. The guy was honest. I wouldn't put him in the poser catagory.

Let me preface this by saying that I believe the spirit of the Stolen Valor Act is to deter and punish those who would benefit from the undeserved attention and respect which is the due of those have served honorably in the Armed Forces. Decorations for Valor and Merit, Service Medals, Qualification Badges and Patches are all ways of recognizing the sacrifices and commitment of those who serve.

That being said, reasonableness being a foundation of all law, I believe we have to be reasonable in the application of this law. People dress up at costume parties as all kinds of folks, including Police Officers, Firefighters, Doctors, Paramedics...and outside the environment of a costume party could be in violation of the law for projecting ungranted authority...but on Halloween? I think not, especially if one goes out of their way to disclaim their costume.

We may not always like it, and I might consider it in poor taste, but in the country I fought for, self-expression is sacred, and intent is half of all law.

IMHO of course

quote:

Originally posted by SinePariDonster:
Let me preface this by saying that I believe the spirit of the Stolen Valor Act is to deter and punish those who would benefit from the undeserved attention and respect which is the due of those have served honorably in the Armed Forces. Decorations for Valor and Merit, Service Medals, Qualification Badges and Patches are all ways of recognizing the sacrifices and commitment of those who serve.

That being said, reasonableness being a foundation of all law, I believe we have to be reasonable in the application of this law. People dress up at costume parties as all kinds of folks, including Police Officers, Firefighters, Doctors, Paramedics...and outside the environment of a costume party could be in violation of the law for projecting ungranted authority...but on Halloween? I think not, especially if one goes out of their way to disclaim their costume.

We may not always like it, and I might consider it in poor taste, but in the country I fought for, self-expression is sacred, and intent is half of all law.

IMHO of course

Alright. I could not agree more. But several people at the party (all veterans) were p1$$ed off about it and I could not understand why. IT WAS A COSTUME PARTY!!!!

SCOUTS OUT!!! TWO BAGS FULL!!!

Well,

I do understand it...I worked long and hard to earn the right to wear that Green Beret - it sits atop a speaker in my living room, close to the shadow box and my medals and wings, with the old 5th Group flash on it - it really means something to me, a symbol of what I acomplished in my youth.

In the end, it's just a lop-sided felt hat, and not a very good one at that - it doesn't protect from the sun or the rain, it blows off easily in the wind, it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and takes alot of extra work to make it look right when you're actually allowed to wear the damned thing.

But it's a symbol, and even us old grouchy grownups put a great deal of stock in symbols...especially symbols with a history of excellence.

But I guess it's a cool Halloween costume too.


'nuff outta me. sorry for rambling

Just for a little clarification here Y'all; posers are those who pretend to be something they are not, for personal gain. This young person appears to be dressing up as someone he holds in high esteem.

With that said, he admitted no service at all, but dressed in this manner for the party; did it lack poor judgement, I don't know, possibly, but maybe not. Did he cause any harm, did he boldly boast of heroic deeds, probably not, therefore no foul nor harm done.

As a word of caution, I would suggest that in the future, politely inquire as to the reason for such a costume, how and where did he get the beret with flash, and any other pertinent question that may be advisable. That is what I would do. If anyone gets bent out of shape over such a "costume" politely tell him a very old and retired "Green Beret" told him to back off and get a life.

In this day and age there are far too many real posers out there claiming to everything from assassinations to insurrections. These are the ones I like to confront. This comes form a guy who wore the Green Beret before it ever became legal..................Ringo

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RingosRule,

ha ha,
One Halloween my girlfriend who was working as a waitress wore my BDU's at her work place for her costume. She got lots of looks from a bunch of ROTC cadets.

My wife's friend Val always participated in a church parish's Cabaret show. One year she did a number wearing my old Army uniform (the jacket looked like a mini-skirt on her; the saucer hat was jauntily cocked to one side), complete with patches, medals, ribbons and the like (she wore green tights instead of the trousers, with black high heels - WOW!).

Another member of the showcase wore a sailor suit for the number (it might have been "Boogy Woogy Bugle Boy of Company C"). He had nothing in the line of rating, ribbons, or anything on it, and was a little envious of Val for her uniform being decorated.

I gave Val an old set of crows and service stripes, along with a ribbon bar (Ultra-thin) that I no longer used, and instructions on where the crow and stripes belonged on the left sleeve and the positioning of the ribbon bar.

Needless to say, Val told me the guy seemed to perform better on the subsequent weekend shows now that his uniform looked "salty".

It must have something on the old adage of "chicks dig the uniform" thing.

I believe there is a matter of "intent" involved. A guy who wears a red dress for Halloween is no problem. A guy who wears a red dress to the office is a problem