District court judge rules in favor of phony war heroes

[GoldenRivet]

personally i think the "Stolen Valor" act needs re-addressing.

Yes... it should prohibit your local neighborhood 40 year old GI Joe wanna be from purchasing uniforms and medals to decorate himself as a veteran just for grins.

but it shoulndt prohibit people like me...

what I hoped to do is build my grandfather a flag case, inside this flag case would be a folded flag, and a Bronze Star, ww2 service medal and a few other things... but not now

[Moeceefus]

They should be given the choice of 10 years in prison, or a tour of duty.

[Ducimus]

Well you could always ask to see a copy of the persons DD214. If they say they don't have one/never got one/"what's that?" they're a fraud.

Or talk "shop" with them for a few minutes. There's certain terms, slang, and such that are handed down from one generation of GI's to the next. Things you wouldn't know unless you lived the life.

If i mention things like CONUS, DD Form ID10T, FIGMO, PCA, PCS, hand recipts, GSA, GOV, AFSC, MOS, the bennfits of blousing straps verses bands, GP Medium, TEMPER tent, Hardback, etc.... and if he doesn't know what im talking about, something isn't right.

[August]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

the bennfits of blousing straps verses bands

Cool, a trick question. Real combat Soldiers tuck their fatigues into their combat boots as prescribed by Army regulations, only a poser or a REMF would ever try to promote one type of blousing rubber over another!

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by August

Cool, a trick question. Real combat Soldiers tuck their fatigues into their combat boots as prescribed by Army regulations, only a poser or a REMF would ever try to promote one type of blousing rubber over another!

Nice catch.

Yeah i found out the hard way about that. They don't teach you that in the AF, and the bastards issued me a pair of paints too short , so i couldn't tuck my pant legs into my boots. I ended up with a BAD BAD case of chiggers after a few weeks in Guatamala. My legs had the texture of a strawberry. Took a few months for it to clear up.

Ordianrly though, from an engineer standpoint, up an down ladders, and in/out of heavy equipment, bending, kneeling, stooping. lifting, etc. Two straps per leg worked best if you weren't boot tucking. Espeically when on an AF base stateside, and you get Mr PME telling you your out of 35-10. Nothing quite like running a skill saw ripping some plywood, and have Mr PME in his cardboard BDU's run up on your job site telling you your cover is on incorrectly. Overseas, nobody cared much.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by August

Cool, a trick question. Real combat Soldiers tuck their fatigues into their combat boots as prescribed by Army regulations, only a poser or a REMF would ever try to promote one type of blousing rubber over another!

Either that or they're a Marine who understands that just because you're in the field doesn't mean you have an excuse to sully the uniform by tucking it into your boots......on pain of pain. You use your bootbands and if they get lost or snagged on something and break you had damn well better have some spares and if you don't your buddy better have some or you are up a creek. There are no unsecured chinstraps, no dirty goggles, no flak jackets that don't fit (you better make yourself bigger or smaller!) and absolutely NO dirty weapons! If your weapon is dirty, you had damn well better be firing it or actively engaged in another task that requires your undivided attention.

Damn I wish I'd joined the army, instead.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by August

Cool, a trick question. Real combat Soldiers tuck their fatigues into their combat boots as prescribed by Army regulations, only a poser or a REMF would ever try to promote one type of blousing rubber over another!

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Either that or they're a Marine who understands that just because you're in the field doesn't mean you have an excuse to sully the uniform by tucking it into your boots......on pain of pain.

They used to have a solution for that.

[August]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Either that or they're a Marine who understands that just because you're in the field doesn't mean you have an excuse to sully the uniform by tucking it into your boots......on pain of pain. You use your bootbands and if they get lost or snagged on something and break you had damn well better have some spares and if you don't your buddy better have some or you are up a creek. There are no unsecured chinstraps, no dirty goggles, no flak jackets that don't fit (you better make yourself bigger or smaller!) and absolutely NO dirty weapons! If your weapon is dirty, you had damn well better be firing it or actively engaged in another task that requires your undivided attention.

Damn I wish I'd joined the army, instead.

Oh you poor, poor Jarhead. Being under the command of the Navy does you guys absolutely no good.

You tuck your pant legs into your boots to keep bugs, snakes and dirt from getting into your pants which may limit your ability to kill people. It looks sharp too which is one more reason why the wimmens prefer Soldiers.

In all fairness though it could be that the Marines don't do this because it traps air which could turn you upside down if you're floating in the water,

Either that or it's because the Navy figures that you're too dumb to blouse your boots without garters.

[AVGWarhawk]

Damn I wish I'd joined the army, instead.

My brother-in-law did. It was no picnic either.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by August

Oh you poor, poor Jarhead. Being under the command of the Navy does you guys absolutely no good.

Well, it does a little good. The Navy has good chow, and they have those stupid Donald Duck outfits that make us look even better by comparison. Still, I'd rather be under the command of the Army. You guys have tons of cool and useful junk we can steal.

Originally Posted by August

You tuck your pant legs into your boots to keep bugs, snakes and dirt from getting into your pants which may limit your ability to kill people.

That sounds like it would just get dirt and bugs into your boots. Then again, you fought in a totally different theater, presumably with less baby-powder sand. If you blouse your trousers properly just below the top of your boots, pull your socks up as high as they will go, and cinch your boots tight rather than tie them, you won't have any problems.

Originally Posted by August

It looks sharp too which is one more reason why the wimmens prefer Soldiers.

whatever helps..... oh wait, you said "wimmens". For a second there, I thought you meant "women". What are wimmens, anyway? Some kind of drag queen?

In any case, the Army today must be doing something a lot different now, because their method of sticking their trouser legs into their boots looks like absolute ass. They have an annoying tendency to leave their laces untucked, as well.

[August]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

They have an annoying tendency to leave their laces untucked, as well.

You might be right. Untucked laces would drive my old Team Sergeant absolutely wild. He ranked what he called "butterfly ties" right up there with Communism as threats to the American way of life.

[frau kaleun]

Actually most women I know prefer the guys who don't spend more time getting dressed and fiddling with their outfits than they do, so it sounds kinda like you all lose on this one.

Personally I prefer the ones who can teach me the most ways to kill someone with my bare hands, but then I've always been a little bit... special.

[August]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

but it shoulndt prohibit people like me...

what I hoped to do is build my grandfather a flag case, inside this flag case would be a folded flag, and a Bronze Star, ww2 service medal and a few other things... but not now

Why not? I don't believe that the law prohibits a person from doing this.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by August

Why not? I don't believe that the law prohibits a person from doing this.

I clearly expressed my desire to do this once - to the annoyance and protest of those who kept pointing to the law... so i dismissed my desire to do such a thing.

I used to get catalogs filled with various US Military medal replicas which could be used for such purposes as flag cases etc.

now you cant buy them anywhere without someone crawling your ass over this stolen valor law.

His original medals were given by him to his mother after the war, she kept them for a time, and it can only be assumed what happened to them after her death... so i dont have his original medals... i would be required to buy medals. (or replicas - which AFIK you cant do now)

[ETR3(SS)]

Something to look into GR, try to get a copy of your grandfathers DD 214 from the National Archives. Once you have that there is a way to obtain his medals again from the government (VA I believe). There's nothing wrong with wanting to buy the medals for what you're doing btw, so don't feel one bit guilty.