Richard E. Straub; Recon Marine
Scotty sends us a link to his research on Richard E. Straub who claimed to be a member of the Marine Recon team, and since we haven’t had a Marine phony in a while, I figured we’d include him this week. He claimed that he made Sergeant E-5 while he was 18 years old. Totally plausible;
Here’s a picture of his shadow box that he put on line – notice the “combat veteran” thing. Since he was in service from 1979-19921982, I wonder when he saw any combat;
So to break the suspense, here’s his FOIA;
And, his assignments. Notice the little AWOL remark that’s highlighted near the bottom;
So, I’ll let you Marines handle this little numbnuts.
Category: Phony soldiers
I see that he was a fellow member of 3rd Combat Engineers. Hack spent some time there way back in 1991-192. I also see he was “assigned” to IHCA for four months. For those that may not know, the elite assignment is “In Hands of Civilian Authoities”. Must have been some hush-hush operation to break up a prison cigarette smuggling ring.
Hey, John, you have a typo in his DOS. Should be 1982. Oh, and this guy is a douchenozzle
IHCA “IN HUSH-HUSH COMBAT ACTION”
Looks like the “fine fellow” was AWOL followed by time in a civilian jail for a period one day short of five months. Then 3 months and 3 days later he got a discharge.
I wonder if that means he might have been the recipient of the USMC equivalent of the Army’s Chapter 14 discharge (misconduct). One of the things that chapter is often used for is to discharge people convicted of civilian offenses who are doing/have done time. And as I recall, in the Army the whole process can take 2 or 3 months until things go through all the required “wickets” and the discharge is final.
“Since he was in service from 1979-1992, I wonder when he saw any combat”
Didn’t you see Heartbreak Ridge with all those Marines in Granada?
hehe, seriously, my unit was in Granada and Panama for that matter. That would be Urgent Fury and Just Cause.
Good one, Robert. A tip of the kevlar to you. I can see where he was confused. 3rd Combat Engineers – Camp Hansen. 3rd Recon – Camp Schwabb. Everyone down south always mixed theose camps up. I was a Henoko Hound 1984-86, and a Kin-Ville Commando 1991-92.
Sorry, I should point out that I was in the Army not the Marines.
The dance card for next year’s contest is filling up nicely. May have to be a semi-annual event at this rate.
#4 Hondo, I believe you may be right as his enlistment/discharge date was cut short by 5 months. He also has a very lengthy criminal back ground. in multiple states. He even wore Sheriff Joe’s pink boxer’s for a 1 to 5 sentence. Plus being discharged as a PFC ( E-2) clearly shows he was a shitbird.
Wonder what bridge this ass nugget lives under now? Bet he still wears those same shart up pink boxers too. HYMN, HYMN, FOOK HYMN. (old Irish prayer)
And could one of you Marines tell me when there was a Marine that served with the Multi-national Force and Observers (MFO). He has an MFO Medal in the shadow box. Never knew a US Marine that served in the MFO as a Marine.
lol, just took a sweet little month off for christmas
Never got above PFC? Classic. And it looks like when da po-po got done with him, the Corps kept him around just long enough to process the paperwork and shitcan his worthless ass.
At least he doesn’t have an Air Cav patch or Trident.
WebsterICT- ANGLICO sometimes had a Det with MFO
Scotty: more like 10 months early, amigo. As I recall, AWOL and civilian confinement is “bad time” and doesn’t count towards fulfilling an enlistment. Additional time gets tacked on at the end to make up any “bad time” prior to normal ETS.
The fact that he left way early tells me it was almost certainly some kind of early admin discharge. An admin discharge for misconduct (or an OTH in lieu of courts-martial on the AWOL charge) would fit the known facts quite nicely.
Only thing close to that time frame for combat was Beruit, Grenada and Just Cause (Panama). Grenada was in late 83, Panama was in 89′ That leaves Beruit. The first Marines landing there as part of the international peace-keeping force August 24th 1982. I suppose he could have landed then took a lear jet back to Camp Lejuene and gotten discharged 8 days later.
Not Likely.
Everything about this guy is off. Looks like he went UA, commited a crime. got locked up for a while and was separated early.
As for picking up Sgt at 18 during that time frame? impossible. There was no combat at that time so that would be out of the question. Regardless of meritorious promotions, there was a minimum time in service requirement, Im thinking it was two years. Even the most shit-hot guys I knew took over two years to get Sgt. I wasn’t a slouch myself, I went in at 17 years 9 months, was promoted to LCpl and Cpl Meritoriously and it still took me 2 years and 8 months to get Sgt, I was 20 years old.
My best buddy, the son of a retired Master Sergeant and a walking poster for being a Marine ( he got every rank Meritoriously and was regimental NCO of the Quarter) picked it up in 2 years and 4 months. He was 20 also.
Bottom line is the guy in the article is a lying sea bag full of nose hairs and needs to die under a bus.
I see he was a Hollywood Marine…. That explains so much.
(Call me a pot stirrer; I came out of Parris Island)
@ 17 TopGoz,being a “sand flea” recruit explains alot!?:)
I knew a nuke once that made E-5 before his 19th birthday.
ONCE. And he went to boot as an E-3 and was pushbutton E-4 coming out of self-paced MM “A” school in Great Lakes back in the 1980’s. To say it’s rare is an understatement.
Clown.
Having done a little research, the Multi-national Force and Observers Medal was last awarded around 1981 for those who participated in the supervision of the security arrangements as specified by the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty of Peace, circa October 1981. His chronological record is silent on the matter for that time period, so it’s not authorized. The Marine barracks bombing didn’t take place until October 1983. Even still, the MEU (BLT 1/8 and the rest) did not receive this.
If this is the same guy, his LinkedIn account also cites he was a Sgt in the Marine Corps:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardstraub
Here is the problem with video games.. guys think for some strange reason that if they are good at Call of Duty or Battlefield then they can assume they earned all the stuff that the Real Marines, SEAL’s, or Army SF MEN earned. Not leaving the Air Force out forget the name of their SF guys…
In Battlefield I am a Col. 28th or something… Sorry having never been in the Service, this pisses me off more then you might think. My Father RIP was in Korea and my Uncle lost his leg on Iwo …. Not once did they ever complain about what they did. Yet if they heard someone claim a load of BS they would be pissed.
http://youtu.be/bCnzi6L_BsM
@21. The MFO medal was authorized for wear July 1982 for American units assigned to the Multinational Force Observers unit in the Siani. It’s award was later made retro-active to August 1981. It continues to be awarded to US personnel who perform 170 days of continuous service as part of the MFO. My source for this is US Army Regulation AR 600-8-22, dtd 15092011, PG 124.
Since this mission is on-going, the medal is still being awarded.
BebbenB#25 – Noted, and I stand corrected. The point still stands – he wasn’t part of any Multinational Force Observation. It’s still a lie.
No worries. I wasn’t arguing FOR him, just clarifying award dates for the MFO Medal. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he wasn’t there.
Clue # 1 …. Shadow Box all jacked up. Nothing is lined up, even, or orderly …. No respecting Marine would permit that!
Looks like this shit bird was recently arrested on 12 SEP 2012.
Straub, Richard E – (M/X) Age: 50 Map It
207 N Victory Blvd
Burbank , CA 91502-1839 Verified Address
Reported: 09/12/2012 by Crime Reporter: 6105
Crime Report #: 7419849
Source: Glendale PD
M PC647(F) Under the Influence of Drugs/Alcohol
Bail Amount:
Residing in Crime Beat Zone: Glendale & Burbank
Do not forget the service stripe with 3yrs service. Was the requirement still 4yrs ?
@30 Yah, Joe. For the Corps (and the Navy and CG), it’s one for 4.
That’s another giveaway. For the Army, it’s 3 and that’s what most people would be familiar with, I think. So if you see someone claiming 12 years in and sporting 4, well…that’s not a good sign.
Anyone else notice just how “highly decorated” this guy is? Not only does he claim to have a Navy and Marine Corps Medal – but his miniature medals also include at least one LOM and two (!) Defense Superior Service Medals (DoD equivalent of a LOM). That’s one helluva decorated 3-year E5!
Yeah, right. I’m guessing the stuff in his shadow box is whatever he found at the nearest pawn shop or Army/Navy surplus store. We all know he sure as hell wasn’t awarded them.
#23 “Not leaving the Air Force out forget the name of their SF guys…”
USAF Spec Ops has:
Pararescue (aka “PJs”) for Combat SAR
Combat Control Team–call in airstrikes, seize or set up airfields behind enemy lines and operate them
Special Operations Weather–collect weather data behind enemy lines
They frequently accompany other SpecOps units to act as the air-ground interface.
I’m a former Marine, and I have respect for these guys, they’re BAMFs.
@22
I hate when people do this. Corp? Really? Start date matches; end date…not so much.
U.S. Marine Corp
January 1979– December 1984 (6 years)
Active Duty — Highest Rank Obtained: E-5
So this is the best part of his LinkedIn profile. I wonder if he’s looking to fill any military roles?
“Student of film and television. Independant Actor looking for an Agent. Am available for any type of roles in film, television or documentaries.”
I’m not sure why I’m bothering to analyze this after looking at the ribbons and medals (not to mention the FOIA response),
but he claims to have been promoted five times in 18 months but is only a SGT(E-5).
MCPO #2: maybe he’s considering the transition from “civ” to E1 a promotion.
Or maybe he’s just as dumb as a box of rocks.
Poohbah, does BAMF stand for Big Angry Muscular Fighters?
this guy is a shitbag
Hondo, there appears to be some attached device to the Navy Marine Corps Medal. Do you think he awarded himself two of them?
If the guy from Slingblade were to wear a Marine Dress Uniform, he’d look just like this guy. He just needs some french-fried taters, mmmhmmm.
[…] Richard E. Straub; Recon Marine […]
Check out his profile on linkedin… http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardstraub
My ex-husband went in 1974 and picked up Sgt in 17 months. Very squared away Marine. No time in service back then, even when there was no combat.
As for this shitbird, if he was in combat (which) I doubt, he probably was a coward. They all are that claim they are something when they are not.
[…] 13) Richard “Recon Assmonkey” Straub […]
I know this page hasn’t been commented on in a while, but did anyone notice that he had a Distinguished Defense Service Medal and the Legion of Merit (usually only reserved for officers) in his shadow box? But then he wasn’t wearing them in uniform. Really? You are awarded the Legion of Merit as an enlisted Marine and you don’t wear that shit on your blues?
Scott T: I saw that as well, but figured he was so totally AFU and already so thoroughly busted that there was no need to give a rundown.
That’s actually the Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) he’s wearing one higher in precedence than the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (DDSM). Among the DoD decorations it’s the rough equivalent of the LM.
The ribbons are very similar, as are the medals (one is silver-colored, the other gold, otherwise identical). Best way to tell them apart is that the DDSM has no white stripes on its ribbon; the DSSM has two white stripes next to the center red stripe.
http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/decorations.aspx