Alicia Watkins; Air Force vet in the Trump campaign
Early last week, this person, Alicia Watkins, presented herself to presidential candidate, Donald Trump, as a journalist with press credentials. Somehow she had convinced someone at the Trump campaign that she was a reporter for Troops Media, so they gave her credentials. Five seconds of investigation later determined that she wasn’t, but by that time Donald had hired her for his campaign staff. She is fairly attractive, so I’m guessing that was a major factor in Trump’s decision, but it is what it is. Anyway, folks began to question her story immediately. It turns out that she has been on the Oprah Show claiming to be a homeless Air Force veteran. She has claimed that she was injured in the 9-11-2001 attack on the Pentagon, she has also claimed that she was injured in an IED explosion when she was stationed in Afghanistan. So, you know, being the diligent reporters that we are, we applied for a FOIA on her military records.
So while we were doing the background, John Q. Public, a blog about Air Force issues, wrote their own breathless piece about her. They admitted that she may have been at the Pentagon and they admitted that she was in Afghanistan in 2006. So I thought they had a FOIA on her, so I wrote to them. Turns out that no, they didn’t have a FOIA, so I’m not sure where they got their information. In the meantime, Watkins got wind of the fact that people were looking into her background, so she reached out to our buddy, Bulldog at Guardian of Valor. She promised him documentation for her claims. In fact, she sent this letter to him;
It’a letter from an unknown Air Force officer attesting to her status as a wounded warrior. The signature block and contact information are blacked out, so it’s pretty useless. We were in the process of checking on the letter, when the Air Force Times decided to interject themselves into the process, they claim that they have talked with the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio, Texas.
In 2014, Watkins appeared in a news segment aired by WJLA-TV, Washington’s ABC affiliate, touting the therapeutic benefits of riding horses. She repeated the story about having suffered physical and emotional injuries due to combat, telling the WJLA reporter that she served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “I experienced IEDs, suicide bombers,” Watkins said in that report.
Watkins deployed to Qatar in 2003 and to Afghanistan in 2006, Dickerson said. There is no record of her deploying to Iraq in the information AFPC provided.
Watkins joined the Air Force in 1998 and retired as a staff sergeant after nine years and six months of service, Dickerson said. She was in the information management career field, working as a network engineer.
Watkins served at the Pentagon from October 2000 to July 2004, time that included her deployment to Qatar, Dickerson [a spokesman for the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio, Texas] said. She also served at Los Angeles Air Force Base from July 2004 to her retirement in May 2008, time that included her deployment to Afghanistan.
According to the Air Force Times, there is no evidence that she was injured either in the Pentagon, or Afghanistan but she wore the Purple Heart on her Air Force uniform during some of her media appearances;
I suspect that the imperative to discredit a woman of color who supports Trump overrides most of the cautions that everyone would normally exercise in this situation. While I don’t think that Watkins is being entirely truthful, I don’t have the proof in front of me which tempers my writing at this point. We’re still waiting for the National Personnel Records Center to answer our request.
I will ask your help in verifying the document above, if any of my readers has experience in the Air Force wounded warrior community. Personally, I don’t see a need to even create a document like that, unless the intent is to deceive. But that’s just a feeling I have.
Category: Air Force
Jonn, with the caveat that I’ve been out of the AF since late ’01, I will say I’ve never heard of a WW program within the AF. That’s odd
Is there any harm waiting for St. Louis?
Other than the fact that my inbox fills up with emails about these various articles, no.
Heres the article on AFW2 about here; it was posted 05APR2012.
http://www.woundedwarrior.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123296909
Heres is the AFW2 contact info:
AFW2 Program Office
Toll Free: (800) 581-9437
Cmc’l Fax: (210) 565-3385
DSN Fax: 665-3385
It apparently is a congress mandated org and resides on the AF.mil network.
So take that for what its worth. I have no knowledge of the validity of her claims though.
It’s sounds like the same thing as the AW2 program the Army runs
It’s the army’s version of the wounded warrior program and I’m a member and the only qualification is the you were injured or wounded in the combat zone
They have had issues with frauds but they don’t last I have a feeling someone slipped through
I wasnt injured in a combat zone and Im a member of AW2. Its for soldiers hurt on active duty. Anyone medically discharges or retired is assigned to AW2. Combat injuries or not.
Good info they where tracking me and then they went and they are again the whole thing is confusing to me
AW2 will track you until formal permanent retirement. At that time you’re moved into an informal portion of the program, though social workers will call every 6 months to check on you.
I know about the before.. after I was retired I wasn’t given any guidance on what to expect I received one call, my wife told me after reading this that she was getting calls plus e-mails until we moved to Arizona in May of 2014 then quiet and in late November 2014 she was in contact with AW2 here. me I didn’t meet him until last year
Also, while it now appears the John Q. Public piece wasn’t TOTALLY researched, they did raise enough questions using her own statements that an FOIA would be icing on the cake, so to speak.
Basically, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and it looks like she’s blowing a LOT of smoke.
My BS detector is telling me this cat got no PH. Too many inconsistences.
I bet she is embellishing.
good point Silentium Est! This phantom “John Q” may have tried to hard to publish a story without researching anything with hard core proof.
Ok, Mr Face beat me to it. I practiced my Google-Fu and got the same link
Well right off the bat, she’s authorized 8 ribbons and medals and it appears to me that she’s wearing 19? WTF? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?
Lying sack of crap.
If I’m wrong I’ll apologize but I’m not holding my breath.
Her behavior seems to lean towards being caught at something.
So I wasn’t the only one who wondered about that stack. It seemed to be quite a bit for an E-5.
I retired after 23 years as an E-8 SMSgt and I only have 14 ribbons and medals.
I was no slouch but no hero either.
Don’t sell yourself short. You are a heck of a slouch.
An ice cold PBR to the first one that can identify what movie I stole that line from.
I’ll take ‘Caddy Shack’ for $1000, Alex.
Caddyshack
At least I got a free bowl of soup with that hat.
And I’m a tremendous slouch.
30 pack of PBR on sale at the Andrews Package Store for the low low price of $16.99. Prices that low, even a former top executive at All Points Logistics could afford it.
Is it just me, or was the character of Spaulding Smails based on the life of Psaul (of the ballsack)?
She was on TLC’s “Say Yes To The Dress” a couple of weeks ago. They gave her the VIP treatment, gave her over $10K in gown, veil, shoes jewelry and her “entourage” a stay at the Gansevoort. Talk about monetary gain!
They “surprised” her with the VIP treatment and freebies. Looked like her family was with her. Maybe she told tall tales and the family ran with it? Or maybe it was a conspiracy to get on the show and freebies.
The SYTTD episode also said she went from a newbie in the Air Force(?) going straight to the Pentagon, (cuz that’s where newbies are assigned, right?) then off to Iraq and Afghanistan…I forget which location had her IED injury.
I thought the whole story was strange at the time.
Also, she is allegedly getting a degree in Psych/Counseling to help other vets with PTSD. The show didn’t say where she was enrolled.
I saw an article that mentioned her going from homeless vet to Howard University student, FWIW.
I know of a vacant house on Wilson Lane in Bethesda. Maybe she moved in there.
“injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2006”
http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/annapolis/ph-ac-cn-mlk-marshal-0119-20150118-story.html
“I experienced IEDs, suicide bombers,” she said. “I went through traumatic brain injury, also, within my military service, I was sexually assaulted.”
http://wjla.com/features/veterans/-horse-whisperer-works-to-heal-veterans-with-ptsd-107398
the more I read about this the madness and total disdain I have for this pile of :);$&
seriously does anybody do there homework on these SUPER TURDS ! ! !
Why is it those of us who have been injured or wounded never seem to be the attention whores
The rest of these jack ass are ????
So they are handing out PHs for paper cut ????
I’ve been smashed and electrocuted and blown off my feet and shoot in a training accident
I don’t have one and don’t want one. But for shit sake if you are going to claim one make sure you where in a combat zone and not in some office getting your feelings hurt :/
From the article, she received these:
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Air Force Organizational Award
Air Force Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Longevity Service Award
Air Force Noncommissioned Officer Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon
Air Force Training Ribbon
Some of these were awarded multiple times. Another embellisher that felt that what they actually did, given the circumstances of their service, what they were required to do, etc., wasn’t enough. 🙄
Ahhh. . . yes. . . that oh-so-scarce, the pinnacle, that “rara avis” of medals, the NDSM.
Who said they don’t have participation trophies in the military?
Flagwaver here you go….
enjoy Bhwhahahahahahaha! ! ! !
http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpopularmilitary.com%2Farmy-privates-in-basic-training-receive-participation-trophies%2F&h=DAQFwEysbAQFGpfOgZylUZWZlHpVbq1FLq-7DaYeuaPeOuw&enc=AZNaZPUEXD0hpAfPmOaw9A73EoskGmmjE_jSQ-r8YxWi8kWmB_dh7fq0qPHOhbDZL4-H9cjjKL-GYySUjskAb0xKubAcA4boK08fcokvCQpT0if_gDf3H6qD_JHyPiI77H57JEFuvG7WFIn2SXQBXfMtZqC4JrpidZiCaXL9uAazFFyo6E4uUrbDsFs6ryTUElXyiaqH3Ab49ElmMHICMXTC&s=1
A very telling point from the AF Times article:
“After Anderson asked Watkins to provide him with proof she received the Purple Heart, Watkins cut off all communication with him, Anderson said.”
She’s given a chance to substantiate her Purple Heart, which any legitimate PH recipient would do immediately; instead, she cuts off contact. As I said, very telling.
Im sure she got it (Purple Heart) as a PJ, locked in a do or die battle with the bad guys…..firing her M-4 with one hand while performing emergency surgery with the other hand.
Naw, her space shuttle was on a staffing run and she took a round that came in through the opposite door……
Not sure why you’re alleging the John Q. Public article wasn’t adequately researched. I wrote the article. I spoke with someone who had access to her service record, as the article states. It’s your prerogative if you want to wait and see documents for yourself, but that’s not a universal standard. I have reliable sources with access, and they’ve yet to lead me astray in three years writing for the blog. Also, the photo you reference and credit to AF Times appeared in that same article, raising the same question in the same way.
All that said, appreciate the link and appreciate you covering this story. Not sure why you’re taking pot shots at my article, but it was thoroughly researched and did what it purported to do: it raised questions.
I’m only speaking for myself but I’ve seen time and time again where someone has it verified through good inside sources.. that someone is who they say they are only to find out they they were wrong…. In fact it’s almost quite common…
I’ve been tracking this saga now for a few and my gutt hopes her story is legit
But after seeing this play out time again, I won’t be surprised if she is full of crap
Did you see her service record?
Second hand references don’t count.
They are always, always wrong, because there is no need for a veteran to hide his service record.
Well, JQP, your vast experience in researching things like this, while it is appreciated, is hardly more credible than the experience of at least a half dozen commenters here who I know personally who have been doing it for decades. You should at least consider the possibility that others may have btdt for a whole lot longer than your three years writing for the blog. Doesn’t mean that you are wrong, of course, just that you come off like an arrogant little prick to get your feelings hurt over something with which you have very little actual experience when compared to the rest of the world.
In other words, if you want to get pissy with this crowd, expect to be laughed outta the house.
Note: Not speaking on behalf of Jonn or any other posters and/or commenters here. It’s always funny when newbies start flexing their muscles in front of folks with serious skills.
JQP, if you can’t accept a bit of criticism about your article, you have a problem. You haven’t been flamed for anything, but readers do have a right to question your sources if you aren’t providing real, hard copy backup.
sockpuppet….check
I can’t wait to hear how had “access” to anyone’s SRB after active duty.
Look fellas, I hear ya. You’re expressing a standard — that you prefer certain information be developed in a certain way. No quarrel with that. Just seems to me you can have that preference without objecting to the preferences of others. I wrote an accurate article, so it shouldn’t surprise you I would show up here to defend against implications to the contrary.
You all are free to withhold your judgment until you see her service record. The fact is, though … the essential truth is already established. She lied about a Purple Heart, she lied about going to Iraq, and her own story about being in the Pentagon on 9/11 is contradicted by … well … her.
You guys are good at what you do. No one is questioning that. But …I know the Air Force pretty well. Many sources, and the road to the truth doesn’t always need to run through a FOIA or a document examination. Doesn’t even work that way in court. So we just have a difference of opinion. But while we have different methods, we’re driving toward the same truth.
So maybe just don’t feel the need to piss on your territory quite so much … if you care about the truth rather than who distills it and how.
Thanks for the chat, fellas.
Now you are just making yourself look more than a bit ignorant.
How many times have YOU appeared in court? If you had, you would know that when proving the validity of something, the court wants original source documents. Sure, they accept expert witness testimony about opinion, but not documents.
Since I am not an attorney, will allow those who post here to school you on just how goofy your statement was.
Man, you are entertaining, and apparently not real bright. But thanks for playing.
Man, you sure are smart to draw so many conclusions from a couple of comments. Easy to do that when none of them have to be correct.
Look me up in a few years when you inevitably need legal representation.
Glad that you at least acknowledge that smart people exist outside your imagination. Oh, wait.
So, you say that you are still in school? Yeah, well, should the need arise, my current legal representation should more than suffice. They’ve been practicing for quite a while already.
But good luck. There may be a thing or two you could learn, if you decide your profs are intelligent enough to know more than you know about the law. And the requirements of court proceedings.
Actually, many of us here HAVE needed legal representation against the vexatious litigation of someone who HAS been proven to be a phony, to a far greater degree of certainty than you have done.
So yeah, BTDT, got the fucking tshirt and lawyer bills to prove it.
JQP…still waiting to hear how you read her Service Record. Since you can’t get it by FOIA and she can’t possess it herself since, yanno… it doesn’t belong to her and has to be sent to military archives.
I’m still waiting to hear this too. May have opened a whole new can of worms with that statement.
Not sure he thought through the potential ramifications of declaring publicly how his info was obtained. Could get beyond interesting. And uncomfortable.
Several folks here have attempted gently to inform him, but he seems to continue to let that ego interfere with clear thinking.
Here’s the problem you guys have: you’re too enclosed in an insular universe. If you read the article you’re opining about, you’ll not that it refers to a generalized “service record,” not a formal “Service Record.” See the difference? The informal distinction is important, because it’s how people outside your world refer to a broad array of source data, most of which is not classified nor protected by Privacy Act.
If you ever get around to calling AFPC, you’ll learn that there is a category of information known as “releasable” information. It includes things like basic service dates, assignments, and decorations. If you read the article, you’ll note that’s what it purports to have gleaned from the (careful now, lower case) service record to which it refers.
The more you guys talk, the more you expose the fact you’ve never read the article you’re opining about.
Ego isn’t a problem for me, at least not in this instance. It might be a problem for you guys. You seem a little miffed that AF Times exposed a fraud instead of letting you get first dibs.
That said, this last comment of mine is more snide than it needs to be. Just take it from me that I value your perspective and understand our reasonable differences. You’re totally right that if someone is going to outright claim Watkins or anyone else is a fraud, they’d better have proof. And I’m totally right that raising a fair question for her to answer requires a lot less … and is also ultimately worth a lot less.
I enjoyed this discussion, including the mildly contentious parts. I’ll visit you guys more often.
Actually, yes – it did come off as pretty damn snide.
Some of us are quite familiar with the concept of “public record information contained in a persons Official Military Personnel File (OPMF)”. What constitutes said public record information been listed on this site for over two years:
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=39454
This is also precisely the info which may be released under the FOIA process without the individual’s consent.
True. Just keep in mind that some of the information we’re talking about here can be released without a FOIA request. Publications that cover the military services routinely request and receive releasable information without FOIA.
We’re still talking past one another for the simple fact that not every analysis of a veteran’s service is a “stolen valor” case.
If you didn’t see a service record, then don’t say you saw a service record.
I do not see the distinction.
Have you received enough attention?
You seem to dodge the question with a lot of fluff. HOW DID YOU GET “ACCESS” TO HER SERVICE RECORDS? This is a HUGE Air Force Privacy Act issue and it has nothing to do with “releasable” information. Did you personally call the AFPC? I read the AF Times sloppy article and they don’t have ANY of her awards correct to include the overseas campaign medals. JQP, you’re another Rolling Stones article DISASTER waiting to be exposed yourself. As a “lawyer”, you should’ve known better to open yourself up such legal liability.
IDC SARC, JQP is no sockpuppet. He’s a well-respected blogger (and retired Air Force officer) who writes about (primarily) Air Force issues. He does have some pretty darn good sources, as well. He clearly questions Watkins’ claims in his blog article. Outing posers is not his main thing, so he typically doesn’t go as far as a FOIA. However, I wouldn’t fault his research. Bottom line: he’s on our side.
Will take your word for it, Eden, but when someone shows up here acting like a jerk, it should surprise no one that we would treat him, her or it like a jerk.
Now that you have clarified that he is representing the USAF so poorly doesn’t really elevate my esteem.
I dunno. I’ve been reading his blog long enough that I’m familiar with his writing style. I didn’t think he was being a jerk, just clarifying what he saw as an inaccurate (and non-malicious) characterization of his methods of verification.
Ok..not a sockpuppet….just an ink slingin sphincter.lol
I have over a thousand FOIAs on file because I’ve been confronted by lawyers a number of times. I can’t afford to use hearsay. I didn’t question your sources, I’m only saying that it’s easy to expose phonies when you don’t go through the process.
You have a right to be as careful as you like. With about 3 weeks left in law school, I understand your desire to avoid legal entanglement. But if all journalists applied the same level of restraint you electively apply, nothing would ever be reported while it was still relevant.
Believe me, I don’t take casual chances. I work to establish a good faith belief that what I’m stating or implying is true before it goes into an article. If I can’t establish that, it doesn’t go in. Even when it does, I’m careful to define exactly the boundary of what I know versus what is reasoned speculation. That’s what analysis involves. If you’re always going to wait for a document that has unimpeachable truth, you’re not analyzing much of anything. You’re just doing requests and relaying the contents to the public on whatever timeline FOIA yields. That’s a great service, but we’re providing different services. I do plenty of FOIAs myself, but it’s not the only card in the deck.
Interestingly, you made a statement in your piece that comes much closer to defamation than anything else I’ve seen in this whole sordid mess … when you implied Air Force Times had some sort of racist motive for publishing its extremely well-researched and factual story.
I think your site is great. But you’ve got to get past the idea that media outlets are somehow unhinged because they establish facts via methods you don’t adopt or approve. When you say Air Force Times “interjected themselves into the process” … it just sounds ridiculous. They talked to AFPC, man. As do I, regularly. AFPC’s phone number is public record, and the folks who give you information will usually provide their names … or at the very least a means for you to independently corroborate what they provide.
Hasten to add that I *genuinely* do respect what you do here. Outing frauds is important stuff. Sometimes, depending on the claim being made, having a document is essential. I agree that’s usually true for you. But my piece was a “raising questions” article. I expect you and others to put no more stock in it than you are inclined … my point is that I stand by the accuracy of the claims it made.
I’d welcome the chance to work together on something in the future. I have a feeling these crossed wires would get uncrossed quickly.
‘Media outlets unhinged’???
Hey, this entire place is completely unhinged, JQP! You will seldom find a bigger hive of silliness than this place on the weekends. Don’t let the basterds getcha down
Ok, that’s funny.
JQP…The missing link you need to see why many of us are conditioned to have a gut feel for Attention Whores can be found by reading one Michael Duane Killam story. You have interjected yourself to become the possible William J. Gainey for this woman. Rest easy, if she is found to be credible, she will receive her due on this site.
Additionally, most of us are accustomed to being threatened with the old…”Don’t you dare question me or I will pull and use the CARD against you.” That level of behavior will get a person a LOT of well-deserved attention on this site.
Rightfully so.
JQP…one final thought. At least you are not being overbearing in your response, such as Gainey was. He created his own shit list with his name at the top. Begged for it, as a matter of fact. Received his due as expected. A calm demeanor will be met with respect, even in the face of doubt.
Never my intent to sound overbearing or to come off as a know-it-all. Never the case because it’s never true. It’s hard to have debates and defend ideas without sounding like a jackass here and there.
I’m confident when all is said and done with this particular case, both TAH and JQP will have performed distinct and complementary public services.
Most of the major media have grabbed the bread crumb they needed and are headlong into the Trump angle of all this. Will be interesting to see where that all goes, if anywhere.
And that was your goal all along right? To make a name for yourself on the back of an homeless vet. You are one sick puppy JQP. If it backfires(and the proof we’ve seen her posted already actually does) , then good luck on becoming a respectable lawyer.
“But if all journalists applied the same level of restraint you electively apply, nothing would ever be reported while it was still relevant.”
Maybe more journalists should wait. Do you know how many articles about phonies get run and exposed on sites like this one on a routine basis? Enough that what you’re saying doesn’t make sense. If reporters actually did the FOIAs instead of running these gripping stories to get eyeballs, maybe ee wouldn’t be exposed to so many of these posers.
*we…damn phone
I can think of a lot of people who got dragged through the mud for the sake of a headline, etc.
I’m sure most of the posters here can come up with their own lists as well.
Jonn is right to practice due diligence in this case. She’s not going anywhere.
D-my thought exactly! JQP is the same Attention Whore he claims Watkins to be. He wanted to make a name for himself and I think he has…. Rolling Stones #2-Worst journalism of the century.
“AFPC’s phone number is public record, and the folks who give you information will usually provide their names … or at the very least a means for you to independently corroborate what they provide.”
So who wrote the article then?
John Q. Public is a pen name for LtCol Tony Carr, USAF (Ret.) I think that if you give his blog a chance, you’ll like what you see over there. It’s mostly Air Force related, but not all. It serves a somewhat different purpose from TAH, but once you read there while, I believe you’ll find that we’re all on the same team, and that LtCol Carr is not the jerk some of you think him to be. No vested interest whatsoever, just a reader of both JQP and TAH for several years now.
I hope everyone here realizes I wouldn’t take the time to show up here and litigate if I didn’t respect this crowd.
Come on over the JQP and fight with me there. It ain’t always good or clean but it’s always fun.
*to
goddamn phone
You are a good person to me. 🙂
your blog is well known to a lot of Air Force friends and
co-workers and highly regarded
After reading this whole thread it seems like some
Here maybe giving you rough time but I’ve had my
Ass lit up here before
Welcome to TAH !!!!!
We are a montley group here
You may be, and probably are, correct is outing her as a poser, but going back to my High School Algebra days, “you have to show your work”. Showing your work in this case is posting a copy of the FOIA response. Jonn and Mark have been dragged into court dozens of times by posers with irrefutable proof that they were liars, and have won because they had the proof. Unless you have a signed document from a legitimate source, you are opening yourself up to a lot of potential trouble. My advice is to wait for the FOIA result. You have all all of her publicly made comments archived, she isn’t going anywhere.
But Down !!!!!!
Great response Hack Stone! I’ve seen her postings, she has proof!Thats why Stolen Valor claims should be left to the FBI. Ruined that girl’s life because she was black and associated with Trump. Yes I said it dude.
JPQ, I can see your side of it but there’s also another important reason to wait for the FOIA – we can avoid “lawyer speak” when we post about this case.
EXAMPLE:
“I will wait for the results to come in but if Alicia Watkins allegedly stretched the truth about a Purple Heart then she may be guilty of Stolen Valor, especially with her having worn the PH medal. Then again, if her military records substantiate her claims and provide full exoneration then pursuant to those documents and findings of fact I will be the first to say “I’m sorry” and salute her honorable service in the US Air Force.”
Two words: BOR – RING!
Most would not take the time to insert all of the appropriate words to make a point but be careful to avoid slander.
It seems to be that any blog has a responsibility to the posters to not incite them into quick judgements, but perhaps everyone sees that angle?
You make a decent argument about effectiveness. But now we’re talking editorial judgment. Sometimes, a key truth needs to be exposed when it is distilled enough, not when it is distilled to 100 proof.
Most of the push-back here isn’t anti-blogger, it’s anti-media. When Trump put that woman on the national stage, he made this a political story with a time horizon attached. When I feel comfortable the truth is evident, it becomes a weighing of imperatives. I respect what this site does, but it’s not what mine does.
That said, I’ve waited months to perfect stories when running out every ground ball took that long. I sat on an A-10 video for 9 months for a variety of reasons, force protection and independent corroboration/authenticity among them.
I feel like the whole world needs a lesson on defamation. What matters is whether you believe something is true at the time you state it. What also matters is whether the person is a public or private figure. In this case, we’re dealing exclusively in well-founded truths about a very public person who has made her service record (lower case) the centerpiece of her public persona. Criticizing her own inconsistencies using her own statements … and comparing those statements to the knowable facts about her record … none of that gets within nuclear standoff of defamation. If it did, you wouldn’t have seen a dozen blogs — along with CNN, Washington Post, and Air Force Times — writing about it.
I think we are agreeing and I appreciate your commentary on this.
I see much of what they do in the stolen valor community as documenting with 100% absolute certainty individuals that have embellished or outright falsified their service. Their names and story are recorded forever for all to reference should they move on to another unsuspecting region of the country with a newly polished story and an unsuspecting audience or victims.
In order for the process to play out, it must be methodical and almost always at the mercy of the time required to obtain official documentation.
There are many times that it comes out as “news” and the story appears first in the stolen valor communities. That’s a luxury and a perk, but not the primary purpose as I see it.
The news, the milblogs and the stolen valor blogs all have their purpose and distinction and many times they overlap, as you have so eloquently pointed out.
To provide another example of the worthiness of Jonn’s methods. Oathkeeper members have emerged on the scene various times in past years with the Sugar Pine Mine, Chattanooga shootings, and other appearances. They chase the news camera evidenced by Mouse Prosen since I don’t believe he is still guarding the Recruiting station in Chattanooga since he claimed he was going to stay as long as it took. Many of the Oathkeeper members were investigated by TAH and others and the appropriate military records gathered. Blogs were written about each one including Mouse Prosen, Blaine Cooper and others.
Then, when they emerged again at the Oregon Wildlife standoff Jonn was immediately consulted and several news articles were written based on the FOIA results that TAH had collected on several of their members. They were shown to be AirSoft commandos, wannabe soldiers and military wash-outs.
So, it’s apples and oranges and often there is often crossover. I like the way you handle your business and think it would be good for you to build bridges for potential future collaboration. I gather this is what you are saying anyway.
Totally agree. And I think we are agreeing for the most part. In fact, I think most of us commenting on this thread are violently on the same team.
There’s a lot about my original article I haven’t mentioned here, including an offer to Ms. Watkins to revise it if she felt it was inaccurate or defamatory in any way (she declined), and much more. But it’s still worth flagging that what I did in this case had limited value. Raising questions is worth a lot less than answering them. When folks like TAH close out their cases, they can make definitive claims of the sort I couldn’t and didn’t make.
Great exchange — I appreciate it.
WHTA? YOU ALREADY POSTED THE ARTICLE BEFORE ASKING HER TO CLARIFY A SINGLE THING! She didn’t decline JQP, she prepared herself for the legal battle you have now injected yourself into by ruining her life. Good luck. I’m sure the actual names of your “sources” will be revealed during the trial.
Tony Carr,
Who had “access” to her records? The man with so much to say is conveniently quiet when the bigger issue is exposed. Who violated the Privacy Act Policy to “break” this story?
Actually, a laundry list of information about a vet’s military service can be released without their consent. A listing of such information subject to release without the vet’s consent can be found here:
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=39454
Short version: final rank, decorations/badges, geographical locations and units of assignment, and status (retired or discharged) are all releasable w/o the individual’s consent – along with a whole lot of other stuff.
Given the information published by JQP, there does not appear to be any violation of the Privacy Act per se; by Federal privacy policy, the information he noted in his article all appears to be releasable without the individual’s consent. Not knowing USAF policy, I cannot say if an informal release to a journalist w/o a written request runs afoul of some other aspect of USAF policy or not. However, given that the information can be released in response to a written request I rather doubt it does.
A formal FOIA reply does two things: it acknowledges the fact that the information was requested, and provided a written record of the information released. That’s all.
She kinda has that Megan Morse scam thing going for her.
(…at least that’s my suspicion where this is headed).
Megan Morse is one who needs constant attention. One of the worst attention whores who uses false military claims to feed her addiction. JMHO.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=63071
I’d hit it….naughty gurl
SARC if it’s alive you’d hit it 🙂
Even if it’s not, as long as there’s a suitably sized orifice. . .
BHWHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
SARC’s motto…”In war, any hole is a trench”.
🙂
BHWHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
It’s a pity that the USAF stopped calling them WAFs. There are so many jokes in that.
If she’s pulling a fast one, then have at her. She needs to learn to be a bit less of a spotlight piggy.
It also appears that she picked herself up and brushed the dust off with that “big ol” rock on her finger. I shall wait for the FOIA verdict but I am confident that she is a cocksucker like the rest of them.
Boy, the Donald sure knows how to pick them. If he becomes President he can make her Secretary of the Air Force.
Where she will immediately provide All-Points Logistics (Merritt Island, FL) with multiple contracts based on their “integrity and prowess” as demonstrated by their CEO, the False Commander “Phony” Phil Monkress.
I am sure she will be right along to this website/thread and Proudly, Loudly and Valiantly Proclaim:
“APRIL FOOLS”
Can anyone explain why she’s wearing a USMC-style desert camouflage cover with her USAF desert camouflage BDU uniform in the photos where she’s speaking at the podium in both the John Q. Public and Air Force Times articles?
The last time that I checked, USAF personnel wore the Army-style BDU cap with the old desert BDUs.
Hmmmmm. Arbitrary mix-and-match inter-service uniform items.
Yup; totally legit.
No idea if she was legitimately authorized to wear one, but there were several times in my ANG career when some of us were authorized to wear that cover, at least under some circumstances.
Chip, Might MAPS load folks have worn them in the very early 80’s? Seems like they did, but…
Only time I saw anyone wearing anything other than the matching BDU/ACU cap was a squadron cap or for MAPS, the 3rd MAPS red hat at Pope and Ft. Bragg. Whenever we were deployed or TDY, they usually frowned on us wearing anything than the matching uniform had. Even when we were on exercises, I was rarely able to get away with wearing a purchased-with-my-own-money boonie hat without getting come crap when I was on the rapid deployment team from like, 1990-ish to about 2002.
Thanks, Chip. Remember those red hats, for sure, for sure. Waaaaay back when, I had one for something, but don’t remember just why. (We’re talking very early 70’s.)
USAF wore me out with uniform and rank changes between the 60’s and my eventual retirement. Kept it all straight for a while, but they’ve all sort of run together now. Wore out several shirts sewing on Velcro, taking it off, changing to subdued, then back to Velcro.
She is SF Ghost Ops operator…
she is totally legit if you have money to give and freebies to boot
Actually no, the BDU cover was the same as the Army for the USAF.
The DCU cover was the same as the USN and USMC for the USAF No idea why it was that way, but that was how it was when I was in the AF from 2003-2007
Yes , The reason for the 8 point to be worn for AF in the DCU’S, Don’t know about 2003. From 2004-2010 They did not have a way to get resupply of PC caps that they and the Army use, because the Army was Phasing them out and AF would have no replacement. They went to Navy (active Navy Uniform till Jan 31, 2012) asked permission to use the 8 point in theater form that time until they did a uniform change over to ABU’s
We had same issue with exchanges getting the brown T’s back then and we worked with Marines most of the time, so they did allow some green T- shirt to be worn. We fixed that real quick but it did happen. You have these issues when you service uniforms in theater. My 2 cents on that one.
Well thats the best answer I have gotten for why we were wearing the 8 point.
Interestingly (at least to me) there was a short period of time while I was in the AF, that we we were allowed to wear 4 different colored t-shirts with the BDU. Never saw anyone actually wear one other than black or brown, but green and white were also an option. They were just options that no one had the cajones to challenge their leadership by wearing lol
We had to hear it from the troops all the time. They ask why the AF guys were wearing their 8 point. So we sent message to higher and asked. The answer is they don’t have enough PC caps and is approved by NAVCENT.
She’s also memorialized for all time in the Patriot Plaza art installation at the new Sarasota Veterans Cemetery. Her panel is the one titled “democracy.” She attended the dedication. Photo on Patterson Foundation website. Attention whore.
Sounds more like jealous to me?
I heard from a reliable source that the purple heart can be self awarded for carpel tunnel syndrome in support of a combat operation.
The regulation is similar to service members in the CONOS getting a BSM for correct chock block placement on the flight line in Missouri.
BSM in CONUS? I’d really like to see that. I’m not sure a GO would sign that in good conscience.
Turn on your sarcasm detector.
Then again, look at what the AF awards Bronze Stars for in the sandbox.
Doh. That’s what I get for skimming. Mea culpa.
Or update the Sarcasm Recognition Software.
Read it and weep.
“Of the new awards, four Bronze Stars are slated to go to personnel who worked in the Pentagon. They were involved in the Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flights over Yugoslavia, according to information provided by Air Force spokesman Maj. Jon K. Anderson.
Another Bronze Star would go to an airman who was based at Wright-Paterson Air Force Base in Ohio during the airstrikes. Others also would go to personnel in Missouri, bringing the total there to 12.”
http://www.stripes.com/news/air-force-to-award-61-more-bronze-stars-1.42274
Yep. That’s precisely why the FY2001 NDAA not long afterwards amended Federal law to require receipt of IDP or HFP as a legal prerequisite to award of the BSM. Prior to that point in time, award criteria for the BSM did not specifically require physical presence in an area of active hostilities.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=34350
Well a shit bird like her is definitely at home in the campaign of a shit bird that believes his boarding school experience in New York taught him more about being in the military than actually being in the military.
Holy shit, hold on. I looked at her rack again, no not that one, and above the purple heart ribbon do I see a pair of jump wings?
Damn close
Not jump wings; specialty badge. The badge shows her AFSC and skill level
You sure? Looks like wings to me. What AF specialty looks like that?
Almost all of them, see attachment 3
http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2903/afi36-2903.pdf
John Q. Public is a pen name for LtCol Tony Carr, USAF (Ret.) I think that if you give his blog a chance, you’ll like what you see over there. It’s mostly Air Force related, but not all. It serves a somewhat different purpose from TAH, but once you read there while, I believe you’ll find that we’re all on the same team, and that LtCol Carr is not the jerk some of you think him to be. No vested interest whatsoever, just a reader of both JQP and TAH for several years now.
[Jonn–sorry for the double-post. This was supposed to go here and not under JMACK’s psot. I tried to move it before posting, but it didn’t work. Feel free to delete the other one.]
https://www.facebook.com/AirForceForum/posts/550002645173380
This ranks somewhere between attention whore and shameless self promoter. Damned few of us, if any, who are still biting. Put away the stringer.
You just can’t read this and not see what is between the lines.
That is some high quality shit there. Thanks for posting. She is wasting no time threatening to sic her “lawer” on the person who posted the links to all of her news articles.
What’s crazy is that Los Angeles AFB/AFS posting her lie on there AF.mil website.
Someone had to read that in the office, specifically supervisor in Knowledge Operations/Information Management and know she was in before 9/11. Not even sure why you would lie about that…
No Problem.
Apr 10, 2011 –
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150161783964940&set=a.455633634939.250595.519189939&type=3&theater
FRIEND: “SSgt Alicia Watkins, Maddie and I return her to DC from a Wounded Warrior Ride in NC. She was supposed to be in the Pentagon on 9/11,
but instead was at the Twin Towers, next in NO during Katrina, then got hit by and IED in Afghanistan, told she would never walk, then was homeless for a short time after she left the military. She was featured on Oprah, and now is modeling and working on a film about her life in which she will star. A beautiful woman of God for sure. What an honor to serve her.”
Wow, she did it all. Pretty much pulling a AJ Dicken in a weird way.
It was all documented by Brian Williams. I don’t see what the problem is here.
She has a movie coming out too though!??! I mean how many more stories can you tell.
I wanna know what this December 15th Lawsuit she keeps yapping out.
Just a regular Forest F. Gump now ain’t she?
that’s it ^^^^^ 🙂
I’ve been thinking now for about 3days about what this reminds me of and you got it ^^^^^
The older we get, the sicker we get of those trying to pull the CARD on us and use it to get by with garbage most of us would never even imagine trying for fear of getting caught in our lies and the embarrassment. So she got on this site with her b. s which she had been given a pass earlier by those afraid of being called a _____t. Like the sign says, woman, This Ain’t Hell…But You Can See It From Here. This is your big ticket to more publicity and exposure than you ever dreamed. Make that, nightmare.
What’s the CARD?