Ventura won’t release complete records
Army brat/Army wife sends us a link to Stars & Stripes about Jesse (Jimmy Janos) Ventura who was ordered in 2012 to present the court with his complete military records in regards to his complaint against the late SEAL Chris Kyle and now his widow, Taya Kyle. Kyle’s lawyer, John Borger, has asked the court to sanction Janos because he won’t comply with the court’s order;
Borger says that Ventura supplied only one military record that he marked “confidential” that consisted of a one-page record of discharge, effective Dec. 10, 1973. He produced no records of military service from December 1973 to September 1975.
Borger has asked the district court to sanction Ventura by prohibiting him during the trial to offer any evidence or testimony of “alleged military service after December 10, 1973.”
In a response, filed Wednesday, Court J. Anderson, an attorney for Ventura, said the former Minnesota governor’s military career “ended nearly forty years ago and most of the documents evidencing that career no longer exist.” He said that Ventura “cannot be sanctioned for failing to produce documents that have been lost to time.”
To be clear, Don Shipley has said that Ventura/Janos can indeed call himself a SEAL, so who am I to question. However, I have my military records back to 1974, just because someone might ask me about something one day. I still have my initial inventory from basic training. So what is Jimmy Janos hiding?
Category: Shitbags
The only records I have from 1974 is my birth certificate. I do still have my very first LES from 1992. I kept every piece of paper work that the Army gave me, like I was advised to. That being said, this guy is a piece of shit for going after a widow for a perceived slight in a book in which he wasn’t even named.
Not available? Don’t think so, Jesse/Jim m’boy.
You may have lost your copies, but the official copies are still around. And they weren’t “burned up in the fire”, either.
Someone might want to tell Janos (and the Judge) that his Official Military Personnel File should be in storage at NPRC. They’ll also send Janos a copy if he requests same.
I believe under these circumstances the Judge might have good cause to compel Janos to request a copy of his records from NPRC and produce same.
I also wonder if Kyle’s widow’s lawyer, Mr. Borger, knows the above. If not, perhaps someone can clue him in.
Well, Jonn, you have seen all my stuff and you kind of chuckled that I had kept pretty much the same stuff you did. I just found it easier to keep everything and put it together in one file.
“in regards to his complaint against the late SEAL Chris Kyle and now his widow, Taya Kyle.” Talk about a rotten SOB. Can you imagine? Kyle, a distinguished Veteran SEAL, was murdered by someone he was trying to help. That act could have ended this lawsuit but Ventura did not let it go. So, on his behalf, one of his lawyers asked the court to substitute Kyle’s estate which meant that Kyle’s wife, as executrix, would become the defendant. The judge agreed. And as Twist points out, Ventura the Minnesota Mexican wasn’t even named in Kyle’s book. Instead, Kyle referred to “Scruff Face” which later turned out to be Ventura. What a lowlife.
I was (and still am) more of a cluster fk. But my Marine keeps everything. EVERYTHING. She mailed me her notes on the Thrift Saving Plan so I could help her decide if she should sign up and when she got home from boot camp she wanted them back…. Thank GOD I saved all her letters!
BTW…Ventura is scum. SEAL or not. Leave the wife be. Loser.
Wait a second, he’s still suing a widow?
Loach: effectively. Technically, Janos is suing Kyle’s estate for “defamation”, if I recall correctly.
He’s also showing his ass to the world by doing so. But he’s been doing that in various ways pretty much nonstop for the last 30 years or so.
OH, gee whiz, poor old Jess ain’t gettin’ enough attention these days.
Is that stoooopid TV show of his still running, or did he lose that one, too?
@7. Yes, after Kyle was killed, his wife was named as the substitute defendant. Ventura is trying to get to the proifits from Kyle’s book because, he maintains, he was maligned and defamed in it.
@2/17 AirCav, that’s his claim but it’s really because he’s run out of money.
I love crazy blowhards. They make great villains and nasty persons. And not only that, Janos has a following… of sorts.
Worse, this works to the advantage of JV SEAL: With Kyle unable to testify, statements he made in his interests are inadmissible; while statements against his interests are admissible.
What’s Janos hiding?
The fact that he’s a colossal, weapons-grade douche for suing Kyle’s widow.
F him.
I will tell you. First he was a Navy frog, UDT and or SEAL. Period.
Second, he is paranoid freak story that distrusts most government.
Third, he maybe hiding nothing or something as simple as a Captain’s Mast, the reason he was booted out of the Navy and or a generally average sewrvice record.
Jesse Ventura and Shirley Sherrod: siblings under the skin.
@13Crucible
Technically, he’s suing Kyle’s estate; his wife is the executrix. CK also probably had an indemnity clause (insurance, basically) in his book contract, which I’m assuming covers his statements (though he didn’t name JV SEAL in the book, his comments were made while promoting it).
Jeebus. I have a copy of my records on microfiche, and also my original enlistment papers, my evaluations, my Navy medical records, flight records/log book, a whole damned folder of certificates and awards letters, etc. I can back up just about everything. hell, I even have my final LES to boot. 🙂
Seems like to me that ol Jesse is trying to keep something quiet. Something in his records that he doesn’t want folks to find out about. Wonder what THAT might be, eh?
1974? 1974? A mere child, I have wine older than that. I still have mine dating to 1958 and find the information on the security clearance application form to be invaluable as family tree material for my grand babies.
Someone should publish dickweed’s e-mail address or other contact information so troops can let him know what we think.
I still have my LESs from before I even left for BCT (National Guard Delayed Enlistment). Not to mention every piece of paperwork from my initial visit to MEPS until I got out (except for the damn medical jacket).
Bull. They have all my records back to 1964. Saw it when got disability. Binder as big as king size bible.
If Ventura wins his suit, who pays? Kyle’s estate. Assuming that Kyle’s estate goes mainly, if not wholly, to his widow, any award to him reduces that which goes to her. “Technically” she is named because she is the executrix but non-technically she gets screwed. Is the defense attorney working pro bono? I don’t know BUT even if the defense is not costing Mrs. Kyle any money, what about the other costs, such as dragging her late husband’s name through the mud. Screw Ventura.
From the S&S article.. “Ventura’s suit claims the bar fight never happened and the story hurts his reputation”
Yes, because being a raving mad moonbat truther blaming 9/11 on GWB, living in Mexico because you can’t stand to live in the US anymore (unless it profits you somehow to come back and “run” for some office again) beating your chest every chance you get by tossing the SEAL card, along with suing a widow of a REAL hero was doing just wonders for your reputation up to that point.
I still don’t see how court action can be shifted to the spouse after the death of the primary accused.
Stinks of guilt by association to me or “taint of blood”.
As to “Ventura”, not enough harm can be done to that POS, as far as I’m concerned.
Ok. The fight did happen. I know people who were there!
This guy is a loon who is very ill BTW. I saw him on CNN the other night on a panel. He sounded somewhat intelligent, but he was shaking like a leaf. So he either has a parkinson type disorder or he really needed a drink bad.
@23. Well, that’s not exactly correct. The wife is not subject to personal liability for any damages awarded–if any are ultimately awarded. It is her late husband’s estate that is the target. She happens (as is often the case) to be both his widow and the executrix of his estate. Thus, if Bernie Beanbap were the executor, he would have been the substitute defendant.
The ironic thing is, for JV, Chris Kyle was probably his last shot at Hollywood: As a cameo playing himself in “American Sniper: The Movie.”
jesse “the douche” ventura isnt just sueing Chief Kyle’s widow, he is sueing for the proceeds that are being given to the families of fallen SEALs! i remember at Chief Kyle’s wake, the mother of a SEAL that served with Chief Kyle and died on a deployment speaking about the money being given to her to “ensure she never needed anything”. if sueing the wife of a fallen American hero isnt bad enough, trying to take money that that widow is giving to mothers of fallen SEAls is iceing on the shit cake
the funny side of this is, The douche fialed his law suit before Chief Kyle ever sid he scruf face was. the defense attorney needs to pose the question how The Douche new who scruf face was? and probably get the answer “because im still missing 3 teeth”
Ventura is the honor guard of the 10% club.
someone is going to have to get me up to speed on this. Why is he supposed service from 73 – 75 relevant for anything? Why is the Court ordering these records be released?
Janos looks to me like someone who will be missed as bad as Vets will miss Jane Fonda when he’s gone!
Dirtbag.
So was Jimmy the Creep actually a SEAL?
he was UDT before it ws merged with SEALs is my understanding
Azygos, Ventura (nee James Janos) was a Navy frogman. They were what the Navy had during WWII for underwater demolition teams.
That was before the SEALs became a popular meme. They were separate, but after Vietnam were combined into one group.
And apparently, his overuse of steroids as a wrestler, along with his pulmonary issues, has given him a permanent tremor.
73-75 time frame would or should be, Janos’s reserve time. Lets clear the air here once and for all. There are no records of a Jesse Ventura ever serving any time anywhere in the US Navy or any other branch. There are records though for a James G. Janos, USN 1DEC1969 to 10SEP1975, BUD’s class 58, UDT-12, PDS assignment was Subic Bay, Phillipines, store clerk rating.
Now, click here to view a portion of his DD214 and then click here for another portion of the DD214. Next is his EPR enlisted performance record. Note, it has been blacked/redacted out in portions of that and go to the next portion for his commendations record. On the administrative side, that website shows he went through basic airborne and was awarded jump wings.
He was not awarded the combat action badge (CAB) and it was called into question while he ran for governor of Minnesota but he indeed was awarded the NDSM & Vietnam Service Medal. FOIA his DD214 from STL or see if Mary has a copy on file because I am certain I filed for it through her but the hard drive I had my info stored on crashed and burned.
I’ll let Sparky & Master Chief or any of you other squids decipher those codes because I’m not a water dog, I just know it floats on H2O or submerges, yall are the go to guys for that stuff.
If you want a good accounting of Jesse’s NAM involvement, read this page by a former SEAL officer who actually did the research on UDT 12 and their participation during his “deployment”:
http://cursor.org/venturawatch/dangerous_game.htm
Yes, Jesse completed BUD/S. He did not, however, earn the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) of 5326 after completion of BUD/S, and remained in the UDTs (NEC 5321/2) throughout his career. It wasn’t until 1983 (well after Jesse’s service ended) that UDT and SEAL were merged into one career field. So, he never served in a SEAL capacity during his service and to the best of my research, never spent time boots on ground in SVN. He was deployed to a sub and a surface ship in the waters, which got him his VN Service Medal.
While I highly respect Don Shipley’s opinion about whether or not Jesse can call himself a SEAL, I must (respectfully) disagree. As far as the Navy paperwork is concerned, he never completed any training that would grant him the SEAL NEC nor actually served with a SEAL unit, as evidenced by his EPR showing his only assignment was to UDT 12.
NavCWORet:
Have to say I must respectfully disagree with SCPO Shipley on this one too.
This article, also by Salisbury, IMO actually lays the case out a bit better.
http://cursor.org/stories/seal_or_udt_printer_friendly.htm
Folks who served as SEALs and UDTs during Vietnam say that there was a big difference between UDTs and SEALs at the time. And it’s pretty clear from both those who served with him and his records that Janos went to BUD/S and was UDT – but never was assigned to a SEAL unit and never served as a SEAL.
Janos reputedly could have moved from UDT to SEAL had he wanted to; during Vietnam, apparently that was fairly easy to do. But he never did.
In my opinion Ol’ Jessie doesn’t want his service record widely published because it doesn’t back the persona he created as a bad-ass SEAL Nam’ vet. Probably most people he has ever talked to walked away assuming he was a throat-cutting snake eater who chased Charlie all over the jungle with just a Kabar while wearing only udt shorts and a happy sock.
While perfectly honorable, having it known that his service consisted of being off the coast isn’t good enough for that Mister Potato Head looking asshole.
Jesse’s service record, which is honorable enough, doesnt jive with the bad ass Spec-Ops SEAL persona he has created. Thats why he doesn’t want it widely published. 99% of reporter would still probably write him up as being a SEAL combat vet of Vietnam. Only those reporters that want to dig deep will find out his real story. If it gets put on blast in a court case it will be out in the open. The truth about him will be known by everyone.
Guys a fucking loon. Id rather see Obama get a third term than put this idiot in office.
His records don’t jive with the bad-ass SEAL Nam’ Vet persona he created for himself. If it gets published in a court case reporters will stop referring to him as such and he will lose more cred.
Not that he has any, I would rather see the current idiot do a third term then see this loon in the white house.
Yeah, well, as we know, there is Shipley, The Wife, and The Hair. If all three agree that Scruffy Face can properly call himself a SEAL, then we’ll have to get on board. But if it’s one out of three, I’ll have to reserve on the matter.
Sorry, 2/17 Air Cav – gotta stand my ground even in that case.
The Navy says there was a difference between UDT and SEAL before 1983 (different NECs). The folks who served in each career field at the time and who served in-theater during Vietnam say there was a substantial difference between UDT and SEAL during Vietnam. IMO, that means there REALLY WAS a difference in the two before 1983 – and the two were NOT the same during Vietnam.
Janos was UDT. He was never a SEAL. And during Vietnam, both the Navy and folks who served in each NEC say the two were indeed very different. That’s enough for me.
Ok. You are both splitting hairs.
Don Shipley speaks the truth as community member.
RADM Gary “Bones” Bonnelli, referenced in the article retired as the DEP COM NSW Command, #2 in charge of the entire community and only reserve force SEAL ever to commanmd a SEAL Team. I was at his retirement this past March.
He spoke at my retirement in Nov 2011. He said during his prepared speech, after reviewing my educational accompishment and looking straight me, “clearing this MCPO is educational far beyond his intelligence.”
Let me see if I have clearly understood what I have seen, because as we all know, what has been seen cannot be unseen.
James Janos a/k/a Jesse Ventura has less active duty time than I do? And he’s bitching about — what?
I’m not questioning SK3 Janos’s record of service.
I do, however, question his assumption that his tough guy act gives him any kind of special status, period. Additionally, if his worry is that his actual service record shows some ‘less than honorable’ or questionable behavior, I did not see that, so I have to question just what he’s trying to hide.
Right now, he’s simply presenting himself as an opportunistic bully who wants to pick a fight over nothing and collect some cash from it.
Meant to say: “cleariy this MCPO is educated far beyond his intelligence.”
@44MCPO NYC USN (Ret.)
Right on. JV is grotesque; but whatever you call him, he earned the Trident. (My father-in-law is in the same boat (although he saw a good amount of combat Vietnam), and no “actual SEAL” had problems calling him one.)
Plus, JV wrote a book about his SEAL experiences which, as is my understanding, is a post-hoc requirement for membership on SEAL team.
Not that I am nearly qualified to speak for Senior Chief Shipley of the perfect hair, but I think what he was getting at with Ventura is this. At the time Ventura went through BUDS it was simply a matter of needs of the Navy as far as who went UDT and who went to the SEAL teams. Ventura had all the basic qualifications that guys who went sent to the teams had. That he was ordered to UDT wasn’t his choice.
If Ventura had any integrity he wouldn’t have played it like he did though. He has always hinted that he was on a SEAL team, not that he had completed BUDS and went to UDT.
JV submitted his DD-214. The only part of his ‘service record’ that is missing is his IRR time (the remainder of his six year obligation). This is not relevant to the law suit, BTW.
i have to agree with Hondo and NavCWOret on this one. if there are different NECs then they are different jobs. i was army, so i cant speak to specifics in the Navy, but this sounds to me like Army combat engineers claim that “they are basically infantry”. i dont know about the trident, if that is an interchangeable symbol for both UDT and SEALs prior to them being merged, but im pretty certain that he should not be calling himself a SEAL
Smitty: Wikipedia says they were two different Tridents in use from 1970 to 1975 – the Underwater Demolition Badge (created during World War II, discontinued in 1975, declared obsolete in 1983) and the current Special Warfare Badge (today’s SEAL Trident, was created on 16 October 1970).
UDTs were phased out in 1983 when the UDT specialty was merged into SEAL. Persons qualified for the UDB were authorized to APPLY to have their UDB converted to SWB starting in 1975.
Source of the above is Wikipedia, so take the above with a grain of salt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Team
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Badge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Warfare_Badge
Presumably the UDB was used by UDTs and the SWB by SEALs during Vietnam, but that’s not completely clear. Janos may well have received the newer badge on graduating from BUD/S in Nov
19711970. But his military record clearly shows he served with UDT 12 and never with any SEAL unit.I view Janos’ SEAL claims as equal to that of a non-Infantry soldier who went to Ranger school, then served in a non-Infantry unit in combat (say, MI or other support) later claiming to have “served as a US Army Ranger in combat”. Individually, the pieces of the claim may be technically accurate. Taken together, they are at least misleading as hell if not a baldfaced lie.
And I believe Janos has actually stepped over that line once or twice, anyway. I think I’ve read acounts that he’s made claims of actually serving as a SEAL during Vietnam and has alluded to “hunting men”. He has no CAR. He also apparently never set foot on Vietnamese soil, earning his VSM as a member of UDT 12 on a ship or boat (submarine) offshore.