Geoff Millard; the latest IVAW phony soldier (Updated)
The anti-war movement loves the Iraq Veterans Against the War. In an interview, Head Hag of Code Pink bragged that IVAW gives the anti-war movement credibility;
“The vet groups are our street cred,” a California-based anti-war activist tells me at the group’s barbecue. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of feminist anti-war group Code Pink, says the veterans’ group appeals to the American glorification of the military, even within the anti-war movement. “People who have been part of a war that I consider immoral and illegal still have more legitimacy than people who were against the war from the very beginning and refused to fight in it,” she explains, sitting in the vets’ living room while her college-age cohorts chat with the veterans and eat hamburgers and sausages. “They command more of a sense of authority and more of a sense of understanding of what’s actually happening on the ground.”
Let’s take a look at the credibility that Medea values so much, shall we?
The president of the Washington, DC Chapter, Geoff Millard, for example, is a real gadfly on the Washington, DC Leftist scene. I saw him going into the William Ayers book signing last month. Here’s a picture of him sitting behind then-candidate Barack Obama at a speech leading up to the election in Pennsylvania;
This is his profile on the IVAW website;
In his profile, Millard brags “Along with a peace delegation Geoff became the first Iraq war veteran to meet with members of the Iraqi parliament about their 26-point peace plan. Also Geoff has traveled Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iran meeting with Iraqi refugees at every chance.”
But he’s being modest. He’s also addressed the Socialist World Forum in Venezuela and fawned over such luminaries as Hugo Chavez and Cindy Sheehan. Here’s a picture of him marching with Medea Benjamin and Cindy Sheehan a few years back exercising his “street cred” for the anti-war movement;
My buddy/alter ego Robin at Chickenhawk Express did some extensive research on Millard a few years back when he first started making the IVAW scene while he was AWOL. Robin includes his history as a malingerer complaining constantly about his bouts of pain from a old wrestling injury – he claimed an Iraqi doctor said he should go back to the States, but Army doctors disagreed.
After he finished his tour of Iraq and the Army wouldn’t give him a medical discharge, he became a conscientious objector and went AWOL for nine months. Familiar story, isn’t it? It’s always some sort malfeasance on the part of IVAW members that preceeded their “conscientious objectors” or “resisters” status.
Notice, like most of the other folks in IVAW, he lists himself as a Sergeant. In addition, he claims he served in Germany, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. It sounds more like a flight path than a career path.
I got a hold of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on Geoffrey a few weeks back and it was a little light on information;
It said that he is a specialist and not a sergeant as he claimed, and his awards were only two medals and ribbon – quite a bit different than what he sports in public;
That’s a lot more than what’s in records, no? Need a closer look?
That’s three awards of the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) on top – but none of them are in the FOIA.
Well, see, I’m a fair guy, so I decided before I posted anything, I wanted to give Geoffrey a chance to respond – actually, TSO and Uncle Jimbo advised me to proceed cautiously.
Thanks to some prodding from Army Sergeant, I’m sure, he responded the same day, and sent me one of his three DD214s – of course, he sent the best one of the three, the one that says he earned all of those medals and that he’s a sergeant. The only thing I’ve altered is his Social Security Number, his mother’s name and address and his home address;
Now that would seem to settle it, right? Well, not quite. I sent the DD214 to my new friends at POW Net and, eagle eyes that they are, they noticed right off that even though he has awards for foreign service in block 13, there’s no foreign service time in block 12f.
The folks at POW NET sent the FOIA request back through St Louis with the DD214 Millard sent me.
Guess what? The Army sent the same FOIA information back even though they had his DD214. His form 2-1 doesn’t mention any service in Iraq.
The folks at POW NET are forwarding the FOIA and the DD214 Millard sent me to the FBI for further investigation.
1stCAVRVN11B emailed this picture of Millard wearing a CIB, which also isn’t in the DD214 or the FOIA report;
He explained in his email to me;
[The DD214] will not show a CIB that is a longer story of my being pined [sic] in Iraq but not having it on paper back home because of Army FUBAR. I was unsure about wearing it and I admit I did once but never felt comfortable with it on.
Well, the real reason he should have felt uncomfortable about wearing a CIB is because he never earned one no matter who “pinned” him – it wasn’t an Army FUBAR. To earn a CIB, a soldier has to be a qualified infantryman in the 11 or 18 series MOS and be serving in an infantry unit lower than brigade level. Millard was a 12B combat engineer not an 11 or 18 series, and he worked for a general – there are no generals below brigade level. I told him all of that in an email, but he didn’t see fit to respond.
Millard wants the honors accorded an infantryman who served in combat without having to put up with the shit of actually being an infantryman. Stolen valor.
So let’s recap the “street cred” of the anti-war movement; Millard claims to be a sergeant, the Army says he’s a specialist. He claims to have a chest full of medals, the Army says he has two and a ribbon. Millard claims to have been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, even though he was never a combat infantryman and the Army disagrees with him. Millard claims to have served on the Mexican border, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait and in Iraq and the Army has no record of him ever leaving New York State except for basic training and advanced individual training.
Oh, and the FBI will be investigating him for falsifying his military records.
At least he’s got experience doing a perp walk – he may need that skill.
Now, I’ll admit that I have a hard-on for Millard since he tried to intimidate TSO and me at Winter Soldier by asking us for our blog URLs so they could monitor what we were writing about them from the inside. I’m pretty sure he didn’t ask any of the friendlier bloggers for that same consideration.
Later, he threatened to throw TSO, Rurik and me out of Winter Soldier because TSO talked to a Washington Post reporter. Oh, and he made one of his minions remove me from the Congressional hearing room for Winter Soldier after I filmed him playing general’s aide before the hearings checking mikes and shuffling paper.
So this post is my pay back – and that’s why it’s languished for three weeks in my draft folder waiting to get the facts just right. It’s been rewritten countless times and a number of people have contributed to it and they’re all credited.
I’ve got several other records requests being processed, so you may see a spate of “phony soldier” posts in the next few months. Ya’all phony soldiers had better adjust your narratives.
UPDATED: For all of you sharpshooters, someone sent me a clearer picture of his medals;
Category: Antiwar crowd, Code Pink, Hugo Chavez, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Liberals suck, Phony soldiers, Politics, Winter Soldier II Live blogging
The requirements for the getting into the IVAW… is nothing more than having been in the uniformed services during conflict… regardless whether if was Active Guard or Reserves… and you don’t even have to have set foot any where near the AO…
The IVAW are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel to get fresh meat…
These Slugs would have been shot or strung up as traitors in the past… but since the Commies took over Congress selling out the country is order of the day and protect those that do…
Jonn: You’re a giver, I know. Lucky: Don’t fall prey to what the right-wing would-be pundits will tell you. Regardless of what the likes of Jason Mattera would say with their spliced and edited video, many IVAW members are happy to make sworn statements or testify under oath (I note that he didn’t even include any footage of myself or several other testifiers who spoke to him and were cleancut, patriotic, and proud and happy to testify under oath, because it didn’t fit with his story) That said: I’ll point out one thing. WWII veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam veterans. Do we make requirements for their having served in theater to honor them? Do we say “Oh, you weren’t in Italy, you spent your time training soldiers in the United States, you’re not a real WWII veteran?” Or, “You only fixed planes, you’re not a real Vietnam veteran”? It’s one thing if someone claims to be a combat veteran and hasn’t seen combat. But claiming to be an Afghanistan veteran when he only spent six days there? That’s not disingenuous. What about guys who were only in theater for six days and got blown the hell up? Are their wounds somehow less because they were only there a short time? One thing that I have a real problem with is people who have double standards. If some real gung-ho soldier or veteran stands up supporting the war, and says, “I was proud to serve my country and help do my part to defeat the terrorists” but never left the United States, are you guys going to make fun and criticize him? No. But when it comes to guys like Chiroux, it’s fair game to criticize their ideas for not having enough combat time. I wish people would criticize the ideas just for being ideas. If you don’t like any of these guys’ ideas, call them out on it. If you think they’re straight up lying, sure, call them out. But not thinking someone is a “Real” veteran because they don’t agree is a bad place to be. Jonn wrote: No… Read more »
Army Sergeant,
No Army NCO who respects their own service or others who served honorably, would touch an asshat like Millard with a 15 foot cattle prod.
IVAW members have a nasty habit of embellishing their claims in order to appeal to the anti-war crowd. The vetting process at the IVAW is non-existent. People who don’t know any better will take them at face value. Don’t expect that here.
Army Sergeant-
of course we make a distinction between those who served in combat and those who didn’t. Which is why you can be a member of the American Legion and not qualify to be a member of the VFW.
I understand that you want to defend guys like Millard for speaking out on a cause that you both share, but you have to understand that when he makes himself look bad, he makes you look bad by association.
I’m part of the leadership team for the Minnesota chapter of Vets for Freedom. One of the first things we did when we organized ourselves was get every leader to produce a copy of their DD-214. That way we all knew that everyone was on the level.
And by the way, all Guard units switched to the IPERMS system two years ago as a backup to your 201 file. I carry my entire 201 on memory stick whenever I wear my Class A’s, so I can prove everything I’m wearing.
I am afraid it is too late for me, AS. Any respect y’all would have garnered from me evaporated when your friend Adam Kokesh went apeshit crazy on facebook and started to insult and threaten everyone in that Support the Troops group. I hate to bring that back up again, but after Mister ‘I refrigerate and drink my own Piss’ accused me of being a ‘Phony Soldier’ and then threatened to find out where I live and murder my family, well, all shreds of support disappeared, and outright disdain remains. And, AS, there is an organization where that kind of separation occurs. The VFW is an organization for Veterans who have served at least a minimum of thirty days in a combat zone, or have earned a combat award, or overseas ribbon. I was in Afghanistan for 10 1/2 months, and was awarded the campaign ribbon, GWOT Expeditionary, and the CAB for that tour, amongst other awards. So when I hear a little prick like Matthis attempt to claim that he is a combat veteran when he spent less than a week embracing the suck, well, forgive me if I want to start screaming about his being a ‘Phony Soldier’. I agree with TSO on this, and I still say, PUT UP OR STFU UP!
Lucky,
“…Mister ‘I refrigerate and drink my own Piss’ accused me of being a ‘Phony Soldier’ and then threatened to find out where I live and murder my family…”
Can you send me that link please?
raouldeming (at) hotmail (dot) com
Dave, careful about that whole “guilt by association” thing…that’s a very slippery slope.
I mean, you don’t want all military members labeled as LT Calley’s right?
Careful buddy, the pendulum swings both ways…you seem to have forgotten that in your above comment.
Raoul, that conversation was about a year ago, and took place on a comments section of a facebook group picture page. It was deleted, and AS, Kokesh and the rest of that group were booted from that group. I can have several of the group members who were also threatened contact you if you like. and Kristol, give it a freaking rest dude!
Lucky:
I don’t know what I need to do in order to convince you that I have never been booted from that facebook group. I even started a discussion asking if anyone had been going around doing it, and the mods said not to their knowledge. I remember Adam and you fighting, but I don’t remember any threats to murder your family. I’m not the sort who would have stood for it, as some bloggers here should remember from the February/March incidents.
Kristol,
“I mean, you don’t want all military members labeled as LT Calley’s right?”
That is exactly what the IVAW wants people to believe. They tried that with Winter Soldier 2.1
Winter Soldier 2.1 was a replay of Winter Soldier 1.0 from back in the day (1970), where the VVAW claimed that My Lai was a regular occurance. See John Kerry’s opening in front of that racist Fullbright’s committee for proof.
So you need to direct your admonishment not to smear the troops to the resident IVAW presence here, nonot Dave.
Kid’s point is well taken, though, that there are crazies on both sides.
But your comment disproves your point. On this side of the spectrum, we police our own. I said something you thought might be over the line, and you called me out. Try finding that on the left.
Dave Thul:
We police our own too, or did when it got out of hand. Though I will in all fairness point out that TSO keeps offering to call out his own when they do stupid things as well, I haven’t gotten anymore death threats or crazytown times since he made that offer, though. I also have been avoiding the GoE. I think the two are related.
Kristol,
Everyone in the military was labeled with the same brush after My Lai. Same thing happened after Abu Gharib. Both of those atrocities became the cudgel to which the anti-war crowd used to bludgeon and tarnish those who have served honorably. All of the sacrifices and hard work of our servicemembers is diminished and muted by the incessant harping about the “atrocities” committed at Abu Gharib. Deserters and AWOL’ers get more ink than the hundreds of thousands who continue to do their duty. Look at the types of films already produced about the War on Terror. PTSD, prisoner abuse, failure to readjust, etc. are the main themes throughout. The picture of the maladjusted veteran who killed/saw too much has become the norm. Groups like IVAW/IVAV/VVAW, etc. continue to play upon that narrative. Unfortunately, the MSM is more than willing to allow these groups to set the tune to which they (the MSM) dance.
Matt,
The VVAW’s “purpose” in putting on Winter Soldier 1.0. It was to tag every GI with their own My Lai. They made no bones about that at the time.
And that’s even from from A/S’s favorite assasin, Scott Camil.
He’s your favorite assassin AS?
I would have gone with Brutus I think. Maybe Ramon Mercader.
“I was unsure about wearing it and I admit I did once but never felt comfortable with it on.”
-Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard
This is another lie told by Millard. He first started wearing a CIB when he was staying at “Camp Casey” in Crawford Texas and while protesting outside of Ft Hood in August 2006. He was told then, by combat veterans to take it off. But Geoff insisted on being a liar and a fraud and continued wearing a CIB during his travels and was again told by veterans to take it off his DCU top he was wearing at Camp Democracy in Washington DC during September 2006. Geoff defended wearing awards he did not earn claiming that he deserved a CIB and it was the Army’s fault for not giving him one.
Seeing how Good Conduct Medals are only awarded to Active duty members for 3 consecutive years of active duty, doesn’t qualify him at all. 4 years of good service in the reserve gives him a Reserve Good Conduct medal. CIB doesn’t qualify no matter what he does, that’s what the CAB is for everyone not a medic or infantry. GWOTEM/ICM is not authorized either, either or when it comes to the award of the ribbon. That’s all I see at this second
This is from an article in Salon magazine today called
“Neo-Nazi’s are in the army now”
by Matt Kennard.
On page 2, I saw this:
Geoffrey Millard, an organizer for Iraq Veterans Against the War, served in Iraq for 13 months, beginning in 2004, as part of the 42nd Infantry Division. He recalls Gen. George Casey, who served as the commander in Iraq from 2004 to 2007, addressing a briefing he attended in the summer of 2005 at Forward Operating Base, outside Tikrit. “As he walked past, he was talking about some incident that had just happened, and he was talking about how ‘these stupid fucking hajjis couldn’t figure shit out.’ And I’m just like, Are you kidding me? This is Gen. Casey, the highest-ranking guy in Iraq, referring to the Iraqi people as ‘fucking hajjis.'” (A spokesperson for Casey, now the Army Chief of Staff, said the general “did not make this statement.”)
“The military is attractive to white supremacists,” Millard says, “because the war itself is racist.”
and then I immediately came to your blog and searched his name, lol.
I am glad I did. What a douchebag.
Did anyone else notice that under the Court Martial bullet, instead of “N/A” it said it was “not in file”?
Any news on getting this guy busted for stolen valor?
[…] they finally tossed his punk ass to the curb. Geof Millard, the president of the board of directors wears unearned awards on his uniform. Jose Vasquez, the Executive Director of IRAQ VETERANS Against the War has never set foot outside […]
What an @ssbag. An E-5 with 3 MSM’s? a 12B with a CIB. You wont see too many E-5’s with an MSM, let alone multiple MSM’s. Dont usually get one of those until you make E-7, less you served on the trail or in recruiter land and even then its not a guarantee. The NG is pretty liberal with awards but they arent that liberal.
this guy a fake he AWOL out of my unit. glad to see the true out on him
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Considering the first picture at the Obama rally isn’t even of him since he never went to one, I had a hard time finding anything else credible.
You need to work on your basic logic, “Stefcie”. A possible error on one item does not invalidate unrelated documented fact. That is especially true when the possible error concerns a moot point – like whether Millard ever attended an Obama rally. That’s unrelated to the fact that he’s apparently a liar and a fraud.
Even if the first picture isn’t Millard (which I doubt; though the first picture is unclear, there’s too much similarity in the faces), the rest of the article is quite damning. Publicly-available official records of his military service simply don’t match the “documents” provided by Millard. Based on that fact, it certainly appears that the dipstick forged documents and is lying by making claims to service he did not perform and decorations he likely did not earn – whether or not he ever attended an Obama rally.
[…] video seems to focus mostly on three members of IVAW; Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard, Selena “Army Sergeant” Coppa and Jason Washburn. I’ve met all of them. Of the […]
[…] a link to a Canadian sports radio show which had as a guest, for some stupid reason, IVAW’s Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard who we caught wearing an unauthorized CIB and three Meritorious Service Medals (and his forged […]
http://www.facebook.com/geoff.millard.7
I’m not sure what to think about those Armed Forces Reserve Medals he has listed on his DD214. I was mobilized in 2009 and deployed to Iraq in 2011, earning my AFRM w/ M device essentially on both occasions.
Although there are numeric devices to denote multiple awards of the medal, it can only be awarded once per conflict, which is why I only have one listed on my DD214. His DD214 has two AFRMs listed and then continuing down in box 18. one is w/ M device. The only possible way he could have two AFRMs is if he has service of 10, 20, 30 years in the Reserves AND a mobilization. That would be shown with an hourglass and an M device.
I’m calling bullshit on his multiple AFRMs considering his length of service.
We all know that rank has far too much to do with the awarding of medals to well deserving soldiers, and their undeserving counterparts. But we all know that this guy would never have three MSMs. The MSM is the peacetime equivalent to the BSM, and generally awarded to E-7 or higher for a good end of tour award, PCS award if they were rocking it, or a retirement award.
God Bless
[…] Look at Geoff Millard and His “Papers” May 12th, 2012 Remember that amazing young studly National Guard Soldier Geoff Millard of IVAV fame? That sterling young former National Guard super-trooper claiming 3 MSMs(!), an […]
I viewed a 4 part interview of Milliard on Youtube out of curiosity and have seen other videos speaking of lies that began the war in Iraq, veterans not receiving adequate medical care from the VA, waiting lists for PTSD treatment and in some cases the wait possibly leading to some of the suicides, homelessness and the programs not being fully funded enough to help enough vets, etc . I suppose my comment is really a question to any or all of you. How do you feel about the situations mentioned above? Is Milliard really your enemy or is he doing good that may help all of us? I’m just trying to see the bigger picture. What negative aspects do you see that he and his group will cause? I don’t condone him going AW, but on the other hand I wonder if he will actually do some good in improving life for veterans and so forth. What is his agenda? Is he fighting for us?
His claims are dubious, and while there are some issues with the VA, do you really want to hitch your wagon to a lying douchenozzle like that, knowing the powers that be can more easily dismiss him?
@NHSparky. I have no wagon to hitch. I could honestly care less about this one person behind a huge cause. Caring about the cause itself is a whole different matter. I know from expereince coming from a military family (both mother and father), as a disabled veteran, historian, and political researcher things are NOT as they should be. The governement abuses it’s members of the military from the time recruiters lie to get kids – sending them off to war under false pretenses – and not fully taking care of their vets. I care deeply about our military (active and veteran)and feel that they are getting the short of the stick. My cousin was in Iraq and had to drive over a child in the street. I understand why and would have told him to do the same thing. BUT it screwed him up, his family is falling apart, he has anger issues, etc. He should not be on a waiting list for help as his life falls apart. I spent 8 years with a broken back because the VA docs were so inadequate. I’m just feeling that there has to be some accountability here and even though Milliard as a person is very questionable, the cause itself is not. So what I’m asking is where is the happy medium for fighting for improvement?
[…] cause more wars. Always in the market for a good anti-America meme and a way to bash the troops, Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, steps up to offer his services to Chris Hayes for the next […]
[…] May 29th, 2012 We talked about Chris Hayes and his discomfort yesterday, and how Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard wants to help Hayes to spread his message. Well, now Adam Kokesh, another IVAW […]
“. . . appeals to the American glorification . . .”
(near top-of-page — Broke-The-Code-PINKO quotation)
YES !!
AMERICA = GLORY !!
[…] plays the expert on war again. July 16th, 2012 Well looks like our good buddy Geoff “Stolen Valor” Millard is being used as a expert voice into war. It seems that he is the main source about Iraq in the […]
EIB–anyone can take the test but only 11 and 18 series can be awarded the EIB. If I had chosen as a 13F to have participated in EIB as anything other than a Call For Fire Trainer I could have been awarded a certificate of completion. But why put myself through that?
GWOT Service and Expeditionary can be awarded at the same time, what you can’t do wear both a GWOT-E and an ICM or ACM for the same period of service. I was in Iraq when the ICM came out made the choice for the ICM over the GWOT-E.
The GWOT-E is now for war on terror stuff outside of Iraq or Afghanistan. OEF-Philippines deployments gets you a GWOT-E and also some places in the Horn of Africa.
I didn’t get my first (and only) MSM until I PCSed as an E7. My retirement award was a DMSM since I was at a joint command at the time.
Maggot.
I hate these IVAW clowns.
Holy shit I don’t know of any E-4 to have 1 MSM much less 3….. what a total fuckin douche
Why would he send you a DD-214 you should have asked for his NGB-22 which is the National Guard’s version of the DD-214 considering he never actually served on active duty other than his IET he should only have that DD-214 AND NO OTHERS because he was not actually activated to serve Under Title 10 Orders or for any other schooling requiring federal orders. If he provided an NGB-22 for his separation from the ARNG it would show a detailed explanation of his military service. Also notice the typo in block 18 for “Imminent Danger Pay”
This guy sucks cock between 2100-0100 at the intersection at Third and Main.
Fucking pole smoker.
I hate these IVAW turds.
I was Sgt. Millard’s NCOIC in Iraq, for his entire tour.
1. He was a Sergeant.
2. He attended an 11B reclass course prior to our deployment to Iraq, so was an MOSQ 11B.
3. We served in a Division level TOC. Sgt. Millard at no time participated in any operations which would entitle him to a CIB, or even a CAB. No one who was assigned to our detachment earned either award.
4. As far as medals, he was given an Army Achievement Medal for his service in Iraq. At the time of our redeployment, soldiers of the 42nd ID were told that we could wear the GWOT and Iraqi Campaign ribbon. That may have changed, but all of our DD-214’s issued then reflect this.
5. I have no knowledge of how Sgt. Millard may have earned 3 Meritorious Service Medals. As far as I know, he did not have them when we mobilized.
I do not care for Sgt. Millard or his attitudes towards the war. However, he performed his service in Iraq adequately.
Sorry, I didn’t leave my name. SFC Holmes, HHC 42nd ID, Det 1 (ROC)
AKA Power Point Ranger
We know he was a sergeant, but he got busted to E4 when he went AWOL.
I think a FOIA request to the NY National Guard might reveal a thing or two. They should still have access to his iPerm’s. Since the late 90’s everything you get or do in the military is scanned and put on iPerms. Reserve, NG and Active all use it.
SFC Holmes why arent you listed on AKO ??
I am. I’m not with that unit anymore. That’s the one I deployed with.
Has nothing to do with an AKO account, take your Bullshit and hit the fuckin road !