The truth about Discovery’s Dual Survival’s Joe Teti
A few weeks ago, we wrote about David Canterbury, a member of the cast of a survival show on the Discovery Channel, “Dual Survival”. At the time, someone brought up Joe Teti, the other fellow on that show. So being the cynics that we are, we got Teti’s records, too. Here’s what Teti claims on his website;
Most of that is true. He was indeed in the USMC’s Force Recon. He spent less than 4 years in the Marines and here’s his records of assignments;
And his schooling;
He was also in Special Forces – National Guard Special Forces- for five years, ending on May 1st, 2000.
So that’s where his military records end, so he could hardly be a “combat veteran of OIF and OEF” as he claims in his bio in the way that most of us understand the term “veteran”. However, he did participate in those wars as a contractor.
I spent about an hour or so, total in about four phone calls with Joe yesterday. He stands by the “veteran” tag in regards to the war against terror, although your opinions may be different. He tells me that he didn’t reenlist after 9-11 because he was already in the pipeline for a contractor job, which seems reasonable to me, and I have no evidence to the contrary.
I don’t disparage his service because he certainly accomplished more in his nine years than I did in my two decades, well, school-wise, anyway. There are rumors about him flying around the internet and I won’t engage in hearsay. Joe has sent me volumes of his records that I have promised that I wouldn’t post. Of course, all of it reflects well on him as a warrior.
I also understand that he became a target as soon as he took the job at the Discovery Channel, for whatever reasons, that’s the downside of being a public figure. I found him to be an affable fellow, even though he called me ‘sir’ more times than I was comfortable with. And he called me a “smart guy” several times – if only he knew.
So, I may be accused of being star-struck, but, without some real evidence to the contrary, I’m inclined to come down on Joe’s side. We thought that we had a real story here when we first started out, because the first set of records we got were of another Joseph Nicholas Teti who was a helicopter mechanic in the Army back in 1983, the same time Joe said he was in the USMC, but I got a little suspicious of that first set of records, which took us back for another shot at it, and sometimes, they are who they say.
Category: Who knows
National Gaurd Sf is mainly support, there are few actual “long tabs” there. they are weekend warriors, just like reserves. they do 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year anual training. looking at the info ive seen of Titty, he was SF national gaurd support, he doesnt have a long tab, didnt go through the Q course. (unless i misssed something and i will be corrected quickly)
Contractors do a large range of stuff, just like the army. some run the D-facs, phone/internet services, truck drivers, civilian security, my oldest brother taught grunts like me how to use the blu force tracker in our hmmwvs. there are numerous jobs that contractors do, and it is why every grunt on the planet is greatful for and loves haliburton. i do not know what Teti did as a contractor, im sure Jonn does or can find out easy enough.
the complaint with Teti, is his claim to be a combat vet. no one is denying that he served, and technically, he was Special Forces. but to claim to be a combat vet and you got out right when everyone you served with was preping to invad afgan is a bit disingenuous
Smitty: Teti has the long tab. See the list of decorations above after his ARNG FOIA. It’s listed as “SP-FOR-TAB”. Apparently whoever made that entry didn’t want to type “SF TAB” or “SPECIAL FORCES TAB”. Or maybe that was the correct abbreviation for use on a 2-1 in the late 1990s.
i was looking at his schooling and didnt see anything listed there. ill double check that
All I can get out of him are insults. And I’ve been very patient with him. Including agreeing to meet him face to face. He just doesn’t like the way I want to set things up. I told him to send the plane tickets & $ 10,000 to the Fake Warrior Project.org & they would send the tickets to me. After I meet him face to face in a private location for 10 minutes. If he is able to produce the Docts. that would qualify him to be classified a Military Combat Veteran . I would make a Formal Public Apology & Fake Warrior would return his money. Instead of complying, He tosses more insults. Oh well, Water on a ducks back to a Stolen Valor hunter.
ok hondo, i found it.
Scotty, i dont know why he isnt more friendly to ya, ive never seen any reason to insult ya. of course, i dont claim shit im not
As a Beirut veteran I would like to hear him explain who he was with in Beirut .As his records show him in schools just about the whole year. He is not a combat vet .He is a contractor that was paid to protect people that got shot at.
I can tell you this much when confronted about the lack of documentation on his claims, he is real quick to delete and block you,,reminds me of another embellisher we know, won’t name any names though, (Doug Collett)
can we get records of his job as a contractor?
Why don’t you guys quit inspecting everybody else’s service records? Were any of you SF? USMC 0321? No? Didn’t think so. I don’t mind you exposing frauds. But you’re harassing veterans.
It is not his Veteran status being called into question it is the claims of being a “combat vet”, I as others see it is disrespectful to claim that mantel if you did not earn it! He is a vet a highly schooled vet, but never saw combat as a vet only as a contractor,,if then. But if you cast yourself into the public eye claiming combat when you had none, it is the same as a Tim Poe type situation. You are taking from other REAL combat vets who don’t get that lime light. Harassing? I don’t think so, I see concerned vets asking questions, and getting cussed out for it.
He has been asked about that 159 Smitty..He claims the job was Top Secret classified. Strange that he would even mentioned it then.
as i stated on the other titty thread, he is a bragger. from my expirience, nearly all braggers are full of shit
@Hondo
“Billy-boy’s Boink-rod”
LMAO..I like that. May have to change my tag.
My Buddy A. did a tour in Iraq and a tour in Afghanistan. After discharge went back to Afghanistan to teach Afghan Army how to defuse UXO…He’s in a combat zone, doing a soldier’s work, with soldiers…It is what it is. Does anybody here want to train non-English speakers in the finer points of C4 and 40 year old rockets? Again, I don’t think there’ll be any volunteers. Leave people alone. They did honorable service.
Noone’s trying to defraud VA. We’re not wandering around in dress blues like some kind of psychos, trying to justify our existence or get rounds of applause from society for some shit. I don’t justify anything. I don’t explain anything to anyone. Nobody cares, except the Bros, and they were there so they don’t want to hear any stupid recaps. Even if anyone did care they wouldn’t understand.
Defusing unexploded ordinance? Hmmmm…. yeah, that kind of smacks of baloney, right there.
The EOD teams don’t defuse unexploded munitions, especially if it’s left over from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which was 1979 to the 1990s, not 40 years ago.
Instead, they tend to pile it up in big piles and BLOW IT UP.
Oh whatever. If they find it, they fuckin get rid of it. Did you get my point, though? Find and expose the frauds. But I guarantee you confronting every dimebag, schizophrenic wino with a story to tell is gonna take a long time. …
@165/166
You, like many, are missing the whole point.
Your “buddy A” can unequivocally claim the title “Combat Veteran”. Why? Because he has an expeditionary medal and probably a CAB/CIB/CAR/CMB..etc Earned while IN the military. And also because of that he is entitled to whatever VA benefits he can get because of that combat service while IN the military.
In his current role…if he gets hurt…he isn’t going to get a Purple Heart nor is he going to be entitled to military or VA disability.
One of my NCOs did the almost exact same thing as Joe Teti. Left the Army back in 08 and went to work for a contractor supporting OGAs in theater and came back in the Army in 2011 after that gig dried up. He was involved in some pretty hairy shit and has documentation to prove it. But what he does not have, nor does he try to claim, is a combat patch, CAB or an expeditionary medal.
THAT is what the hoopla is about. Not Joe’s qualifications, military service, or even his services as a contractor. It about the right (or wrong) to claim the title “Combat Veteran”…and to glean benefit from that title.
@160.
Napoleon Turdnfart.
Go away.
Another question for Mr. Teti if he is reading this:
I thought Contractors working for the U.S. military, the State Department, or other government agencies
during contingency operation in Iraq and Afghanistan are considered non-combatants who have no combat
immunity under international law if they engage in hostilities, and whose conduct may be
attributable to the United States.
What I gather, Mr. Teti, is that Contractors who supported OEF and OIF are considered NON-COMBATANTS.
But you should know that with all your Military Education, right Mr. Teti?
Why don’t you let your fans know that you were a Contractor for OEF and OIF? I bet a large number of your fans probably never served in the Military…and the only exposure they had to the Military was through Movies and TV shows.
whatever. I don’t question SF. Or MC recon guys. They did a hell of a lot more than I or anyone I know ever did. Most of us just did our time and got the fuck out. Those guys did much more-they were/are overachievers…Let em be.
@172
Once again…no one is questioning his qualifications, military service, his achievements or his drive. In fact many have stated admiration for everything he accomplished during his military service.
Let’s say I claim, during a job interview, that I was educated at Harvard. You and most would take that as an indication that I graduated from Harvard.
But lets say you found out, by calling the registrar, that I attended Harvard for 7 semesters then dropped out.
Was I educated at Harvard? Should it make a difference if I have a degree or not? Did I lie to you by stating I was educated at Harvard? Or did I misrepresent myself to you by knowingly make you think I graduated from Harvard, by not flat out lying, but using the word educated vice graduated.
And that is the whole point with this issue.
And I would be willing to bet many of his supporters are in fact college graduates and would be livid if they lost out on a job opportunity to someone who knowingly misrepresented themselves, for personal gain, and got a job instead of them.
Yet we, as Veterans, are somehow mean spirited and spiteful for questioning the same thing.
Actually, Tunafart – some of the readers of this blog ARE former SF. And for what it’s worth: in the comments to a related article at least one of those readers who’s former SF says that Teti’s claim of “combat vet” status based on stuff he did as a contractor is a load of crap.
I think I’ll give more weight to the opinion of an actual SF vet regarding the matter than the opinion of one of Teti’s star-struck, naive fanbois, thanks.
But hey – it’s a free country. Continue on as a starstruck, naive fool and Teti fanboi if that’s what you want to do.
Hondo? What motivates you to call out and criticize all these people? I keep in touch with 3 or 4 former colleagues. I thank old guys I see around wearing campaign hats or pins. I don’t question em. I don’t really care where they served, or what they did, or how many hookers they fucked in Manila in 1979. Again, the bars and bus stops of this planet are full of weirdos who wanna lay their glory on you. Who gives a fuck? The righteous know who they are and the charlatans, too, know their own hearts and look in their mirrors and see whatever is there to be reflected….
Let he who has never spewed bullshit,or even just embellished a story a little, to impress buddies or to get laid, fling the 1st simulator. LOL
ill question anyone, especially when they are braggers. braggers never did half of what they have claimed. titty, was a national gaurd soldier, a weekend warrior, he didnt do the 24/7/365 stuff, he played soldier on weekends and never went to combat! marine recon really isnt that big a deal. people hype it up, but its nothing special. marines dont have SF/Rangers/Seals or anything of the like, so recon guys convince themselves that they are super soldiers because all marines are bad asses and they are the best marines or some bull crap. im not claiming its easy, but its not a big deal.
what happened to the other titty thread?
Tunafart: if you are asking that question, you probably are incapable of understanding the answer. It’s been my experience that people fall into two groups: either they “get it” with respect to stolen valor without being told why it’s unacceptable – or they don’t have a problem with it.
Obviously you’ve decided which group you belong to. Suit yourself.
@Smitty…with your choice of words…and sentiment…you aren’t helping the cause at all.
In the Dulles Hilton, August of 2011. Walk into the lobby and guess who’s there having a reunion? -The actual Band of Brothers. I didnt check their backgrounds or cock an ear at the bar to verify how many fuckin Nazis they shot or who took out which tank at which grid square. The bottom line is they were there and they did their job. Mortal men would never have made it through what they experienced. I saluted them and bought them drinks. Nuff said?
Billy-boy’s junk, its more like if ya hung around harvard and auditted classes, but never actually were on the roster. same thing with tetti, he did the training and the prep work, but when test time came, he wasnt on a roster. at the end of the day, he still claims to be a harvard grad.
@181
And none of them claim to be anything other than what they are…not to mention they all went through the same things..as a group…
So what if some old man claimed to be one of the members and the rest of them were like “who the f*ck is this guy? we don’t know him and never heard of him”
You still going to have drinks with that guy?
Some of Teti’s own “band of brothers” readily testify to his embellishment. Yet the likes of you will not believe them?
As Hondo said..you really do not get it do you?
choice of words? i thought i was being rather civil. ive acknowleged that tittys military service would qualify as slightly above average, it just isnt that big a deal. we all joined and did our jobs, it isnt anything special. titty likes to brag about what he did, and go beyond and claim what he is not. from my perspective, it casts a rather large shadow over what he actually did do.
titty had nothing heroic in his file. when crunch time showed up, he bailed. im with Scotty on this one. he trained and got ready for this shit, but couldnt hack it and ran off when shit hit the fan. so for a 9 year carreer, he showed up. big deal, who cares, nothing special. reminds me of an e-6 i knew named Thomas who always bragged about how great he was, but when deployment orders came down, he signed a dec statement and got out. Titty is not someone to look up to, he is a coward. i want to know what his actual contractor job was, i am certain it wasnt anything high speed.
MARSOC Critical Skills Operator (MOS 0372). The Marine Corps does indeed have special forces. From what I heard the assessment and selection course is a daily kick in the balls.
We lost 30% of our unit when the warning order came down in 2002. I wondered where they were but they had kids, good jobs, wives, mortgages, etc., to take care of. That’s their prerogative. I do my job, don’t watch the guy next to me to make sure he’s doin his. After deployment, another 75% left. War is a young man’s game.
Smitty I think he was getting at you mentioning weekend warrior stuff and “not a soldier 365” thing.
@ #172: So what? You may not have noticed from your high and mighty position up their above us all that no one is trying to recruit you to do anything. Assuming that you are accurately reporting your own peace of mind behaving as you do, then simply carry on.
What can you possibly get from coming here, berating those who see life from an, evidently, slightly different perspective?
Have to wonder how effective it has been for you so far in life telling others what they should and should not do, particularly over the internet. Are you even aware that it just makes you look foolish?
This is a milblog. Most of us here have served, many in multiple combat tours, at some time in the past 50 years or so. Some are even still serving either in combat or elsewhere. Then there are the assorted military dependents and others associated one way or another with the military.
And you really think you have the creds to tell anyone here how they should act toward other vets? Not even close.
But you already knew that.
Creds? I stand by my bro’s no matter what. If they get arrested. If they lie. Cheat. Steal. Kill. Not telling you all what to do, say, think. But yes, of course all the hate and anger is kind of unnerving. Yeah, we all did our bit. Fair enough? I did some fact-checking on Mr. Teti: didn’t know who he was till i discovered you all discussing him: He calims to have served with an ISA/Grey Fox/Seaspray type unit. As some may realize, there are scads of these types of groups out there who work for DIA, NSA, etc., etc. Don’t judge someone till you’ve walked a mile in their Corcorans. ..???…
This is a discussion forum? So we can discuss issues without gettin all riled up, and disagree with each other without gettin pissed off? If not, I’m out. lol
There you go, once again telling us what to do! For someone who claims to stand by his “bro’s,” you are certainly spring loaded willing to throw all of us under the bus.
Thanks, but no thanks. Don’t need your brand of whatever it is that you offer to those “bro’s.”
I was just wondering if we can discuss stuff respectfully? Without aggression, names, insults?
@Smitty –
“marine recon really isnt that big a deal. people hype it up, but its nothing special. marines dont have SF/Rangers/Seals or anything of the like, so recon guys convince themselves that they are super soldiers because all marines are bad asses and they are the best marines or some bull crap.”
Are you referring to Battallion Recon or true Force Recon “MARSOC” teams?
I see what’s going on here with Tunashart. He tries to pick a fight over nothing, loses and changes the subject, that doesn’t work, so he goes over to the other Teti thread. No heart for the fight. I guess he thought it was going to be easy.
Oh, well, c’est la guerre. No guts, no glory.
No, the argument is finished, isn’t it? What more are we gonna argue about? I already told ya my take, and you gave yours.
It’s Tuna-farte-. Like Bonaparte, but modified.LOL
Here’s what nara says about the issue:
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12171.html
This is a blog, not a discussion board. The owner writes a story about something, opines about something, and the rest of us offer our opinions. There really is no need to argue unless you are trying to convert someone to something.
Here’s a clue: Many of us are too old to have our core values from which our opinions usually derive change much. Doesn’t mean we can’t still learn something each and every day, but you really are going to have no impact our most of our opinions. Well, other than a chuckle. If that happens to be at your expense it is only because you are prolonging your own agony.
Bravo, Tunafart. You found the EO that defines the US Intelligence Community (IC). Did you actually have a reason to post that link? Was it supposed to be relevant? Or did you think folks here would find it “impressive”?
You do realize that the term “employees” in that document refers to Federal employees – e.g., the GG-types (essentially the IC equivalent of GS, except they’re Excepted Service vice Competitive Service Federal employees) who work for said agencies? Plus the relatively smallish number of military personnel assigned to those agencies?
Contractors in said world are exactly that: contractors. They are not “employees” of the IC per se. Rather, they work for a private company having a contract with an agency defined as being part of the IC, and are an employee of that private company.
They augment the government folks and provide additional hands and skills that personnel limits or time don’t permit the government to own in There are many things IC contractors can do – and many they cannot.
Oh, and by the way: IMO “Tunafart” is apropos. Think “fish flatus”.
Well, Naps, where you and I would differ is that you said upthread you’d stand behind your brothers no matter what they did, including lie, cheat, and steal.
Sorry, most HONORABLE people wouldn’t. Company you keep and all that, dontcha know.
So no, Naps, Teti is a no-go at the “combat vet” station, just in case you wanted my .02 on the situation. Yeah, he’s pretty high-speed, but not a combat vet.
Hondo, this is like dealing with Sippy’s malformed clone. Can’t win a point, can’t even make a point, can’t support anything he says, changes the subject to something completely unrelated, and isn’t nearly as smart as Sippy. But he is boring.
Bonaparte is a Corsican surname. Has nothing to do with bodily functions or coarse jokes.
Obviously, tunashart is not as clever as he thinks he is; if he were, he’d know what tunashart means.