Stolen Valor in SFGate homeless vet story
When you steal other soldiers’ valor, it’s a good idea to know what you’re stealing;
“This is the Expert Infantry badge, the highest peacetime award,” said Jason Nash, 44, pointing to an image of a rifle surrounded by a wreath. “You had to pass (several dozen) tactical tests and you can only fail two; I was the only one in my company to get it.”
Post-military life has been tough for Nash. After serving in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a lung condition caused by the emissions from mortar cannons.
The above picture and story was sent by my old buddy 1AirCav69 in an article from SFGate. Anyone see an Expert Infantry badge in the picture? I see a Combat Infantry Badge. A CIB doesn’t require a test and it’s not a peacetime award. And although it’s true that you have to pass a few dozen tests to get an EIB, you can’t get the badge if you fail two of the tests.
Someone tell me what a mortar cannon is. Carolyn Said should have done some research before she wrote the article…from someone who had more than two days in the infantry…maybe someone who really had an EIB.
ADDED Sporkmaster:
The reply from the author.
Thanks for your input. I just spoke at length with Mr. Nash and he is faxing me his papers proving that he received both the CIB and EIB. He explained that the EIB is not on his uniform because one cannot display both, but in our original interview he discussed the EIB with me at length because he was more proud of having received it, since he was the only one in his unit to pass the qualifications, he received it in his first year in the military as a private, and he got five days’ leave as a reward, which was a huge deal to him. I misunderstood that the badge on the uniform was not what he was talking about.
After I see the papers, I will run a correction explaining the confusion about the two badges.
Kind regards,
–Carolyn
Category: Phony soldiers
Geez, you’d think an expert and/or combat infantryman would know that you need to be suited up in MOPP level 4 when you shoot those mortar cannons. The emissions are almost as deadly as the recoil.
Them Imperial mortar cannons were real nasty at the Battle of Hoth, you know.
Jeebus fucking cripes!! Another story with more holes in it than the ass of Manning’s shorts. I wasn’t infantry and I wasn’t on a mortar crew and even I could tell this story is bullshit.
Mortar “cannon“? This comes to mind…
The guy was in a super secret siege unit, right?
“Holes In The Ass of Manning’s Shorts” is a great name for a band
V/R
George
CTIC(SG) (Retired)
Read the article….then the comments section. I think you have to register, like I did, to read them all. One guy says that 199,000 Desert Storm Vets have filed VA claims for health problems, out of 700,000. I claimed BS on his stats…but I may be wrong. We FOGS on Pfiles 2.0 are having problems with his patch and all his ribbons. We get the easy ones….Nat def, GC, (one award in 8 years?), Desert Storm ones, and I’m in the Army….can anyone figure out the rest? I don’t buy his Bulwinkle Badge either.
Thanks Jonn….I know you guys can figure this douche out.
Honor and Courage
I got an EIB back in the day. But no one was shooting at us in Bad Kitzigen, where the 3rd Division test was as I recall back in the days of the horse cav.
It was a major deal back then, huge for promotion points as in the peacetime (74 or so) Army, the scores for E5 11B were typically 500 or 550.
And failing even one station meant you were a “No-Go, seeya next year!”
Also notice that the disks on the collar are missing.
I was just reading this the other day and it did kind of make me wonder. I’m no military expert but am familiar with the EIB/CIB.
Him talking about the EIB and how it’s the highest peace time award set off my fake radar, especially since article mentions a wreath surrounding the rifle which the EIB does not have.
Does anyone know if this guy was in the military at all?
I hate to see a fraud take advantage of charities.
It should be noted that people sometimes confuse the two. I know that I have seen at least two case of people refer to a CMB as a EFMB.
Quite a few are questioning this guy and his claims on the comments section, a good sign.
I’m sure it’s all just a matter of a FOIA request to see what this guy’s true background.
As for the reporter and doing more research, I agree, but reporters are like a lot of the general public. They tend to be more trusting and ‘naive’ when it comes to military. They give the benefit of the doubt (if they have any) as they have been “taught” to respect veterans and to express doubt and the like would seem disrespectful for them.
So right or wrong most people tend to not question a person’s military claims and background.
About every 3rd comment at SFGate mentions the possible stolen valor situation.
Its possible that the dude has both a CIB and an EIB,
and that one time in a million a soldier could make this mistake in good faith.
But the dude gives himself away by puffing it up with all the highest civilian honor crap and being a wheel in his company of maybe 100 guys.
It sounds 100% impossible though that if he did earn both that he would mistake the battle decoration and the skills course badge, right?
Also I sent off a email to the person that wrote this story but, I will not get a reply until the 21st of December at the earliest.
Also it seems that the crest would put him at Fort Jackson as his last unit.
OldCavLT – Those were the days. I walked 36 miles to get my EIB. One No Go and it was see you next year. The most painful one for me was a No Go on setting headspace and timing on M2. I hopped down behind the gun, whipped out the gauge. Headspace – Good checked timing – Good. Stood up surprised at how easy it had been only to have the NCO tell me No Go. HOw could I be a No Go he hadn’t even checked it only to be told.
“The task was to SET headspace and timing, NOT CHECK it.” It was all about attention to detail.
So anyway, yeah out of all my awards that EIB is my most precious one, as one Vietnam vet told me, CIB’s are easy all you got to do is get shot at.
I do believe that patch is TRADOC, not saying everyone that ends up there is a shitbag, but it does have far too many ass kissers for my taste.
Grunt: EFMBs are said to be harder to get than EIBs, I don’t know, I apparently didn’t kiss enough ass, and really I haven’t even SEEN an EIB or EFMB since 2004.
This article is total shyte. Reporters are supposed to admit when they make a mistake and take the blame.
A Green Beenie buddy of mine in Texas got this reply from an email to the reporter:
Thank you for the reasonable tone of your letter; I must admit to being dismayed by some of the vitriol in other notes I’ve received on this topic. I just spoke with Mr. Nash, who is faxing me his papers showing that he earned both the EIB and CIB.
As I suspected, I got confused about the badges. He explained that he does not have the EIB on his uniform since one cannot display both, but he discussed the EIB at greater length with me because he was more proud of it, since he was the only one in his company to pass the qualifications to receive it, he received it in his first year in the military as a private, and he got five days leave as a reward, which was a huge deal to him. He earned the CIB by virtue of having served with a combat unit in Iraq, but did not feel that he actually did as much to earn it. Does this sound reasonable to you?
After I see the papers, I’ll run a correction indicating that the badge pictured was the CIB and that a solider cannot wear both badges – that is correct, right?
Kind regards,
–Carolyn
More to follow when I get it. If the reporter screwed the pooch, and the guys legit…I would be the first to apologize. I will say that I can’t believe the EIB course is harder than then my first 30 days or subsequent days I spent in combat in Vietnam. I would ask those of you who fought in Desert Storm…and I do not mean this as a slam…I have the utmost respect for all…but were they giving out CIB’s in MRE’s? That’s almost what he’s saying. I think I know the answer but would love to hear from you.
Honor and Courage