Michael Conley and his friends defend his stolen valor
There’s an article somewhere about Michael Conley who we discussed here and here in the last few weeks. The article is in the Bedford Indiana Times-Mail, written by Garet Cobb Sara Kuhl, but it’s behind a pay wall and I have the text of it right here. Anyway, Conley who claimed to be a First Sergeant, Special Forces, 3 CIB awarded, two tours of Vietnam, claimed that he was at Hamburger Hill and the Battle of Bloody Ridge. His records don’t support any of that. He had one tour of Vietnam a year before those two battles and he was a mechanic. There’s no record of him ever attending Special Forces training, and for three awards of the CIB would mean that he is also a Korean War veteran. Mr. Cobb Ms. Kuhl takes note of all that;
Even before the event, two online sources — both run by military veterans — questioned the honors and awards Conley claims to have earned. One, a blog called “This Ain’t Hell,” posted photos from the event of Conley in a military uniform and medals he wore that day, referring to it as a “clown suit.”
Conley, who now lives in Georgia, denied comment when called. He has received similar criticism, and dismissed it, in the past. He has said the military records do not accurately reflect his rank and his record, and he has been working to correct them.
[…]
Conley would have had to serve in Korea to earn the first award, Vietnam for the second award and either Iraq or Afghanistan after 2001 for the third award.
“Only 325 have been awarded,” said retired Master Sgt. Jeff Hinton of the United States Army and a Green Beret. “They’re legends. … You don’t see them very often, and Conley is not one of those individuals.”
So, you think with a simple, easy to understand bust like that, coupled with his lack of documentation for his Silver Star Medals or his Special Forces training, Conley and his supporters would finally admit the truth. Ha! fat chance.
And it’s not uncommon for a veteran’s military records to not be totally accurate, according to Sorrells.
“No one knows more than him how messed up his records are,” said Sorrells.
Conley served in Vietnam and is a veteran of the war, and prior to 1993, if a soldier worked as a support staff for a Green Beret unit, even as a cook or mechanic, he could still wear the Green Beret hat.“We didn’t see anything out of place or out of order,” Sorrells said. “We’re not experts, but it didn’t look different than any other person’s records.”
Oh, OK, fine. Conley knows his records are screwed up, so there you go, he’s in the clear then. Sorry to bother you, Mike.
Here’s a Word document of the complete article, if you want to read it.
Category: Phony soldiers
Green beret hat.
Wow. Bet that’s going over well.
From what I understand even though support troops wear the same uniform…it does not make you a “green beret”. in fact if I am correct support troops in Special Forces have a MOS designator so that they can picked out again later down the road to serve back in the regiment.
Documents are not that messed up. Beaurcrats love thier paperwork. Its all there
They do have the “S” identifier although it’s optional. I got mine in 1994 because I didn’t want to be assigned to a conventional unit. Didn’t work, though – in 1995 I got levied from 3rd SFG to XVIII Corps because they were understrength and had priority.
Then I got to call the G1 up and tell them that my ETS was less than 100 days away and I had already been approved for a 90 day “drop” to go to college. I still sometimes think it would have been funny if I’d kept my mouth shut, gone through all the processing to go over to XVIII Corps and then as I was in processing to casually let the commander know “Oh, BTW, I ETS in 3 months and I have 65 days of accrued leave. So I’d like to start out-processing tomorrow. Thanks!
ALCON
as per Army Regulation 600-8-22
c. The CIB is authorized for award for the following qualifying wars, conflicts, and operations:
(1) World War II (7 December 1941 to 3 September 1945).
(2) The Korean War (27 June 1950 to 27 July 1953).
(3) Republic of Vietnam Conflict (2 March 1961 to 28 March 1973), combined with qualifying service in Laos (19
April 1961 to 6 October 1962).
(4) Dominican Republic (28 April 1965 to 1 September 1966).
(5) Korea on the demilitarized zone (DMZ) (4 January 1969 to 31 March 1994).
(6) El Salvador (1 January 1981 to 1 February 1992).
(7) Grenada (23 October to 21 November 1983).
(8) Joint Security Area, Panmunjom, Korea (23 November 1984).
(9) Panama (20 December 1989 to 31 January 1990).
(10) Southwest Asia Conflict (17 January to 11 April 1991).
(11) Somalia (5 June 1992 to 31 March 1994).
(12) Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, 5 December 2001 to a date to be determined).
(13) Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom, 19 March 2003 to a date to be determined).
with that being said, multiple awards could be worn by current serving members of the 11 series MOS and 18 series MOS within the US Army.
with that being said, multiple awards could be worn by current serving members of the 11 series MOS and 18 series MOS within the US Army. That is true, RECON 1SG – but only if they also served as an Infantryman in combat prior to 10 March 1995. If all of their service is since Sep 2001 – no. In practice, due to the passage of time that means they must have served as an Infantryman in combat during Panama, the Gulf War, or Somalia as well as the GWOT. (Grenada might also be a possibility, but would be a real “corner case”.) Para 8-6c of AR 600-8-22 gives only part of the story. While para 8-6c. defines the operations for which the CIB is authorized, it does not clearly identify the CIB periods during which a CIB can be awarded. This causes a great deal of confusion. While there are 13 defined operations during which the CIB may be awarded, there are only four (4) periods during which the CIB may be awarded. These periods are clearly defined a bit later in para 8-6. The CIB award periods are defined in para 8-6f (and even that para could be reworded for greater clarity); the prohibition on multiple awards of the CIB during a single CIB period is found in para 8-6g. World War II and Korea (items 1 and 2 in para 8-6c) each constitute their own CIB award period. Items 3 through 11 constitute the Vietnam CIB period – which ran from 2 Mar 1961 through 10 Mar 1995, a period of 44 years and 9 days. Further, as para 8-6f clearly states that a single CIB is awarded during a given CIB period, regardless of the number of times one qualifies. It doesn’t matter if an infantryman served in one OR ALL of the operations defined during the Vietnam War CIB period (or any other), they only receive a single CIB. Items 12 and 13 constitute the GWOT CIB period. The same is true there – people serving today who served as an Infantryman in combat in… Read more »
Yup, blame a records screw-up for him wearing a third-award CIB (as a mechanic in Vietnam); that’ll do the trick !!!
Yeah and SFC is just like 1SG, right?
It’s entirely possible Conley has a CIB from Vietnam. USAR-V played somewhat “fast and loose” with DA rules for the CIB during that war, and some individual units applied even that loose local criteria quite liberally.
However, if he was 18 in 1968, would have made him in his mid-50s during his active duty service during the GWOT (2003-2005 time frame). I’d have to see independently-verifiable documentation of a CIB from that tour – most personnel assigned to Infantry units aren’t usually quite that old.
And even giving him the benefit of the doubt for that, that’s only a CIB with 1 star – not two. As Martinjmpr notes below, it would have taken service during the Korean War CIB period (ended 1953) for a third.
All known 3x CIB recipients are World War II/Korea/Vietnam.
He was an expert with the grease gun on that duce and a half….
I wonder just whereabouts in Georgia CONley is living these days? Wouldn’t it be nice if he decided to parade around in his clown suit around other Vets and get flushed out in front of God and everybody?
API, the professionalsoldiers.com website lists his location as Canton, Georgia and Bedford County, Indiana. Maybe he splits time between those places?
Ya’ mean like some non-pilot/lawer/CPO that claims residence in OR, FL, and elsewhere all at once?
It’s Bedford, Indiana which is in Lawrence County. He spoke on May 9th in Bedford, Indiana.
That’s exactly what he did in Bedford,IN. on May 9th,2015. He spoke at our FIRST apprreciation event we had for our veterans past and present. His appeaance was approved by the Lawrence County Viet nam Veterans Group, our town council, and our Veteran Officer in Lawrence County. The event was a huge success but MANY noticed all of the awards on this clowns uniform and were very upset. An article was written in the local paper the Times Mail and now Michael Conley is being investigated. If you want to see all of this clowns lies just Google “Michael Conley and Special Forces” The Times article is even in this. He will be found out, he has also been turned into the Stolen Valor Group. What a CREEP this clown is.
AND the Lawrence County Viet Nam Veterans Group paid him $1000.00 for speaking AND the leader of that Group Bill Gratzer said he didn’t care if he wore a purple baseball cap or a green beret hat to the event as long as he showed up to speak. As far as I’m concerned they made a farce out of the green berets, EVERY veteran AND this event.
So I guess it is OK to just run your mouth and embellish your military career now a days.
Hell, I once went to the Spec Ops barracks at Ft. Sill during an exercise on nuke security. Does that mean I can now call myself a Green Beret?
Turd. Go fill a pine box somewhere.
I spent a few weeks in Okinawa before going to Vietnam, the Marine Corps Comm School was just across the street from a tower for jump practice. I also gave blood over at the barracks, does this mean
am qualified/entitled to
wear a Green Beret as well
as the EGA? The lying fuckers promised us steak dinners but I guess the
invitation was lost in the
mail. I’d rather not any of
my blood be needed but if it was I’m proud to share it
with anyone who needed it. Never used the Comm
School, they had a class to fill and our plane landed
first so we all went. Then on to Vietnam and a tour as an 0311, the most honorable job in The Corps. Semper Fi.
Shitbag loser.
This mantra that a green hat makes you a Special Forces soldier…. where have I seen that before?
Not sure if you guys saw this comment from this weekend: http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=59551&cpage=1#comment-2539678
So I guess it is all about the hat you wear.
Now one would think a E-8/1SG would know to make sure his records were squared away at retirement out-processing. I remember a E-8 walk in to personal when I was out-processing, grab the NCOIC and had him check, and double check his records for retirement. I’m talking fine toothed comb checking.
So I had to do some SIR Reports onetime that may, or may not have, involved some high speeds.
So I guess that makes me Operater as F-€(…
I never would have known… LMAO !!!!!!!!!!!
Bhwhahahahahahaha!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Ah, the Phlegmron Dickey defense. Shitbag.
Green Beret.
Green, Beret, Hat.
Hat, Green, Beret.
Beret, Green, Hat.
LEGIT!
I never said:
“… and they’re getting money and stuff from it.”
I know I didn’t say “money and stuff” I did say many times “personal and financial gain”. I might be done speaking with “reporters”……
I’m surprised they didn’t say “… and they’re getting money and stuff from it….an shit”
/where can I sign up to be a “reporter, an shit and stuff??
team seargent SIR…Michael Conley DID get paid $1000.00 for spewing his pack of lies!!!
The fact that SF support troops wore green berets prior to 1993 is irrelevant when dumbass up there is also rocking an SF “long tab.”
As for the 3-award CIB thing, haven’t we shown mathematically that it’s not possible for an enlisted man to have 3 awards of the CIB unless those awards were for WWII, Korea and Vietnam?
I know we did this a few weeks ago but let me throw this out there again: 3 awards of the CIB for service in Korea – Vietnam – GWOT doesn’t work because it would mean that he had to be 18 years old as of 30 June 1953 (I believe the CIB requirement in the Korean War was that you had to serve in the CIB-eligible front line for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days. Since the CIB eligibility period ended around 30 July 1953, he would have to have arrived to his front line unit by 30 June at the absolute latest in order to qualify for his CIB award.)
18 in 1953 = birth date some time in 1935. Which means that by October, 2001, when the fourth qualifying period for the CIB began, he would have been 66 years old – too old to be an enlisted member in the Army (I think Chaplains and doctors are allowed to stay in at that age but they are officers and don’t qualify for the CIB) and for damn sure, too old to be in a brigade-level or below 11-series Infantry assignment.
Even if we give him the extreme benefit of the doubt – he lied about his age and joined up at 15 – that still puts him at 63 years old as of the start of the GWOT.
I know a couple of guys who got waivers to stay in beyond age 60 in the GWOT (including our Regimental CSM in 2004-05), but-as you note-the math still doesn’t work. It is probably possible to have a recent CMB third award (though I don’t know of any) because a doctor who served as an 18 year old in Korea (and then again in some form in Vietnam) could have easily have gotten a waiver to be in during the GWOT past age 60, but not a grunt-just no way.
I’m an OEF vet, and I’ve had two superiors above me that sported a legitimate star on their CIBs, one was my Platoon Serveant and later our 1SG, the other was a Staff Officer and later our BC.
…one was my Platoon Serveant …
Kind of like your personal “bat man”? Or, was that a Freudian slip of the fingers?
(^___^)
“…Platoon SERGEANT…” Stupid, clumsy fat fingers…
ONE, First Sergeant, TWO, First Sergeant, THREE, First Sergeant,…
I could use a platoon servant.
What a concept!
You had an RTO/cabana boy, didn’t you?
Don’t ask.
Don’t tell.
If I remember correctly, our English word, “SERGEANT”, actually stems from the French word for, “SERVANT”.
I’ve also seen a few of those-there is a guy who works in the four shop in my unit who has one who jumped into Panama (he’s got a combat jump for that) and then later was in the FLAARNG infantry unit during the invasion of Iraq.
Two stars is a dead giveaway for anyone under 85.
If your theoretical doctor is serving in the GWOT past age 60, he’s serving as a medical officer, not an 11 series or 18 series soldier, so no CIB for the GWOT.
I said third award CMB above not CIB.
You know, back in high school I wore a blue beret. (It was the eighties, what can I say.) By their logic, I was an elite undercover operative doing a long-term embedded mission surrounded by hostiles.
What? If you don’t think high school students are hostile, we must have very different memories of adolescence!
In reality, of course, Benetton was a fashion statement at that time, and I had an indulgent grandmother who bought me accessories from time to time. But hey, it sounds as legit as this guy’s story.
Ha you mean you didnt wear a rasberry beret?,, like the Prince song?
THANKS, now that damn song is stuck in my head. You did THE HUSTLE on me, *flute tooting that tune*…
“And when it was warm, . . . “? (smile)
Well, Mr. Conley is a valor stealing, lying sack of shit and Mr. Sorrell is an aiding and abetting sack of shit.
I wonder if Sorrell has some things in his background that are not above board. Maybe this is why he defends the indefensible so strongly.
Two fucking losers.
“We didn’t see anything out of place or out of order,” Sorrells said. “We’re not experts, but it didn’t look different than any other person’s records.”
Yeah the hand written “rifleman” looked completely normal to him I guess.
Not to mention the difference in rank.
They can both go fuxx themselves sideways with fifty frozen porcupines each!!
Maybe the thing to do to curtail some of this is to make it illegal to wear a military uniform once you get out or retire. No exceptions. Use small pins or patches to denote service, nothing more.
That would be the easy part, of course. The hard part is the official documents that are being forged/altered. It would cost a ton of money, I’m sure, but perhaps the technology they use for money would work here: special paper, special inks, and the magnetic strips embedded in the paper would help identify forgeries.
Just my opinion.
…Trouble is that then you’d STILL see some idiots rocking full dress uniforms and claiming that they did such an incredible job that they’re authorized to wear it.
It’s in the records, you know, the ones that were destroyed in The Fire.
Mike
You mean “The Fire”?
Hey, WE, didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning. [Shrugs]
Though we didn’t light, yeah we tried to fight it.
Rock and roller cola wars
I can’t take it any more
Well, thanks for that, got THAT fuckxin’ song rattling around non-stop in my head now…..
That’s too much of a hammer instead of scalpel approach to it, in my opinion. The public is becoming more aware of the stolen valor issue, and as that happens, law enforcement and the VA will hopefully take notice as well (at least more often and consistently). A good Congressman needs to find a way to write more bite into the Stolen Valor act, that will pass Supreme Court scrutiny.
But please don’t deny me the privilege of wearing my dress blues. I have proudly worn them 3 times since retiring, at Veterans Day ceremonies. Didn’t wear them last time, since I’ve put on a bit of a gut and grown an out-of-regs moustache. Don’t want to stress test the jacket or otherwise give a bad impression because of my unsat fat-body.
I do not support broad laws restricting uniform wear. Those retired are subject to recall in different ways; they earned their right to wear it. Maybe on the back of retired ID cards list major awards? Dates of Service?
Seems like they could have a copy of the DD 214 embedded in a retired CAC, eventually.
I am proud to wear my uniform at appropriate events. My wife asked if the Soldier for Life Retired tiddy protector was necessary because it is obvious (by age) who is retired and who are still serving. I asked her if she had ever been to a National Guard function. Ladies and germs of the jury, I rest my case. One of the reasons I enjoy wearing my Army uniform with my Air Force enlisted time awards, Coast Guard awards earned in the Auxiliary and three Army civilian medals earned in civil service, is just to watch the CSM’s checking me out debate whether to call me out or not. None have yet although an Air Force CMSgt almost did at the kid’s retirement ceremony.
All hat, no cattle!
Someone should check on Sorrell’s background… bet you that there’s some turds floating in that punchbowl.
@ PINTO NAG, FOURTEEN SIERRA, Et Alii:
Army Regulation 670-1: 30-6 authorizes wear of military decorations on civilian clothing.
Here is the URL for a detailed explanation of this subject, which I posted on my own personal web site, “OUR ETERNAL STRUGGLE”:
http://writesong.blogspot.com/2011/10/proper-civilian-wear-of-military-medals.html
I even wear my decorations with my clan’s tartan kilt when attending Scottish and/or Celtic festivities.
When going to church, such as yesterday morning, I wear a miniature riband rack and miniature wings on the left lapel of my Sunday-go-to-meetin’ suit.
And, of course, when observing holidays or participating in patriotic events, I wear my full-sized medals on my Sunday-go-to-meetin’ suit.
On cold, wintry days, I still wear my M-65 field jacket and jump boots.
For emergencies, or just for fun, I also still maintain a complete issue of TA-50 Army field gear, to include gas mask, steel helmet, flak vest, and Colt CAR-15 .223 calibre carbine, with collapsible buttstock, bayonet, and forty-round magazine.
I’m very grateful to my beloved United States Army for permitting me to serve, and for teaching me all those useful skills.
Why penalize legitimate veterans because of the current epidemic of imposters?
So – can anyone help me –
Here’s the portion that interests me: 23–4. Former members of the Army
a. Unless qualified under another provision of this regulation, or under the provisions of 10 USC 772, former
members of the Army may only wear the uniform if they served honorably during a declared or undeclared war, and if
their most recent service was terminated under honorable conditions. Personnel who qualify under these conditions will
wear the Army uniform in the highest grade they held during such war service, in accordance with 10 USC 772.
b. When authorized, the uniform may be worn only for the following ceremonial occasions and when traveling to
and from the event and must follow guidance included in paragraph 3–7c.
(1) When attending military funerals, memorial services, weddings, inaugurals, and other occasions of ceremony.
(2) When attending parades on national or State holidays, or other patriotic parades or ceremonies in which any
active or reserve U.S. military unit is taking part. Uniforms for these occasions are restricted to service and dress
uniforms; the combat uniform and physical fitness uniforms will not be worn. Wearing the Army uniform at any other
time, or for any other purpose than stated above, is prohibited.
How do I know if I served during a declared or undeclared war? I was awarded NDSM upon graduation of Basic – May 1992. I served in Korea. Somewhere – maybe through the VA? I saw myself labelled a ‘Gulf War Era” vet, although I did not serve in the gulf war. I want to do things right.
Any help?
The Gulf War Era for the NDSM lasted though Nov. 1995.
Does that mean – your view – I’d fall in that category as having served in a period of non-declared war?
The Gulf War was a declared war. A Congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force (often called AUMF) is generally considered to qualify as a declaration of war, although there are those who will dispute that (mostly lawyers, who will dispute anything. 😀 )
The problem with using any AR as a reference is that ARs only apply to those subject to the UCMJ which does not include civilians (although it can include retirees as long as they are being paid.)
The statute appropriate for a civilian non-retiree would be 18 U.S. Code § 702 which states that “Whoever, in any place within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the Canal Zone, without authority, wears the uniform or a distinctive part thereof or anything similar to a distinctive part of the uniform of any of the armed forces of the United States, Public Health Service or any auxiliary of such, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.” Now I don’t know if that was the “stolen valor act” that was ruled unconstitutional a few years ago but I noticed there is also 18 U.S. Code § 704 which has a more specific set of penalties for those who wear unauthorized decorations for the purposes of obtaining a benefit.
Martinjmpr: as I recall, both SVAs (2005 and 2013) dealt solely with 18 USC 704, and the prohibition on uniform wear contained in 18 USC 702 wasn’t part of either act.
@ MARTIN JUMPER, Et Alii:
You are correct in saying a veteran can’t be subjected to the UCMJ.
That’s why AR-670-1: 30-6 is written with the wording,
“Personnel who wear medals on civilian clothes should place the medals on the clothing in approximately the same location and in the same manner as for the Army uniform, so they look similar to medals worn on the Army uniform.”
So, even though it isn’t mandatory to wear military decorations appropriately, and there’s no military penalty for improperly wearing military decorations, our United States Army sort of hopes that we veterans will do as they request.
Yep, just gotta have a CIB! Just don’t want to do that whole infantry thing! So I’ll just wear it, no one will know I didn’t earn it! Dumbass!
As noted by Team Sergeant over at professionalsoldiers.com, one of his primary aiders & abettors is Brad Bough – who happens to be running for Mayor of Bedford. Election is November. Unfortunately, he’s the Republican in the race. Oh well.
His opponent is Shawna Girgis. I’m not sure if she used her position to appropriately address this issue, but at least she didn’t actively promote the guy AFAIK. Her office: (812) 279-6555; sgirgis@bedford.in.us;
dandry@bedford.in.us
Shawna Girgis, didn’t you mean Shawna Gorgeous? (We’re talking crawling through broken glass beautiful!!!!)
You know it!
Also – best hair in the biz hands down.
http://www.bedford.in.us/MayorsOffice.aspx
Forgive me Father, I suddenly want to sin again.
Who the hell is the Sorrells yardbird?
“We didn’t see anything out of place or out of order,” Sorrells said. “We’re not experts, but it didn’t look different than any other person’s records.”
OK, genius, a fifth grader can do the math… There is no way possible Conley could have 3 CIBs, period!
All the hypothetical theories such as serving in Korea, Nam and GWOT are worthless; getting to wear a green hat (sarcasm); non-infantry mofo with “rifleman” penciled in his 2-1; granted a waiver to serve in GWOT at over 60 years of age (maybe an airborne MD, 11B?)… need we continue? It’s al BULL SHIT!
To Conley, Sorrells and any other defenders of this dirtbag’s shenanigans: Crawl back into the holes you came out of, and stop disgracing the uniform and this country!
Whew, I feel better now…
I had some awards that caught up with me after I retired – after my DD214 was done. I don’t display them…how hard is that?
To easy !!!!!!!
But jonn when your operated as F¥€< . There is nothing as getting, or should I say. being a attention whore…. ????? Right ?????
LMFAo ! ! ! !
Can you file a 215 after retirement – I’m in the same boat BTW.
You can indeed request that – I did, and got a DD215 adding a unit award that was omitted from my final DD214. Not sure how long after retirement they’ll allow that, but in my case as I recall it was a year or two after I moved to the Reserve Retired list.
You can also go thru the appropriate BCMR/BCNR for your service and request a correction that way. Not sure if they’ll issue a DD215 or direct the issuance of a new DD214 in that case, though – I’ve seen the latter directed by a BCMR/BCNR, but I don’t think I’ve seen the former.
If you end up going the BCMR/BCNR route, be advised of the following. Some recent Army BCMR decisions I’ve seen seem to indicate that they (Army BCMR) no longer accept award certificates only – they also want orders. Looks like someone on the board staff(s) finally “wised up” regarding how easy it is to acquire a passable fake certificate via 3rd party Internet sources. Policy now seems to be “provide orders, or no addition”.
PFM: Can you file a 215 after retirement – I’m in the same boat BTW
Yes, you can file a DD215 after you retire; there is no time restriction — you merely need the proofs.
I had my Korea Defense Service Medal added 22 years past my retirement (10 years after the medal was instituted).
Yes you can, get a amended DD-215 for any awards not covered on a DD-214. No big deal.
But Jonn, if you have the orders for the awards, display them. You earned them. Do you not-display them at least in part because of the standard you have to keep to avoid dealing with “Gotcha” chuckleheads?
I wrote on the ass hole the last time, what a SHITBAG I thought he was. But what takes the cake for me is from the article Jonn cited. It follows: “We didn’t see anything out of place or out of order,” Sorrells said. “We’re not experts, but it didn’t look different than any other person’s records.” (Sorrells…it’s fucking obvious you’re not an expert at much.) Sorrells stressed that Conley, who is from Lawrence County, was qualified to talk at the event. He brought up the concerns with the veterans group, and they voted unanimously to still feature him at the event. Brad Bough refused to comment. “Conley is a Lawrence County native, and we consider him one of our own,” Sorrells said. “With two tours of duty in Vietnam and the medals that he has been awarded, we felt him to be worthy of speaking at our event.” “I don’t care if he was a Green Beret or not. I told him to, ‘Just come up and talk to us.’ He didn’t say anything about his awards or being a Green Beret Saturday. … He talked about love and happiness and forgiveness. “We’re satisfied. Really, I don’t care if he wore a purple ball cap or a Green Beret. We thought everything worked all right. These allegations are preposterous.” So then, Sorrells is also dumber than a bag of rocks. He’s a vet himself and never even questioned a third award of the CIB? The last paragraph really says it all. They don’t care about stolen valor in their little Lawrence County outfit, just having members to bend elbows with. It caught my attention that, “He talked about love and happiness and forgiveness”. Well hell, I’m sure he did. Why? Because he knows he’s a lying SHITBAG and his day has come and is coming even harder now. So, he wants to be remembered for REMINDING them all about love, happiness and especially, especially mind you…forgiveness. Cause he’s gonna want a double truck load of forgiveness from them when they finally pull their heads out of their asses and… Read more »
Sorrells and Bough work in the county Veterans Affairs office… I wonder how many “vets” these two assclowns vetted for benefits through the state and the VA over the years.
Best guess is that they don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground, and have their heads firmly embedded in it.
So instead of having some people stand up for you who only know your BS stories, why don’t you get some people you served with to back up your claim? I served from 1988 to 2013 and have friends from the Gulf War and OIF who would back my service, but I have my actual 214 and my official records on file.
Being a 1SG, you think one of your Soldiers who served under you would recognize you and back your claim.
I said something similar about this guy or someone else sporting a few Silver Star medals. I’m sure that the GO who pinned the medals on, or his G-1, or his chief of staff would remember some guy who only spent 2 years (according to him) in country and getting his 2nd SS. It shouldn’t be too tough to drum up one of them to come to his defense. Also, anyone who was in the same company with him would remember an awards formation for a guy getting his 2nd SS. How about finding one of them? Nope, he’s got two guys, who, self admittedly, aren’t experts, and didn’t know him in uniform, vouching for him. Honestly, you could look at my Facebook friends list and LinkedIn links and find a litany of people with whom I’ve served. I’ve got a few friends who were in the GA ARNG about the time this guy was around. Time to make some phone calls.
“Sorrells said the expenses for the May 9 event were not paid from tax money, but by a private individual’s donation.” Expenses? Bingo. If so much as a dime went to Conley, that’s a tangible benefit. That dime doesn’t have to be tax money. Conley, according to the article, wasn’t keen on speaking at the event. I bet. He was screwed if he did and screwed if he didn’t, what with Sorrells going to bat for him. But the article cooked Conley’s goose real good and, in my view, made Sorrells look the fool. That’s a happy ending—except I really don’t believe this is the end.
I’m betting on the fact that there was airplane tickets/vehicle fuel reimbursement for the flight/road trip from Georgia to Indiana, overnight motel/hotel accommodations, any number of meals/coffee/banquets before and after the Kumbaya speech, etc.,etc.
Aren’t all those tangible benefits?
Again, I hang my head in shame for being a Hoosier.
Re: hanging your head in shame.
Don’t let it happen again!
But all is forgiven since you’re a Huey guy.
Oops, didn’t hit the reply button. See my response in the next following comment.
HUEY? Wtf? (sigh) it’s an Iroquois. No Hueys EVER in the Army. :-/
I’m a Stinger. Visual Aircraft Recognition glasses sorta ruined me in that way 🙂
doh *Classes…not glasses…but whatever. 🙂
IROQUOIS? WTF? (Sigh) Hueys have always been the accepted term. Only a Gun Bunny who is still in AIT and hasn’t yet been out into the real Army only refers to it as a Iroquois./sarc – Big Smile.
Only a dipshit VAR class instructor would not accept Huey as a correct answer.
BTW, three different Chap/Vulcan Bn Vet here. 1/3 ADA, 6/56 ADA and 4/61 ADA. From way back when 16F (Dusters) was still a working MOS in the Army and they were being converted to 16R.
In the space of about nine months, I served with 3/1 (HAWK), 2/2 (Avenger), and 4/43 (Patriot) ADA BNs. All part of 31 ADA BDE at Hood. All I remember is WEFT.
Gotta love unit deactivations – a hell of a way to see the Army.
Mine were in the span of almost 10 years. March 1972 until October 1981.
Major Commands were 101st Airborne, 32nd AADCOM and 4th Inf Div.
Then I went to Mechanized Infantry and never looked back.
It’s a HUEY. I can’t spell Irakoys…
That’s like the OH-58s: who calls them Kiowas? They’re 58 alphas, charlies or deltas. And nobody ever called an OH-6 a Cayuse…
Now Cobra and Shithook – those are easy to spell. 😉
Yep, Jet Ranger and Loach are easy to spell.
The only people I ever heard call the UH-1 a Iroquois are those British narrators on the History Channel.
It does sound better with a British accent.
Thanks, I accept the forgiveness.
But saying my head is hanging in shame is my coping mechanism against what I really want to do to this individual.
It would involve a Jesus Nut Wrench, a TA-312 and a six foot length of commo wire, plus various assorted strands of concertina wire.
But if I had been in attendance for his speech, let’s just say 100 mile an hour tape can’t fix stupid, but it will mute it.
And yes, I would still smack him upside the head for being a dipshit and attempting to portray himself as an Infantry First Sergeant.
Not only for wearing a two star CIB, but also for wearing the Arabic Numeral 3 on his NDSM instead of the appropriate Bronze Service Stars and then not having at least one BSS on his VSM, and I think he has the RVNCGUC upside down. Not to mention the improper placement of the SF and Ranger Tabs.
But he has been vetted by the Lawrence County VSO’s and they say he’s good to go, so who are we to point out any discrepancies on his uniform?
I wanna wear a Green Beret Hat! I guess I’ll have to settle for a maroon Airborne Fedora.
How do you “deny comment”? I deny a comment! You can’t make a comment, I deny you the right to comment. I deny having any comments.
I’ve seen Sands Of Iwo Jima and Saving Private Ryan like 20 times. I’m going to pin on a 20 Star CIB
What awful writing. Douche.
I’ve got the Band of Brothers box set. That’ll get me a few stars I reckon.
Don’t know what I’ll put them on though… shit! I really need to think these things through.
You must have a Fez lying around to pin it on
You fail to mention Desert Storm. I earned a CIB in that war, and a second in OIF III.
I’m pretty decorated too! I often wonder if I would be called out. I carry my DD214 on me when I wear my dress uniform, just in case.
You say you can earn the CIB in GWOT, then you go to Vietnam and Korea.
I’m not saying this guy’s NOT a phony, just don’t forget us Desert Storm CIB holders.
No one has forgotten Gulf War CIB recipients. However, it wasn’t mentioned because that wasn’t necessary. The Gulf War wasn’t a separate CIB period.
The Vietnam CIB period began on 2 March 1961 and ended on 10 March 1995. (Yes, that’s a period of over 44 years.) Gulf War CIB recipients – along with those who earned their CIB in Laos, the Dominican Republic, Korea on the DMZ, El Salvador, Grenada, Joint Security Area/Panmunjom Korea, Panama, and Somalia during the same period – are all technically “Vietnam Conflict Era” CIB recipients. Only one award of the CIB is made during that period, regardless of how many combat operations in which an individual participates.
The GWOT CIB period (includes OEF, OIF, and OND) began on 18 September 2001 and has not yet terminated. The World War II and Korean War CIB periods were 7 Dec 1941 – 3 September 1945 and 27 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (all dates inclusive).
See AR 600-8-22, para 8-6. The CIB award periods are defined in para 8-6f; the prohibition on multiple awards of the CIB during a single CIB period is found in para 8-6g.