James Arroyo – Another embellishing Oath Keeper.

| December 28, 2018


The folks at Military Phony send us their work on James Steven Arroyo who is the vice-president of the Arizona Chapter of the OathKeepers.  He is also the regional chapter president of the Chino Valley / Yavapai Oathkeepers.

Jim repeatedly says that he was a US Army Ranger.

Then, several articles appearing in print highlight Jim’s involvement with the Iran Hostage Rescue team – Operation Eagle Claw.

The problem is that Jim wrote to the Special Forces Association (SFA) and all but admitted he wasn’t a Ranger because he did not finish the school due to an injury.  He also talks about the Iran Rescue Mission but in the SFA’s response, they state that parts of the support mission were not executed.  (NOTE: The DD-214 was supplied by Jim Arroyo, so we cannot speak to its accuracy.)

There were no real surprises with the NPRC response when they supplied his military records…

I guess these kinds of embellishments play well to civilians and the dull-witted.   I have lost count of how many Oath Keepers we have posted for this kind of nonsense.  I have also lost count of how many times I have had to explain to some civilian the difference between being a tabbed Ranger and someone that completed RASP 1 or 2 and was assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment who has then earned the right to bear the scroll and wear the tan beret.  Being Ranger qualified (tabbed) is not the same thing.

“There is no official U.S. Army policy regarding the use of the term ‘Ranger,’” Lt. Col. Gabriel J. Ramirez, a spokesman with Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, told Task & Purpose. “The designation ‘Ranger’ has been associated with Soldiers who either graduated from Ranger School or are assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment.”

If little Jimmy here was injured during his training to become a Ranger he should not be giving people the impression that he actually completed it.  He served during a time when most people wouldn’t, he made it through jump school and was assigned to a Ranger Battalion.  For a kid that only served a little over a year on active duty that is more than enough to be proud of.

Insofar as his super-secret Iran hostage missions…um…nah it didn’t happen and even if it could have, he would have been a Private in a support role.  It seems he has become a legend in his own mind but to those of us who served more than a year or so, being back up in a support role does not make us Rangers.   I understand those few weeks of his life are special to him and they should be, he just needs to relax and have a Snickers.

There used to be a guy around here that called this kind of clown a “Five Jump Chump”.  Private Arroyo might want to stop telling people he was a Ranger.  All he gets from actual Rangers is a yawn and an eye roll when he does that nonsense.  He could try something like, “I was injured and medically retired while training to become an Army Ranger.”

 

 

 

 

 

Category: Army, Oath Keepers, Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures

120 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
26Limabeans

That organization has zero respect for exactly this reason. And a few other reasons as well.

A Proud Infidel®™

I concur and that’s why I steer clear of them!

AW1Ed

“I was injured and medically retired while training to become an Army Ranger.”

That would be more than enough to impress a civvie, who actually has no idea what it takes to become an Army Ranger, and to a real Ranger would likely earn him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and a “Sucks, buddy. Let’s grab a beer.”

Should be good enough, but sadly this is not the case.

Jay

That’s about the long and short of it. I imagine a “No shit? Got hurt so bad they retired you? That blows…next one’s on me.” But oh no……gotta go for the gold.

Grunt

NO FUCKING SHIT, right? Anyone who’s served knows that career ending injuries can happen to anyone.

There’s no shame in trying, getting hurt doing so, and then moving on. No shame at all.

Twist

Hell, I didn’t even make it that far. I got injured at Division pr-Ranger. One of my biggest regrets is not going back after I healed and giving it another shot.

Bubble Soldier

I was a Warrant Officer Candidate at Fort Wolters, Texas. I failed to complete Warrant Officer Flight Training, though. Can I still claim to be a helicopter pilot? Not likely. Who would want to fly with an incompletely trained dropout?

I did, ultimately, succeed at Military Police training, and was assigned to the 561st M.P. Company at Fort Myer, Virginia. That was good enough for me. I did my job, and was separated honorably.

(Fort Myer is now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. 561st M.P. Co. is now assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky.)

AW1Ed

I was a Helicopter Naval Aircrewman when Operation Eagle Claw crashed and burned in the Iranian desert. The fact I was in a completely different model helo and half a world away, by James Steven Arroyo’s standards would be a mere detail.

But not by my standards.

It’s called respect, Arroyo. Find some.

Michael J Chlebowski

VMFA 531L/Cpl flight deck AE on the USS CORAL SEA CV-43 (the other carrier that gets no credit ) on GONZO STATION in support capacity of OPERATION EAGLE CLAW . Along with the ENTIRE 7 th fleet. About 10,000 of us locked and cocked ready to rock. Carter would not let the Dogs of War loose that night.
Turds like this make me sick. Arrayo is who I’m referring to. Even what people consider trivial jobs( mess cooks) put more on the line on that deployment then this turd. I would like to stand on his throat so one of the men who fed me on that deployment could poor hot grease down this dirt balls throat so he could never speak of this mission again.

Jay

Bubble, just curious. Did you wind up as a WO with the MP side?

AW1Ed

When I looked into the program as a salty Navy E-4, I would have to go to Army Boot, of course, and pass the Warrent Officer Flight Program to get the WO bars. Drops were bumped to E-5 and sent on their way.

This was quite some time ago, and I of course have no idea when Bubbles went through the program.

Jay

Huh. Good info. Always wondered how that worked.

Kurt G Rominger

If you could see Ft. Wolters today, you would cry. I have a 1953 M38A1 jeep from there.

2/17 Air Cav

His application fee was returned and he was extended an invitation to be an Honorary Life Member of Chapter XII. That’s almost like being an Army Ranger, except it isn’t.

IDC SARC

Profile Warrior

Harry

Somebody enlighten me. How do you get medically “retired” after only 2 years on active duty? What are the benefits?

MrBill

You can be medically retired if you have one or more medical conditions incurred in the line of duty that render you unfit for continued military service, and if the combined disability rating for those conditions is 30 percent or greater.

Non Cedo Ferio

Or if your like me, under 30 percent and 40k in disability severance pay. Funny thing is , I get a letter from the Army the other day saying they want me to come back and get re-examined. Seems that I fell I. The years where they were lowballing percentages so they are contacting those with disability servernce to try and make it right.

IDC SARC

As a Corpsman I’ve seen quite a few people retired on their first enlistment. It can be due to injuries or some very unfortunate consequences of diseases.

It’s generally something very unfortunate. Sometimes it can be something that doesn’t hinder you all that much from living, but is incompatible with continued military service.

The benefits depend of the findings of the medical board, but generally it would be all the benefits of a retired military member at the rank held at retirement, but the disability payments can actually exceed that.

There are people of lesser rank/longevity that are retired but receive a higher monthly payment than I do, because of their circumstance and rating.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Saw a HM3 get medically retired due to a glioblastoma that was kept in check for a year and returned with a vengeance. I watched her condition deteriorate to the point that she was losing her eyesight, having debilitating headaches and she was losing her memory. Her AD husband left her and took the kids… she ended up going home to her parents and passed away 6 months later.

IDC SARC

Damn, that will do it.

RIP

Harry

So basically you’re being classified as unfit for duty, discharged and then over to the VA? I guess VA benefits of the service-connected variety are for life, hence the word “retired”? If so, makes sense.

IDC SARC

Retired status means retired…you aren’t bound to VA care. That’s done in the case primarily for service related problems and then general care on a space available basis.

This is where confusion sets in, people try to get lifetime healthcare for any and everything simply because they served. That’s not what the VA does.

Non Cedo Ferio

Totally right. Yeah to get lifetime care is really gonna be based on your priority group. And that s gonna be based on percentage of Service connection and or special circumstances. Ie POW. Below 30 percent sc and your goons have a small copay. But at lest returning combat vets get 5 free years of healthcare off the bat. So that’s a plus

Harry

I don’t understand it because I never used it. I was a one-hitch wonder back in the 90’s. They owe me nothing.

IDC SARC

If you don’t have any service connected problems, no they don’t owe you anything per se.

However, if you contact the VA they can refer you to facilities that will treat you on a space available basis.

There may or may not be anything close.They may or may not actually have funding at any given time to treat Space-A, it waxes and wanes.

It’s the Space-A care that people often squawk about being inadequate and that they’re being ignored or neglected after serving the US. The reality is that the VA was not designed or funded to provide such care and be the PCP for any and all veterans regardless of length of service.

Harry

I don’t understand it because I never used it. I was a one-hitch wonder back in the 90’s. They owe me nothing.

MI Ranger

Dave Hardin, I hate to burst your bubble Arroyo technically is a Ranger. More so than those that wear the Tab and have never lived the life. While he may in fact be embellishing his story of participating in Operation Eagle Claw (in his letter he states his part was scrubbed), he was in fact assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion as an Infantryman (as per the NPRC records you provided). The Ranger Regiment does not require its privates to be tabbed, only its NCOs and Officers. As a private he would train up, and eventually go to the Regiments Pre-Ranger program after about a year and then to Ranger School. Once you return from successful completion and go to an NCO board, E-5 is automatic (points waved with Ranger Qualification).
There are two types of Rangers: Those that live the life, and those that have been to school. The School makes you Ranger qualified, not a Ranger. Having served in the Regiment, whether you made it through the School later or not makes you a Ranger.

sbalm

Not according to this Army regulation:

null

Roh-Dog

ASI or Additional Skill Identifier is different from a badge. Still can be in Battalion and Q’ed as a Ranger.
See below.

MI Ranger

sbalm and your point is? Exactly what I just said! Mr. Arroyo is a Ranger, just like The U.S. Army Ranger history predates the Revolutionary War. In the mid-1700s, Capt. Benjamin Church and Maj. Robert Rogers both formed Ranger units to fight during King Phillips War and the French and Indian War. Rogers wrote the 19 standing orders that are still in use today. In 1775, the Continental Congress formed eight companies of expert riflemen to fight in the Revolutionary War. Later, during 1777, this force of hardy frontiersmen, commanded by Dan Morgan, was known as the Corps of Rangers. Francis Marion, “The Swamp Fox,” organized another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element, known as Marion’s Partisans. During the War of 1812, companies of U.S. Rangers were raised from among the frontier settlers as part of the Regular Army. Throughout the war, they patrolled the frontier from Ohio to western Illinois on horseback and by boat. They participated in many skirmishes and battles with the British and their Indian allies. Many famous men belonged to Ranger units during the 18th and 19th centuries, including Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln. The Civil War included Rangers such as John Singleton Mosby, who was the most famous Confederate Ranger. His raids on Union camps and bases were so effective – part of North-Central Virginia soon became known as Mosby’s Confederacy. After the Civil War, more than half a century passed without military Ranger units in America. However, during World War II, from 1941-1945, the United States, using British Commando standards, activated six Ranger infantry battalions. The Army established Ranger School in 1951, first Class graduated on 1 March 1952. Rogers Rangers did not go to Ranger School, Darby’s Rangers did not go to Ranger School! I did too, but that is not what made me a Ranger it was the years I spent in the 75th Ranger Regiment and the training I imparted to my Soldiers after I left. Telling someone they aren’t a Ranger, who served honorably in the Ranger Regiment, but was medically retired from the Army before he completed a school… Read more »

Green Thumb

When did you get your Tab?

MI Ranger

started January 1996, Graduated May 1996.

rgr1480

I got mine in 1980 and concur with MI RGR.

I was tabbed, not scrolled. A coworker of mine was scrolled, not tabbed. He was a Ranger (Anti-Tank) … I was Ranger Qualified.

There were lots of students in my Ranger class who had been in Battalion for 2-3 years prior to getting a slot for Ranger School. They lamented not being able to wear their Scrolls at school (no rank/unit patches, ribbons, etc could be worn).

Green Thumb

6-00 here.

Green Thumb

I also saw a lot of dudes bolo that school and get sent out of Regiment.

11B-Mailclerk

Ranger Tab = School grad = Ranger qualified

Ranger Scroll = assigned to a Battalion = Ranger

11B-Mailclerk

The scroll is a unit patch

Roh-Dog

^This. I had a Squad Leader that, to put it diplomatically, was asked to leave Ranger School but he ended up spending 3-4 years in Battalion (relative in high places syndrome). One (or 2/3) tour at Batt will get you ‘G’ or ‘V’ qualified (presuming the Ranger is in an MTOE’ed spot).
The above is to the best of my limited knowledge, YMMV.

MI Ranger

You are partially correct Roh-Dog. The Victor (V) Identifier is for Parachutist Ranger qualification, Sierra (S) for Officers (e.g. 11B5V, 11A5S), The Gulf (G) was for non-Airborne (parachutist) Rangers, Romeo (R) for Officers. Apparently there is now a distinction for serving in the Regiment: Uniform (U) for 24 months in Regiment and Ranger Parachutist (e.g. 11B5U). Not available to Mr. Arroyo though.

My, My, My

The above is how I understood it as well, however, I have read many arguments both ways.

Regardless, having been assigned to 1st BN, I am assuming he completed RIP. Back then, wasn’t RIP held at the Battalion(s) rather than Benning? Perhaps that is why not listed on his DD214 (no completion certificate).

Wasn’t Regimental RIP started around the ’84-’85 timeframe (Benning)? Also, I am not completely sure if/when Regimental RIP provided completions certs or listed on DD214 either. Just curious.

These are not meant to be sock puppet statements/questions by any stretch.

MI Ranger

My, My My you are correct. When Regiment was formed (April 1987) they took over, and standardized RIP/RAP. Since it was a three week course it got a Certificate of Completion signed by the Regimental Commander (promotion points). They would send you to your Battalion on completion.

My, My, My

I appreciate the clarification. I could not remember (age I guess) when Regiment took over, though I could/should have googled. I completed RIP (smokefest) in ’85 (June or July). No Cert. of Comp. Regardless, thanks. Also, and back to topic, even the Cooks went through RIP then to BN (not sure about RASP), with many going to RS. If you told them they were not Ranger’s, they would attempt to kick your ass. 🙂

MI Ranger

Roger that. Our head spoon was a badge collector (looked great when he recruited at the Cook School house)!
If you became an NCO, though you had 90days to go to Ranger School or leave. We had a law clerk who held the record for most days in Ranger School (382). He recycled each phase at least once, and had two day one recycles…but he stayed at it and eventually came back with it. I don’t think they let you do that any more.

11B-Mailclerk

Someone was living “Never Quit”.

My, My, My

Holy Crap. That is a badass clerk. 6.5 RS classes worth of time. That’s hanging in there. His patrols must have been 80 Go’s, 79 NG’s. :). I can imagine someone asking him the question:

Q) “What was your RS class”
A) “Class 1-88, 2-88, 3-88, 4-88 and 5-88. Why do you ask?”

Martinjmpr

You beat me to it. Galling as it may seem, if Arroyo was assigned to a Ranger battalion, he was a Ranger, period. I think what confuses many people is that unlike SF, where you have to go through the school before you get assigned to the unit (unless you’re a support guy like I was.) So if you fail out of the school, you never make it to the unit. In the Rangers, it was different. The soldier goes through RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program), which is kind of a mini-Ranger school that lasts (I think) 2 weeks and once they complete that (many quit during this phase) they are assigned to a Ranger unit, awarded the beret (back in Arroyo’s time it would have been the black beret, now it’s the tan beret) and at that point, the soldier IS a “Ranger.” From my experience talking to Rangers at Fort Lewis (home of the 2nd Ranger battalion), the career progression for enlisted soldiers went like this: They go through basic and AIT. Then they go through jump school at Fort Benning, GA. At Benning, there are “ranger recruiters” who ask students if they want to try out for the Ranger battalions. If they have the needed MOS and meet other qualifications, then after they graduate from jump school, they go to RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program)if they are E-4 or below or ROP (Ranger Orientation Program) if they are NCO’s or officers. Back in the 80’s – 90’s, RIP was more of a basic-training style in-your-face ass kicking. Lots of pushups, low crawls, flutter kicks, inspections, etc. ROP was for NCO’s and officers and was (so I heard) more of a “gentleman’s” course. Either way, once the soldier completed RIP or ROP, they were assigned to a Ranger battalion and were addressed and referred to as “Ranger.” For lower enlisted, they would keep them in the battalion for a couple of years to make sure they could hack it. If they did their job well and showed they had potential, they were assigned a slot at Ranger school, usually as… Read more »

MI Ranger

Martinjmpr agreed. I seem to remember it was Ranger Assessment Program (RAP) not ROP but yes, it was a gentlemen’s course to make sure you knew your stuff, and could hack the lifestyle.
Fort Stewart and Fort Lewis had many a former Batt Boy (including Officers), many served with distinction.

Green Thumb

I go with 11V.

Simple, easy and no bullshit.

rgr769

Yes he was, but only briefly before he broke his taint and was sent home. He was likely injured in the training to turn him into a fully functional Ranger. In the early years of the two battalions there were frequent injuries in training, because it is dangerous stuff. The training is dangerous because combat is even more dangerous. I have seen video of some of their live fire training ops and one has to say one could easily be shot by another snuffy who pulled a trigger with his muzzle pointing in the wrong direction.

Retired Grunt

This is just an old infantry man’s take on the matter. I see that the man in question did serve almost a year in a ranger line company. HE SERVED AS A RANGER. Granted, the man never earned his tab. I serve with an individual who gets a spot on the news sometimes as a former Army Ranger. The individual in question was indeed Ranger qualified but had never spent a day living the life of the United States Army ranger. I am neither Ranger qualified nor have I spent a day in the life in the ranger battalions. I would, and this ol line infantryman’s humble opinion, consider this individual a ranger based upon his record of service even if he did not earn the tab. As far as his claims as to operation Eagle Claw I have no idea.

ArmyATC

You’re saying that simply being in the Regiment makes one a ranger. I know a few Rangers who served in the Regiment who would disagree. If Arroyo didn’t complete the training, which he admits he didn’t, then according to them he isn’t a Ranger even though he did spend nine months in a Ranger company. According to them, that’s not enough time to have completed any of the training.

MI Ranger

ArmyATC, not sure when your buddies served in Regiment, but pre-9/11 the Rangers ran an indoctrination assessment to get in to Battalion/Regiment. On completion of the assessment you got to wear your black (now tan) beret with flash and scroll on your sleeve. From then on you were addressed as Ranger. If you were squared enough away to attend Ranger School and pass you came back as an E-4 and you then got called by your rank. I once had a tabbed E-4 jump my ass because I did not call him Specialist (since I was too, but not tabbed yet). Interesting enough I pinned E-5 before him so he counted his push ups for me when he forgot to say Sergeant!

rgr769

Congrats on being MI and a Ranger. When I attended RA IOBC class there were several MI RA officers in my class who had been detailed Infantry. They were quite delighted that they did not have to attend Ranger School like the rest of us commissioned as RA Infantry officers.

Green Thumb

I pinned as an E-3.

You whine a lot.

NHSparky

Is there a single Oaf Queefer who has told the truth?

I’ve yet to run into any of these clowns who could keep their shit straight.

Martinjmpr

I’m guessing that anybody who was the “real deal” would go to one meeting, see that he was surrounded by clowns, and quietly make his way out.

So I would say “no.” 😉

NHSparky

I haven’t even been to a meeting. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

RM3(SS)

When it first started I thought it sounded intriguing so I went to one (1) local meeting. It was the biggest poserfest I’ve ever seen. Since then I been getting emails to come back, they apparently don’t understand the words fuck off.

Martinjmpr

Mail them a bag of gummy dicks. I hear they like those.

nbcman54ACTUAL

I’m impressed with how in his letter, he talks about how ST6 was part of Operation Eagle Claw.
ST6 wasn’t born until October 1980.
But what do I know – I’m an old Army guy.

Mick

He also claims in his letter that he was a “sniper”.

— sigh —

It’s always “sniper” with these poser buffoons.

Always.

MI Ranger

BREAK…BREAK…not to be a sock puppet but he could be referring to his position in the unit. Back then (1980s) the jeep team was the weapons platoon. He could have been assigned as the rifleman (guy guarding the rear…Brucies Bath House jokes insert here!…) on a 90mm team or even a sniper team, awaiting his chance to go to sniper school. They usually drove the jeep.

NHSparky

Any way you look at it, he’s more wrung out than Stretch Armstrong.

Calling him an embellisher would be kind.

Twist

I was once a sniper and by that I mean I held a sniper slot for 6 months, never went to school, and never so much as touched a sniper rifle. That is why I never claim to be a sniper like so many of these clowns

Ex-PH2

Perhaps he meant “snipe hunter”, and was thinking about wet places where the snipe is found.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wilsons_Snipe/id#

A Proud Infidel®™

Maybe he heard about hunting Woodcock so he carved a dildo out of a mop handle and ran down the barracks hallway yelling “LOOK, I GOT ONE!!!

HMCS(FMF) ret

He was a butt sniper while working at Brucies Bath House (Entrance in the rear) as a Junior Assistant Associate Towel Boy.

Guard Bum

I spent 7 months in the Persian Gulf including during Operation Eagle Claw as part of the MarDet of the USS Eisenhower and it was the first time I ever experienced general Quarters for real (apparently some of our fighters were running CAP or something).

When I checked into Camp Lejeune after as a Cpl and was made a Squad Leader we wore Charlies to Friday morning formation which caused me no end of grief. I was awarded a Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, NUC, 3 Battle Es and a couple SSDRs while on Sea Duty and the Platoon Sergeant and First Sergeant would not let me wear them even though it was on my page 9. I had to track down the naval messages awarding them to us and have a sit down with the Sergeant Major and PersO before they allowed me to wear them and even then I got stopped at the Exchange by a Major and reported.

We found out about Eagle Claw when GQ sounded and the Captain came on the 1MC and explained we had committed an act of war against Iran and would remain at GQ until the threat level stabilized.

My claim to fame from this Operation? We were one of the first ships since Vietnam to get a beer ration and we got 2 beers a piece during a steel beach day about 6 months in. All of us got a certificate commemorating it too!

I actually have fond memories of that time as my oldest son who is now a MSgt in the AF (where did I go wrong!) was born when I was in the Persian Gulf.

IDC SARC

Splice the mainbrace!

Doc Simpson, Aco 1/75 '84-'88

His own records show he arrived to RIP in May 1980. Operation Eagle Claw was in April. So, he just missed it. Cco was involved in the support mission, so he must have heard his platoon mates talking about the train and he stole their stories. Then, he got medically released because he was too weak to stay.

MI Ranger

Much more plausible answer Doc! dates seemed off some how. Let the Roast continue!

MCPO NYC USN Ret.

OPERATION EAGLE CLAW: 24 – 25 APR 1980.

Establishment of SEAL Team 6: OCT – NOV 1980.

His boys timeline is all jacked up.

rgr769

The POSers/embelishers like to steal the service of real warriors and claim it as their own. The true facts and dates always slip them up.

AnotherPat

rgr769:

Do you feel that Arroyo can claim to be a former US Army RANGER?

rgr769

Unfortunately, yes he can because he passed RIP. Our Ranger company soldiers who passed our recondo course in Vietnam and served in our LRRP companies are considered Rangers by the 75th Ranger Regiment Assn. Even if he was clerk in battalion HQ for a few months he would be considered a Ranger and allowed to join the Assn.

Martinjmpr

If you read through Arroyo’s statement above (the one he wrote to the SF Association), he seems to be alluding to some second mission to rescue the hostages after the failure of Eagle Claw.

He states in his letter that “the mission was scrubbed in late 1980 or January 1981.”

Is there any record, anywhere, that there was ever such a mission contemplated or planned? After the failure of Eagle Claw, it would have been a suicide mission anyway.

Besides, IIRC members of the incoming Reagan administration were already in contact with representatives of the Iranian government negotiating the release of hostages even BEFORE Reagan took office in January of 81 so it’s a real stretch of the imagination to think that a military assault would have been far enough along that they would have assembled a group and started training in the time period during and after the 1980 election.

I mean, I’m sure there was a PLAN, somewhere in the pentagon, the stage a rescue mission, but I doubt that it got much further than the high level planning stage and seriously doubt it got to the point where Blue Light and the Rangers were actually starting to train. That seems like a pure fiction (or, as others have said, was likely a “second hand war story” from the original Eagle Claw mission that he heard from his platoon mates after he got to C Company.)

MI Ranger

Martinjmpr back then the Rangers like to be prepared. It is entirely possible that during a Joint Exercise they rehearsed what it might look like. When we lost two Battalion Commanders to a helicopter impact of a solid vertical surface in the 90s we were rehearsing a mission that got scrubbed. We also stood on the runway for two days awaiting aircraft a year before Haiti… just saying great works of fiction are often just words and stories lifted from facts and re-arranged.

Martinjmpr

Funny that you mention Haiti. I was on the Leeward side of Gitmo in September, 1994. I was a 96B with 3rd SFG, assigned to the CJSOTF element then forming at Gitmo.

I remember sitting at a picnic table overlooking the runway as the C-130’s came in to stage the Rangers for their expected jump in on D-day (which I think was 9/19.) They sat their for hours on the runway waiting for the call. Late that night we were informaed that the jump had been scrubbed and the next day the C-130’s flew the Rangers back while other conventional units (and our SF guys) flew in and airlanded at Port-au-Prince airport.

I’m sure the rangers on the runway were pissed but at least they didn’t get turned around in-flight like the 82nd guys coming in from Pope did.

MI Ranger

That would be round number 2 (Round one was Sep 1993, Spent three days and two nights at Sabre Hall). We were on that small ship for close to two weeks. The only guys that touched Haitian soil were the CSAR team…took a picture at the airport.

Mike Kozlowski

Martinjmpr,

There was in fact a second plan – Operation CREDIBLE SPORT. This was the one where they were going to use specially modified C-130s with JATO motors to land and takeoff from an area about the size of a football field. They worked – kinda – but CREDIBLE SPORT was cancelled when Ronald Reagan was elected.

Mike

Claw

Well, Damnit!! He missed out on being able to call himself a “Highly Decorated” PFC by only 71 days./s

But he was awarded the highly coveted “REFILE” Marksmanship Badge Clasp, so he’s got that going for him.

JTB

Loath Keepers….

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

WOW you Army guys know your shit about Being a Ranger so after reading all the comments, this Navy Snipe won’t be able to brag about being a Helicopter Pilot because my cleaning space was the port aircraft elevator machinery room located on the second deck aboard the OKIE 3 (USS Okinawa LPH 3). I was almost Zerk fitting qualified, but I missed one Zerk grease fitting during my final test. LOL.

Green Thumb

I do not consider this loser a Ranger.

AnotherPat

So…..if someone served at West Point, i.e. was stationed at West Point for duty (think Band Members, MPs, Supply, Admin, Medical, etc) or was a Cadet at West Point, but did not complete the 4 years, can they technically tell a Newspaper reporter, that they were “Former West Point”?

Or if someone went to Vietnam as Combat Service Support and did not go to the front lines/over the wire, can they technically tell a newspaper reporter “I fought in Vietnam?”

Arroyo would have had more credibility if he stated that he SERVED IN A RANGER Regiment at Fort Stewart, GA for less than a year before he was placed on a Temporary Disability List for retirement due to an injury VERSUS telling everyone he was a Former US Army RANGER.

I agree with what Dave and Green Thumb wrote.

Arroyo reminds me of the Mike Sleeper case.

Embellishment. Arroyo needs to tell “The Rest of the Story”.

AnotherPat

P.S. If all Soldiers who were assigned to the RANGER Regiment at Fort Stewart in 1980 are considered “RANGERS”, then what what the point of having the RANGER School at Benning at that timeframe as well as earning the Tab?

Arroyo embellished his short time in the Army. Especially to the public who may not have a clue of what it entails to having the honor of being called a RANGER.

11B-Mailclerk

Ranger School, and the Tab, is about -Leadership-. It is a qualification.

Ranger, on the other hand, is a job and a lifestyle.

Both together are the heart and soul of Infantry, thus of the Army.

see above. A Ranger (Scrolled) has acknowledged him as one of them. Good, bad, or ugly, Nuff said.

rgr1480

If you are an NCO or officer in Battalion you will go to Ranger School if not already Tabbed. A soldier can serve his entire four-year enlistment in Battalion without going to Ranger School. HE *IS*A RANGER.

Green Thumb

A non-tabbed Ranger.

Lets be clear.

MI Ranger

AnotherPat, the purpose of Ranger School is to teach someone how to be an ranger. The Regiment has always sent their people to the school to certify it. I believe now it is part of the pre-requisite.
However, I would equate it to a person who Fishes on a Fishing boat for a living, and someone who uses a pole for sport. They are both fisherman, but one is a way of life.

AnotherPat

MI Ranger:

Yes, I know the purpose of RANGER School.

I am a Graduate of Class 4-78….RGR 4-78, I may know you.

So far, in every article I have found on Arroyo, he always self identifies as a former Army RANGER.

He spent LESS than a year with the 75th. That’s a way of life? Less than a year?

He is giving the public the wrong impression by his embellishment. Stretching the truth. And he may be profitting from it as well.

We each have our own assessment of his claim. I respect your opinion…and I will be sticking to mine. I agree with everything Dave Hardin wrote.

RGR 4-78

“If all Soldiers who were assigned to the RANGER Regiment at Fort Stewart in 1980 are considered “RANGERS”, then what what the point of having the RANGER School at Benning”

1st, 2nd, 3rd Ranger Battalions are units in the Ranger Regiment.

The Ranger course is a school open to qualifying members in all Army units as well as Sister Services.

AnotherPat

Thank You, RGR 4-78. Yes…I am relating what another RANGER wrote…that if one served in the 75th, that they are technically a RANGER. No matter how short the time was.

Yes, I know about the different Battalions in the Regiment. I was with Charlie Company, 1st BN, 75th in the late 70s.

I may even know you since we graduated from the same Class. Small world (as always serving in the Military). What row are you standing or kneeling in our Class photo? 😎

AnotherPat

I see where the confusion is. My mistake/my bad. I should have written 1st BN, 75th RANGER, not 75th Regiment.

Sheesh…just put myself in the dunce corner.

RGR 4-78

Standing, top row, 5th from the right.

I was in 2nd Batt, Charlie Company at that time.

AnotherPat

Can’t figure what row I’m in…am the 2nd guy behind the guidon bearer’s right shoulder.

Was in 3rd BN, 7th IN, 197th (Kelly Hill, Benning).

Charlie Co, 2nd BN…Lewis, correct?

Small world.

Thank you again for the input, RGR 4-78.

RGR 4-78

“am the 2nd guy behind the guidon bearer’s right shoulder.”

You were sitting behind 1 of the Rangers in our RS squad, he was from Alpha 2/75.

AnotherPat

Who knew that 40 years later, two RANGERS from the same Class would be exchanging conversation on a this Forum?

Been noticing your TAH name for a while and thought this was the perfect time to let you know we were classmates.

Thank You again, RGR 4-78 for sharing.

rtr🐘😉

rgr769

I had two Navy SEALS in my platoon at Ranger School. We also had two British Army infantry officers and a worthless Malaysian Army 2LT in my class, 7-69. We loved the Brits and the SEALs; we used the Malaysian as a pack mule, as he always humped a machine gun and/or spare radio batteries in the field.

RGR 4-78

IIRC we had a Thai national in our class.

rgr1480

We had an Israeli captain in our class. As an enlisted man he participated in the Entebe raid. He was a gorilla; would do countless chin-ups with the M-60 prior to going to chow.

MCPO NYC USN Ret.

How many years did this war hero spend in the military and how many deployments did he have?

Martinjmpr

The answers to your questions are “One and some change” and “Zero”, respectively. 😉

Old sapper

I graduated ranger school and served in the 82nd abn div as a 12b.I tell people I was ranger qualified, not a army ranger I believe theirs a difference.

thebesig

Expert Infantry Badge and qualified to jump out of a working airplane… all within a short career that ended in retirement. He stepped up to the plate when the Soviet Union still existed, he got dealt a bad hand, did good with what he had.

James Arroyo the embellish man had plenty to be happy about. But nope, he had to drop squat on his career and drop some turds. 🙄

Dave Hardin

If any veteran does not think, “Arroyo is an Army Ranger veteran who was part of a team that carried out a hostage rescue in Iran in 1980,” is an embellishment from beginning to end they need to have their gender fluid checked.

rgr769

Maybe Cunthulu can check his mangina and see if he is leaking gender fluid because he is experiencing man-struation.

Keepin' It Real

I attended both medical school and law school before I was 20 years old.

I survived both the 9/11 bombing and the Ariana Grande concert massacre.

I jumped out of an airplane with no parachute and survived.

————————————————
Although truthful, I left out a few details…

I flunked out of medical school in a few months, got into law school but only lasted 9 months before I partied my way out the door.

I was in California for both the 9/11 bombing and the Ariana Grande massacre – but technically I survived.

The Cessna airplane was on the ground and not moving and I jumped from the door to the tarmac.

Technically truthful, but misleading. It’s a form of lying – lead a horse to water and take no responsibility for it drinking.

AnotherPat

KIR:

You, thebesig and Dave nailed it on Arroyo, especially the statement “Technically truthful, but misleading. It’s a form of lying…”

Thank You.

Keepin' It Real

A very common one is: “The unit I served in went to Vietnam” (or some other conflict)

What they technically mean is that the unit that they served in went to Vietnam decades or years before the individual got into to the unit.

DIW

His 2-1 shows his assignment to C/1/75 effective 13 June 1980, Operation Eagle Claw occurred in April 1980, two months prior to his arrival.

rgr769

Timelines always screw up their bullshit stories.

PTBH

Someone checked the 1/75 manifest for Operation Eagle Claw. Arroyo is not on it.

Stephen F. McCartney, M.D.

A few things I noticed in his barrage of “I did its”. My first suspicion arose in his membership in the “Mexifornia” State Military Reserve. That is as hard to enter as paying for your “flapjacks” at IHOP. They buy/wear & trade their ribbons like baseball cards. I sat on an flight next to two very beautiful but very hung over ladies after their 2 week militia summer tng at Camp San Luis Obispo. One was a bartender in Tarzana and other a pole dancer. Really want to use that in your CV Arroyo ? Your abbreviated service was fine and you should but proud of it. Medical shit happens.
I was Navy medical support in MARSOC x 3yrs. I deployed to OEF. I was NOT an operator, I was support staff 100%. A young physical therapist working for me earned master jump wings, was dive qualified,an expert shot, Golden Gloves boxer and scored 100% in USMC PFT. The Marines admired him..but from start to finish..he was USN support staff every day. No confusion, no blurred lines.
Marines never seemed have discussions regarding who was/wasn’t special forces. They stayed occupied with the mission : women, good beer and which E-8 bench pressed >300lbs that day.
CAPT Bones USN (ret)

Dave Hardin

We were all “special” bro. S/F Doc

Daisy Cutter

What do they call someone that served but wasn’t special forces?

Non-special forces?
Ordinary forces?
Run-of-the-mill forces?

Or you are just not special and they don’t say it?

FatCircles0311

So a broke dick PFC with zero deployments and a billet of “ranger” rather than graduating the school.

LOL if some Marine claimed to be a sniper because they were in STA and had not graduate and gotten their hog’s tooth not a single fucking marine would claim that he was a sniper. Good fucking grief what is in the water army guys drink these days.

Just An Old Dog

Fatcircles,
That’s an interesting circumstance you bought up about Marines in STA Platoon.
Our Battalion had a STA Platoon. Marines were Screened, went through an In-house Indoctrination for a few days ( a “Hell Week” type of scenario) and those that passed were part of STA Platoon. They did training, went to the range and were taught OJT by NCOS. Not all of them, In fact most of them I recall never got as much as a Division Sniper School slot.

5th/77th FA

Dickhead!