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I once had a passenger who'd moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when he was a Green Beret (Army Special Forces). They'd picked Scottsdale because General North needed

I once had a passenger who'd moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when he was a Green Beret (Army Special Forces). They'd picked Scottsdale because General North needed an airport with a big enough runway for their planes [1]... I always wonder what the secret services are really up to. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Contra_Affair https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Contra_Affair

chrissnell 10y ago
Sorry to break it to you but any time a random person offers up that they were in special operations, they almost always are lying. This paradox is well-known among military servicemembers but not as much by civilians. You never, ever here these fakers offer up that they were an Army cook or a Navy supply clerk, even though there's 1000x more of these than there are special operators. If someone ever tells you he or she was a generator mechanic or a network tech in the war, they're almost certainly telling you the truth.
- taxicabjesus 10y ago
  I had a strategy for getting people to tell me things that they wouldn't normally have volunteered. This anecdote was mentioned in passing, and I would not have caught the significance if I'd not remembered Oliver North's notoriety.
  - oh_sigh 10y ago
    Share your strategy please.
    - taxicabjesus 10y ago
      I asked a lot of questions. Some were oddly-specific, and usually (but not always) answered in the negative. If the answer was probably already supplied by context the question would be rather general, so as to avoid putting my foot in my mouth like that one time I made an assumption about where the passenger was going... This is something I intend to flesh out some day on my site (url in profile).
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    Wait, your reference to "General North" was about Oliver North? He was never a general...
    - taxicabjesus 10y ago
      This was several years ago now, and I don't remember that passenger's quip about 'North' verbatim.
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    Sorry but GP is correct, if someone tells you they were in the special forces, even in passing, there's a 98%+ chance they are lying through their teeth no matter how good you believe you are at "getting people to tell [you] things that they wouldn't normally have volunteered." You wouldn't imagine the things these people do to keep up this facade. Basically, just ignore anyone who tells you they were in the special forces.
    - taxicabjesus 10y ago
      Thanks for your comments. There was a lot of bitterness about the fallout from Iran-Contra... There was more context to the passenger's quip - my oddly-specific question struck a nerve, I guess. http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/index.html http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/index.html
      - nommm-nommm 10y ago
        Yeah, still not buying it. "Shipley noted that simple math make it likely that anyone who claims to be a SEAL is probably lying about it. There are fewer than 18,000 men who were ever SEALs, and many of them served during World War II. "We estimate there's probably fewer than 10,000 men alive today who have ever been a SEAL. The FBI did a study a few years ago estimating that each of us has 300 imposters. I put the number closer to 1,000 based on the fraud cases I've seen.""[0] These people go as far as obtaining tattoos and fake uniforms and memorabilia[1], using their fake "experience" to train police[2], fake Reddit AMAs[3], lying to their own spouse[4], and even using their fake "credentials" to initiate hostage negotiations[5]. Fake experience in special ops is such a part of their fake persona they'd surely say something in passing that sounds reasonable to a lay person even if they weren't looking for attention at that very moment, especially if you are leading them on. There's a zero percent chance that whatever they told you was true. I'm not gonna believe anyone is/was in the special forces unless I see their service record/DD-214. HINT: A huge indication they aren't special ops is they are talking about special ops. (The only time I've ever heard anyone say anything about the special forces and I sorta believed them was the jr sailor who was making fun of himself for trying out for the Navy SEALs and failed spectacularly.) [0] http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/navy-seals-imposters-coming-woodwork-seal/story?id=13564587 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/navy-seals-imposters-coming-wo... [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140085/Man-claimed-Navy-SEAL-sniper-exposed-fake-woman-tried-woo-military-boasts-online.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140085/Man-claimed-... [2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032025/Special-forces-fake-paid-teach-police-given-21-months-jail.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032025/Special-forc... [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfmoiw7/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfmeyfw/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfm2xqy/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... [4] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fake-sas-hero-lorry-driver-6764545 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fake-sas-hero-lorry-dri... [5] http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/20/fake-navy-seal-slapped-with-three-years-in-prison-after-scamming-charity/ http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/20/fake-navy-seal-slapped-wit...
- Bahamut 10y ago
  It takes a special kind of scum to lie about being in spec ops. Those who are generally don't tell though - not revealing information unnecessarily is a mindset, one that should be practiced. The most one might hear is if one happens to know someone trying out for it. I only met one such person, a Marine from my former platoon who left to try out for the Green Berets.
- MR4D 10y ago
  Special Ops also includes Airborne. That's roughly 30,000 people right there. Seems to me that it's a poor understanding on part of the public that spec ops means you're a badass. Of course, your comment about the cook is spot on, and too many people make it seem as thought their role in spec ops was bigger than reality.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrissnell 10y ago
    Not exactly. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all have special operations forces that are Airborne-qualified (they've attended the U.S. Army Airborne School) and many are also Military Freefall-qualified (aka HALO). That does not mean, however, that all airborne are special operations. In fact, the vast majority of Airborne troops are not special operations-qualified. Most are members of FORSCOM, which is the traditional major command for U.S. Army ground forces--i.e. not special operations. An example of such a unit is the 82nd Airborne Division. Airborne, but not special operations. To further complicate things, it's also possible to be a member of a Special Forces unit but not actually be special operations-qualified. Like every other part of the military, special operations requires a vast logistics machine to keep it moving and there are many non-combat personnel who belong to these units and are Airborne-qualified who are not special operators. Typical non-combat jobs in these units include vehicle mechanics, logistics specialists, etc. Relatively speaking, the special operations units of the U.S. military are a tiny percentage of the overall force. Given their traditional status as "quiet professionals", it's extremely unlikely that someone offering up their status as a "green beret", "Navy SEAL", or "Army Ranger" is telling the truth. Source: I am a Captain (Engineer branch, very not-special) with eight years of service. Currently serving in the U.S. Army Reserve.
    - MR4D 10y ago
      Thanks for your addition. I left out of my post that there are different commands and different definitions of "special" because I was typing on my phone (which I hate). Have a great new year and thanks for all your work.
- throwaway11113 10y ago
  That's absolutely not true. Source: I used to be in special ops.

chrissnell 10y ago

Sorry to break it to you but any time a random person offers up that they were in special operations, they almost always are lying. This paradox is well-known among military servicemembers but not as much by civilians. You never, ever here these fakers offer up that they were an Army cook or a Navy supply clerk, even though there's 1000x more of these than there are special operators. If someone ever tells you he or she was a generator mechanic or a network tech in the war, they're almost certainly telling you the truth.

taxicabjesus 10y ago
I had a strategy for getting people to tell me things that they wouldn't normally have volunteered. This anecdote was mentioned in passing, and I would not have caught the significance if I'd not remembered Oliver North's notoriety.
- oh_sigh 10y ago
  Share your strategy please.
  - taxicabjesus 10y ago
    I asked a lot of questions. Some were oddly-specific, and usually (but not always) answered in the negative. If the answer was probably already supplied by context the question would be rather general, so as to avoid putting my foot in my mouth like that one time I made an assumption about where the passenger was going... This is something I intend to flesh out some day on my site (url in profile).
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  Wait, your reference to "General North" was about Oliver North? He was never a general...
  - taxicabjesus 10y ago
    This was several years ago now, and I don't remember that passenger's quip about 'North' verbatim.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Sorry but GP is correct, if someone tells you they were in the special forces, even in passing, there's a 98%+ chance they are lying through their teeth no matter how good you believe you are at "getting people to tell [you] things that they wouldn't normally have volunteered." You wouldn't imagine the things these people do to keep up this facade. Basically, just ignore anyone who tells you they were in the special forces.
  - taxicabjesus 10y ago
    Thanks for your comments. There was a lot of bitterness about the fallout from Iran-Contra... There was more context to the passenger's quip - my oddly-specific question struck a nerve, I guess. http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/index.html http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB2/index.html
    - nommm-nommm 10y ago
      Yeah, still not buying it. "Shipley noted that simple math make it likely that anyone who claims to be a SEAL is probably lying about it. There are fewer than 18,000 men who were ever SEALs, and many of them served during World War II. "We estimate there's probably fewer than 10,000 men alive today who have ever been a SEAL. The FBI did a study a few years ago estimating that each of us has 300 imposters. I put the number closer to 1,000 based on the fraud cases I've seen.""[0] These people go as far as obtaining tattoos and fake uniforms and memorabilia[1], using their fake "experience" to train police[2], fake Reddit AMAs[3], lying to their own spouse[4], and even using their fake "credentials" to initiate hostage negotiations[5]. Fake experience in special ops is such a part of their fake persona they'd surely say something in passing that sounds reasonable to a lay person even if they weren't looking for attention at that very moment, especially if you are leading them on. There's a zero percent chance that whatever they told you was true. I'm not gonna believe anyone is/was in the special forces unless I see their service record/DD-214. HINT: A huge indication they aren't special ops is they are talking about special ops. (The only time I've ever heard anyone say anything about the special forces and I sorta believed them was the jr sailor who was making fun of himself for trying out for the Navy SEALs and failed spectacularly.) [0] http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/navy-seals-imposters-coming-woodwork-seal/story?id=13564587 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/navy-seals-imposters-coming-wo... [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140085/Man-claimed-Navy-SEAL-sniper-exposed-fake-woman-tried-woo-military-boasts-online.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2140085/Man-claimed-... [2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032025/Special-forces-fake-paid-teach-police-given-21-months-jail.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2032025/Special-forc... [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfmoiw7/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfmeyfw/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_special_forces_operator_ama/cfm2xqy/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/1ymsr4/i_am_an_ex_us_s... [4] http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fake-sas-hero-lorry-driver-6764545 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fake-sas-hero-lorry-dri... [5] http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/20/fake-navy-seal-slapped-with-three-years-in-prison-after-scamming-charity/ http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/20/fake-navy-seal-slapped-wit...
Bahamut 10y ago
It takes a special kind of scum to lie about being in spec ops. Those who are generally don't tell though - not revealing information unnecessarily is a mindset, one that should be practiced. The most one might hear is if one happens to know someone trying out for it. I only met one such person, a Marine from my former platoon who left to try out for the Green Berets.
MR4D 10y ago
Special Ops also includes Airborne. That's roughly 30,000 people right there. Seems to me that it's a poor understanding on part of the public that spec ops means you're a badass. Of course, your comment about the cook is spot on, and too many people make it seem as thought their role in spec ops was bigger than reality.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- chrissnell 10y ago
  Not exactly. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all have special operations forces that are Airborne-qualified (they've attended the U.S. Army Airborne School) and many are also Military Freefall-qualified (aka HALO). That does not mean, however, that all airborne are special operations. In fact, the vast majority of Airborne troops are not special operations-qualified. Most are members of FORSCOM, which is the traditional major command for U.S. Army ground forces--i.e. not special operations. An example of such a unit is the 82nd Airborne Division. Airborne, but not special operations. To further complicate things, it's also possible to be a member of a Special Forces unit but not actually be special operations-qualified. Like every other part of the military, special operations requires a vast logistics machine to keep it moving and there are many non-combat personnel who belong to these units and are Airborne-qualified who are not special operators. Typical non-combat jobs in these units include vehicle mechanics, logistics specialists, etc. Relatively speaking, the special operations units of the U.S. military are a tiny percentage of the overall force. Given their traditional status as "quiet professionals", it's extremely unlikely that someone offering up their status as a "green beret", "Navy SEAL", or "Army Ranger" is telling the truth. Source: I am a Captain (Engineer branch, very not-special) with eight years of service. Currently serving in the U.S. Army Reserve.
  - MR4D 10y ago
    Thanks for your addition. I left out of my post that there are different commands and different definitions of "special" because I was typing on my phone (which I hate). Have a great new year and thanks for all your work.
throwaway11113 10y ago
That's absolutely not true. Source: I used to be in special ops.