Gamma Combat Vet?

Some people are more full of shit than others.

A couple of years ago, I met a man through my son's Taekwondo class who was just such an example. During the course of conversation, he explained that he was a U S Army combat veteran. He also stated he had been a contractor in Iraq specializing in combat.

None of this seemed out of the ordinary, but statements he made over time and on Facebook didn't seem to add up.

First up, he said he wanted to find a good Hapkido or Aikido school. This made me curious, as very few true combat veterans express a strong desire to take a martial art that is not practical. Combat vets typically want to do wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, or muay Thai. Something live. Something with real application.

The reason he wanted to learn more about Hapkido or Aikido? He stated that "in combat," he had thrown an Iraqi insurgent through a window with a wrist lock. Evidently, he was a fan of Steven Seagal movies.

In a different conversation, we were talking about guns, and he stated his lack of desire to have an AR, due to its "lack of knock-down power." This was simultaneously the first time I'd ever heard a combat veteran use the term knock-down power and the first time I'd ever heard a veteran claiming actual combat experience also state he preferred something in .308 bolt action.

This prompted me to do a bit of research. See, most people who saw real combat are perfectly satisfied with the AR platform. Sure, they might have their own preference for the exact setup, but they almost universally accept the AR as perfectly suited for a fighting rifle. Don't believe that statement? Go look up the credentials of anyone teaching a tactical carbine type class. While you're at it, count how many of those classes disallow AR15 rifles.

So my research started on Facebook. Came to find out through comments made by his other Facebook friends, his MOS in the Army was IT related. Furthermore, his time spent as a contractor - which surprisingly did take place in Iraq - was also IT related. Evidently, he had helped set up the new Iraqi government's web pages and the related servers, databases, etc.

Ironically, a few months after I discovered these facts, this individual comments on a Facebook post of mine saying the iPhone 4s is technologically superior to the Samsung Galaxy S5. He knew this because he helped write apps for the iPhone. Surprisingly (or not), he admitted he had never helped write an app for the android platform.

Let's be accurate here - this is not a case of stolen valor to my knowledge. Other people had made claim to this man's service in the Army. Similarly, other people also made claim to his job as a contractor.

In fact, some of his Facebook friends liked to bust his balls as they had evidently seen actual combat, and he was simply a IT need locked in a room somewhere and they were set up to defend his location. It was his friends who had said he never saw combat, and he agreed with their statements

So the truth comes out in the end.

I "liked" a few of those comments. Within a week, I was "blocked" from seeing his profile on Facebook. Funny thing was, I had never challenged any of his claims in person or online prior to that moment.

For the record, he was on the list of gamma males I have been removing from my life.  I had unfriended him prior to the time he blocked me. Makes me laugh.