thedrifter
02-08-04, 08:31 AM
02-06-2004
Guest Column: Her Father Is a Phony SEAL
By Mark Divine
I looked at the email request from Christine. If I had a dime for every email I answered about the SEALs, I could have retired long ago.
Since launching the website NavySEALs.com in 1996, I have served as an unofficial Internet recruiter for the Navy, helping hundreds of young men gain information and insight through the process of obtaining orders to BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training. The training is a six-month program, from which prospective SEALs must graduate (only one in five do).
Other inquiries come from students looking for assistance with school research projects, or to settle a bet. Those requests usually read, “My buddy and I argued over which is the toughest Special Operations forces. I said SEALs. He said Delta. Which is it?”
But this email was different. As I read, I had a sinking feeling. This was not the first time I’ve been asked this question, but it doesn’t get any easier. Christine wrote: “Hi, Mr. Divine. My name is Christine and my father was a Navy SEAL in Vietnam. He does not say much about his SEAL days, except that he did a lot of top secret missions that he can’t talk about. I am very proud of my dad, and would like to find out some information about what he did with the SEALs. Can you help me?"
Sounds simple enough. Dad is a Hero to most kids. And a dad who was a SEAL is downright legendary to those who learn about the origins of the once secret Navy commando force and their tremendous record of success in Vietnam and beyond.
The sinking feeling was from a problem about which Christine is unaware but something I know well. My concern is about the impact the truth will have on Christine’s view of her father that caused me to search my heart before responding.
You see, Christine’s Dad was never a SEAL. He is a fraud. A Fake. A Phony. And a loser for lying to his precious daughter.
To ensure I was right, I sent her father’s name to AuthentiSEAL, which tracks Phony SEAL sightings. Retired SEAL Steve Robinson, who wrote No Guts, No Glory, the book on SEAL phonies (which details many of the approximately 10,000 fake SEALs the group has identified to date) confirmed my initial suspicion. The list is definitive and includes every man who has graduated from BUD/S since the beginning of time, before they were called SEALs, but were known as Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams.
Christine’s dad was not on the list. No mistake had been made by AuthentiSEAL. He was not part of some super-secret SEAL group working so deeply undercover that the Navy destroyed the records to protect his identity. Put simply, he was a fraud.
When she learns the truth, Christine’s reaction will certainly be denial. Then anger, then acceptance and, hopefully, forgiveness, if he comes clean. If he perpetuates the lie, he will do even more damage to his family and drive a wedge of mistrust a mile wide between them.
Why did Christine’s dad lie to her about something he did during Vietnam, claiming to be an elite Navy Commando?
I have long wonder why so many need to create falsehoods about experiences so easily debunked – Medal of Honor recipients, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Recon, PhDs – then perpetuate the lie for years and even defend them when called to account?
I don’t have the answer, but phony claimants anger veterans who paid the real price of admission. Particularly brutal are the consequences to relationships where trust is imperative, as with Christine and the other children, wives, friends and employers of phonies.
I pondered whether to write back to Christine and what to say for several days. Part of me wanted to tell her the truth. After all, I owe that to my real teammates. But a humane part of me held back. Why ruin Christine's image of her father, who was trying to impress her by being something he was not? Maybe he just did not think enough of his little girl. So I sat on it.
Respond or Delete? What is more important, the truth or Christine? Damn him!
About a week later, I ran into an old swim buddy from SEAL Team THREE at the SEAL training area. His sister-in-law was planning to marry a “SEAL” but her Mom was suspicious about the SEAL’s story. My swim buddy checked the “wall of shame” via NavySEALs.com (where AuthentiSEAL posts verified fake SEALs). He was not there. However, a check of the databases confirmed the mother’s hunch. He was a fake. The wedding is off, another relationship trashed by a lie. Phony SEAL number 10,001 identified.
Perhaps in this media sound bite, feel-good world people think that saying something makes it true. When a politician says he did not support the Iraq War, we accept that as truth. Yet a records check shows that he supported the war a few months ago.
Truth no longer seems relevant in our society. More important is perception, which is accepted as reality. People say they are SEALs, so they must be SEALs. Why would they lie?
The phony is not doing any harm. Who cares anyhow, right? Wrong! Christine cares. My swim buddy’s sister-in-law cares. Real veterans care. I care. Do you care?
Mark Divine is founder and editor of NavySEALs.com, a website dedicated to military and Special Operations enthusiasts, particularly the Navy SEAL community. He is a veteran of the Navy SEALs, having served at SEAL Team THREE, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE and Naval Special Warfare Group ONE. He has been recalled to active duty for a year to support the War on Terror. He can be reached at mark@navyseals.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=358&rnd=702.2156548344183
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Guest Column: Her Father Is a Phony SEAL
By Mark Divine
I looked at the email request from Christine. If I had a dime for every email I answered about the SEALs, I could have retired long ago.
Since launching the website NavySEALs.com in 1996, I have served as an unofficial Internet recruiter for the Navy, helping hundreds of young men gain information and insight through the process of obtaining orders to BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training. The training is a six-month program, from which prospective SEALs must graduate (only one in five do).
Other inquiries come from students looking for assistance with school research projects, or to settle a bet. Those requests usually read, “My buddy and I argued over which is the toughest Special Operations forces. I said SEALs. He said Delta. Which is it?”
But this email was different. As I read, I had a sinking feeling. This was not the first time I’ve been asked this question, but it doesn’t get any easier. Christine wrote: “Hi, Mr. Divine. My name is Christine and my father was a Navy SEAL in Vietnam. He does not say much about his SEAL days, except that he did a lot of top secret missions that he can’t talk about. I am very proud of my dad, and would like to find out some information about what he did with the SEALs. Can you help me?"
Sounds simple enough. Dad is a Hero to most kids. And a dad who was a SEAL is downright legendary to those who learn about the origins of the once secret Navy commando force and their tremendous record of success in Vietnam and beyond.
The sinking feeling was from a problem about which Christine is unaware but something I know well. My concern is about the impact the truth will have on Christine’s view of her father that caused me to search my heart before responding.
You see, Christine’s Dad was never a SEAL. He is a fraud. A Fake. A Phony. And a loser for lying to his precious daughter.
To ensure I was right, I sent her father’s name to AuthentiSEAL, which tracks Phony SEAL sightings. Retired SEAL Steve Robinson, who wrote No Guts, No Glory, the book on SEAL phonies (which details many of the approximately 10,000 fake SEALs the group has identified to date) confirmed my initial suspicion. The list is definitive and includes every man who has graduated from BUD/S since the beginning of time, before they were called SEALs, but were known as Naval Combat Demolition Units and Underwater Demolition Teams.
Christine’s dad was not on the list. No mistake had been made by AuthentiSEAL. He was not part of some super-secret SEAL group working so deeply undercover that the Navy destroyed the records to protect his identity. Put simply, he was a fraud.
When she learns the truth, Christine’s reaction will certainly be denial. Then anger, then acceptance and, hopefully, forgiveness, if he comes clean. If he perpetuates the lie, he will do even more damage to his family and drive a wedge of mistrust a mile wide between them.
Why did Christine’s dad lie to her about something he did during Vietnam, claiming to be an elite Navy Commando?
I have long wonder why so many need to create falsehoods about experiences so easily debunked – Medal of Honor recipients, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Recon, PhDs – then perpetuate the lie for years and even defend them when called to account?
I don’t have the answer, but phony claimants anger veterans who paid the real price of admission. Particularly brutal are the consequences to relationships where trust is imperative, as with Christine and the other children, wives, friends and employers of phonies.
I pondered whether to write back to Christine and what to say for several days. Part of me wanted to tell her the truth. After all, I owe that to my real teammates. But a humane part of me held back. Why ruin Christine's image of her father, who was trying to impress her by being something he was not? Maybe he just did not think enough of his little girl. So I sat on it.
Respond or Delete? What is more important, the truth or Christine? Damn him!
About a week later, I ran into an old swim buddy from SEAL Team THREE at the SEAL training area. His sister-in-law was planning to marry a “SEAL” but her Mom was suspicious about the SEAL’s story. My swim buddy checked the “wall of shame” via NavySEALs.com (where AuthentiSEAL posts verified fake SEALs). He was not there. However, a check of the databases confirmed the mother’s hunch. He was a fake. The wedding is off, another relationship trashed by a lie. Phony SEAL number 10,001 identified.
Perhaps in this media sound bite, feel-good world people think that saying something makes it true. When a politician says he did not support the Iraq War, we accept that as truth. Yet a records check shows that he supported the war a few months ago.
Truth no longer seems relevant in our society. More important is perception, which is accepted as reality. People say they are SEALs, so they must be SEALs. Why would they lie?
The phony is not doing any harm. Who cares anyhow, right? Wrong! Christine cares. My swim buddy’s sister-in-law cares. Real veterans care. I care. Do you care?
Mark Divine is founder and editor of NavySEALs.com, a website dedicated to military and Special Operations enthusiasts, particularly the Navy SEAL community. He is a veteran of the Navy SEALs, having served at SEAL Team THREE, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE and Naval Special Warfare Group ONE. He has been recalled to active duty for a year to support the War on Terror. He can be reached at mark@navyseals.com.
http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=358&rnd=702.2156548344183
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: