The Clarion-Ledger reported a congressional candidate tried to claim he was a Special Forces Green Beret super-duper Force Recon SEAL Team 200 super-soldier (We will call him "Little Dip" as you will see why at the end of this post):
A Mississippi congressional candidate called out by the Special Forces community for describing himself as a Green Beret says he stands by what he has said, even if it should have been phrased differently.
Ron Dickey, running as a Democrat against Republican 1st District Rep. Alan Nunnellee, was attached as a food service specialist with the 3rd Special Forces Group during Operaton Desert Storm while he served in the Army from 1990-93. From 1991-1993, attached support personnel assigned to a Special Forces unit were authorized to wear the green beret.
"This happened over 21 years ago. At that time, the Army had different standards, the Department of the Army issued me a green beret. Not only did they issue the green berets to those who choose to go through the training course to become a Green Beret," he said. "It's like the difference between a certified teacher and an uncertified teacher."...
Little Dip of Horn Lake said the campaign workers who wrote his biography information didn't understand the difference, but he owned up to having the final say on what's published online.
"The people that did my bio didn't understand the connection and generalized, but here in the last week people have asked for details and specifics on my military service," he said.
His website and social media accounts are "run by my campaign. But I'm the ultimate decider of what gets put on and what's taken off."
Since the controversy started, Little Dip has edited and removed most of the language referring to his service with the Green Berets.
As one of his platform issues is veterans' rights, Little Dip said he certainly never meant to be misleading or divisive.
"I never said that I was Q School qualified. I said that back then I was issued a beret by the Department of the Army just like everyone in the Army," he said. "I'm out here for the vets, so I don't want to have divisive issues with the vets. The centerpiece of my platform is vets' rights."
Nowhere in his literature does Little Dip claim to have completed or attempted the "Q" course, a rigorous training course for the elite Special Forces unit, nor does he claim to have taken or passed an airborne course, which would be a definite prerequisite,. However, in various places on social media he is listed as a Green Beret and a veteran of Desert Storm. Little Dip did serve in Korea during Desert Storm, according military records obtained by the Guardian of Valor website. Article
Here is the real truth on the story and this is one time The Kingfish does now exactly what he is talking about. All personnel in Special Forces units were authorized to wear a Green Beret until 1993 or 1994. The Army changed the regulations and only those who went through the actual "Q course" (Special Forces qualification) could wear the coveted Green. All other personnel were authorized to wear the maroon beret as all members of Special Forces units are required to graduate from jump school (I was a member of Alpha Company. No rock for me.). A soldier who did not have his jump wings was thus required to wear a regular BDU cap.
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| See * for explanation |
The Support Company is comprised of the soldiers needed to support these line companies: Mechanics, cooks, military intelligence, communications, riggers (fix parachutes. They might be important.), medics, drives, and other such personnel. Our little candidate was probably a member of a Support Company as he was a cook, oops, I meant to write food maintenance quality & service engineer . The reporter should ask him if he even went to Airborne School and graduated. If he was never jump-qualified, then he was not even authorized to wear a green beret.
The Psuedo-warriors who could wear green berets but were not actual Green Berets loved to go out and brag they were Green Berets. Woe to the poser who was caught doing that by one of the actual Green Berets. They loved to have fun with the posers when they were on duty.
Make no mistake, Lil Dip knows the difference and knew it when the campaign materials were created. He knew exactly what he was doing and no shucking and jiving by this poser will hide that fact.
Kingfish note: Can't leave this story without telling at least one army yarn. One particular offender and wannabe was, well, we shall call him "Dip". He was a cook in 20th Group (Jackson) and a reservist. Mr. Dip loved to go around bragging he was a Green Beret. He was actually a lousy cook with a piece of green felt on his head and much more felt where his brains should be. One day he was in the parking lot at the Raymond Road armory showing off his new handgun during drill weekend. He was rather careless in his brandishing of his new toy (and to him, it was a toy.). So much so that someone told him to be careful as the firearm could be loaded. Mr. wannabe said "no its not, watch this" and proceeded to pull the trigger. You got it. He fired a live round. Needless to say, he did not have a pleasant experience with the post commander. The ability of these type of idiots to wear the green really rankled the actual Green Berets over the years until the army changed the regulations.
*The patch with the sword is the unit patch for all Special Forces units. All soldiers in Special Forces units wear the Airborne tab pictured as they are Airborne-qualified units. All Airborne-qualified units such as Special Forces and the 82nd Airborne wear the Airborne tab. It does not mean they graduated from jump school. A graduate receives a set of jump wings that is pinned onto his uniform. The Ranger tab however, is only worn by Ranger school graduates. The Special Forces tab is only worn by a graduate of the "Q Course". If someone is wearing a green beret and is not wearing a tab, he is probably not a "Green Beret".
18 comments:
In the big scheme of things, who cares? One would think that people would be more focused on the issues than this trivial (yes trivial)nonsense. When so much focus is placed on things of this nature, actual issues go out of the window. If you have a problem with him, don't vote for him!
I'm sure it is to civilian trash like you.
Going around selling yourself as a "Green Beret" to voters when in actuality you were only allowed to help the The GB's is actually kind of a big deal.
It calls into question the credibility of the candidate in relation to what he communicates to the public at large.
If he would try to misconstrue something of that nature banking on the ignorance of the common voter, what else may he misconstrue if elected to office?
If people in the know hadn't called him out, the misrepresentation would have kept on until it was accepted as a 'fact'.
So a claim like this is trivial. I won't call you what KF did, but 11:36 look up the five points of contact for a PLF. Your head is in number 4. And in a military career of 20+ years I've fallen out of an airplane on occasion.
I think it speaks to the guy's competence if he thought in an election , no one would check.
That said, given all the lies McDaniel supporters have believed, one might not need to underestimate the gullibility or party loyalty of the voters.
Name calling aside, the candidate lied. He allowed people to believe one thing, when he KNEW it wasn't true. LIED. We don't need any more lying liers representing us. We've got waaaaayyy too many now. Total lack of character.
"In the big scheme of things, who cares? One would think that people would be more focused on the issues than this trivial (yes trivial)nonsense"
If the last six years haven't taught you that character counts in a leader then you will never understand it.
What else has he lied about, knowing that any statement he makes could be easily verified/refuted? He not only deliberately lied, he took it for granted that fools like you would vote for him anyway if he promised you free stuff.
Hey 11:36, I care.
In todays world it might not seem like a big deal...but for some, things like this are an indicator of an individuals Integrety. I've never understood individuals that wore military badges/ribbons/medals that they had not "earned"...
you know how those Fem-O-crats role. Massachusetts elected Elizabeth Warren even after she claimed she was a Native American. All you have to know is, if you see a (D) after their name...they are going to lie.
In the big scheme of things, what does it matter. Well if honesty and integrity matter, then this rises to that point. Talk about the issues? Is there any issue more basic than honor and integrity? I think not. We must hold those who seek to ascend to public office to the highest standard. If you will lie about the "little things" then what happens when it really counts.
As an Army Vet that owns a permanent tab and 2 sets of wings, I find his actions highly offensive. "I'm a Green Beret because I used to make omelets for the A-Teams." It is hardly a trivial matter to those of us that shed blood, sweat and tears to EARN those distinctions.
I'm glad the poser got called out.
End of rant. That is all.
"Civilian Trash"? I'm sure you were simply attempting to pander to the vet-crowd, but, I suspect if not for "Civilian Trash" out here, this blog site would be crickets.
Reminds me of the time a certain blog administrator talked of what an LSU footabll coach had 'taught us'. Obviously you were attempting to come across as someone who had played the game.
Charlie Ali: Are you suggesting that a military veteran should be 'awarded' a position (political or not) due to the fact that he/she served in the military? You should have concluded your last sentence with the words...."Like everyone else."
Oh, Civilian Trash, sweetie darling, don't get your hackles up! I am certain that our dear Master of Ceremonies (Kingfish) was being satiric. So very hard to convey elbow-to-rib teasing in cold cyberprint. Lighten up, you doofus.
Hilarious, indeed, that someone would tell such a big fat whopper about a fact so easily checked. It's pure Walter Mitty. In his mind, maybe he DID do what he said. Bless his heart!
Miss Butts:
While I appreciate your lame attempt to come across as 'Miss Manners', I'm not at all sure Kingfish was being satirical. But, perhaps you are closer to him than I.
Long story short, he should have known the truth would come out sooner or later. The SF community as a whole is very tight and someone would have noticed this guy sooner or later. This guy is a bum and should back out. If is willing to lie or stretch the truth about his past, I wonder what he will do in the future.
"They also serve who only stand and cook", I suppose he was thinking?
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