Veteran

A veteran is a person who served in the armed forces and received an honorable discharge, no matter the length of service. Thus, a veteran may have served less than a year or more than 30 years. A service person may receive an honorable discharge for each completed term of service, so a person may have one or more honorable discharges before finally receiving a less than honorable discharge. Therefore, anyone with at least one honorable discharge may claim to be a veteran. This person may still be classified as a veteran by the government, but amongst veterans, the person is a disgrace. Legally, anyone may claim to be a veteran as long as the claim is not used to gain a veteran benefit.

There are five types of military service discharge:

1. Honorable. To receive an honorable discharge, you must have received a rating from good to excellent for your service. Even though you may only qualify for a general discharge, you may receive an honorable discharge under two circumstances:

• When you are separated because of a disability incurred in the line of duty.

• When you receive any awards for gallantry in action, heroism, or other meritorious service.

2. General (under honorable conditions). You receive a general discharge when you separate from the service, under honorable conditions, without a sufficiently meritorious military record to deserve an honorable discharge. This means that, although you have not been in any serious trouble, you just cannot “hack it” in the military or maintain its standards of conduct or professionalism. Some think because a general discharge is given under honorable conditions, it is as good as the honorable discharge itself. However, it is not. A general discharge indicates satisfactory service but not to the established standard of the military

After this point, you can say you were once in the military service, but you are not considered a veteran.

3. Other than honorable (OTH). You receive an other than honorable discharge for misconduct or security reasons. This discharge may be issued administratively without approval of a general or a special court-martial.

4. Bad conduct (BCD). You receive a bad conduct discharge when you separate from the service under conditions other than honorable. It may only be issued as a part of an approved sentence of a general or a special court-martial, which is equivalent to a federal criminal conviction.

5. Dishonorable (DD). You receive a dishonorable discharge when you separate from the service under dishonorable conditions. It may only be issued as a part of an approved sentence of a general or a special court-martial, which is equivalent to a federal criminal conviction.

War Veteran

Officially, veteran of a war is any person who served honorably during the war, whether in the theater of combat or not. For example, anyone who served honorably during the Vietnam War is officially a Vietnam War veteran. Therefore, a person may legally claim to be a Vietnam War veteran even though he or she never served outside the United States. For example, in North Carolina, anyone who served during the Vietnam War may qualify for a Vietnam Veteran vehicle license plate. However, amongst military personnel and veterans, this is not the case; they make a distinction between serving during the time of a war and serving in the war.

Military Awards

Under current law, it is illegal to wear any military decoration that you have not been officially issued, but it is not illegal to claim to have earned a decoration that you were never officially issued. It is against the law to manufacture, wear, buy, sell, or trade the Medal of Honor,; however, other medals are routinely and legally made, sold, and bought.

Law

As the law currently stands, anyone may claim to be a veteran, a war veteran, an ex SEAL, an ex military martial art instructor, a medal winner, or practically anything else  without breaking any law, so be aware of false claims by martial art “masters.” While in the Navy, I taught Taekwondo on a naval base to naval personnel with the approval of the navy; however, that does not mean I was a Navy martial arts instructor. Some of my students were SEALs, but that does not mean I was martial arts instructor for the SEALs.

You do not have to request proof of claims from a “master” to verify them. During normal conversation with the “master,” ask questions that a legitimate claimant should know, listen to the “sea stories” to see is they seem authentic and whether they change each time they are told, listen to whether the claimant is using the correct terminology that a ex-military person would or should use or know, and ask questions about the area in which the person claimed to have served. Then judge for yourself if you think the person fits the character and personality of what you believe a person of the claimed military status should possess. 

Examples

The following are just a few of the martial art instructors who claim false military service (obtained from http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/):

• Connolly, William M. He claimed to be an Air Force colonel and Vietnam War POW. He visited the US Air Force Academy posing as a colonel and was hired by the Athletic Department as the Head Judo Coach. Actually, he was a civilian.

• Coiner, Clifford Albert, aka Clifford Comer or Clifford Two Smokes Comer. He claimed to be a martial arts instructor who was a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who spent 19 months in a POW camp. When confronted with proof to the contrary, he confessed to lying.

• Alleson, Charlie Ray, aka Chuck or Charles. He claimed to be a SEAL and a Vietnam POW who grew up in Japan and trained in a very secret style of martial arts. He claimed he never had to go through the entire SEAL training because he was such a martial arts expert. He was not a SEAL or a POW. He only served in Navy from Dec 64 to Oct 66 as an E-3 aircraft engine mechanic.

• Golding, Rick, aka Graig Wolf or Gray Wolf. He claims to be an Army Vietnam POW with Purple Hearts and a Congressional Medal of Honor, and to be a disabled veteran. He also claims to be a karate expert who taught hand-to-hand combat at Fort Bragg. He is not a POW and there is no record of him ever serving in the military.

• Gordon, Steve. He claimed to have been a POW for 9 months and a karate "master." He was exposed on a Colorado radio program.

• Bennest, Steve A. He claimed to be an Army Special Forces Green Beret and to have a Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and various other awards. He also claims to be a Washington Karate Federation (federation consists of only 3 schools) master instructor, a 9th degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a black belt in nine other Japanese, Korean, Chinese martial arts. He also claims 3 associate degrees, a bachelor degree, and a masters degree plus a paralegal degree and graduation from 8 correspondence schools. He also claims to be a scuba diver, rock climber, parachutist, private pilot (no current certification on file), amateur radio operator (no license on file), firearms instructor, country western dance instructor, Red Cross/CPR instructor, police officer, narcotics detective (he is actually a reserve patrolman), and a private investigator. He was removed from the Washington Air National Guard for wearing unauthorized decorations and having fraudulent records. During same time frame, he was charged with perjury for misstating his rank and experience to a judge to secure a search warrant.

• Campbell, Howard Fyfe Jr. He claims a doctorate from Clemson, to be a Shaun Lin master, an Operation Phoenix assassin, to have been a Special Forces Ranger, and to have served as a Command Sgt Major in Desert Storm. He often showcases his Sliver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and Soldier’s Medal. Records indicate he served in the Air Force from June 66 - March 68 and in the Army from Oct 81 thru Oct 91. He received a General Court Martial and a discharge for a personality disorder. When confronted, he admitted his lies but he keeps telling them.

• Sacharnoski, Rodney. He claims multiple bogus martial arts rankings and titles as well as falsely claiming to having been a former U.S. Deputy Marshal and an Army Green Beret. According to military records, Sacharnoski enlisted in the Marine Corps on Nov. 21, 1957 and was discharged at the rank of Lance Corporal (E-3) on Dec. 21, 1961, after serving slightly more than four years as a file clerk. He then joined the Army on Oct. 29, 1963 and was discharged at the rank of Private First Class (E-3) on Jan. 12, 1965, after serving more than two years as a military policeman. With more than six years combined active duty service in two separate branches of the armed forces, Sacharnoski was never promoted above one of the lowest enlisted ranks. His USMC record also indicates he received a court martial and was confined in a Navy brig in New Jersey. According to the Army records, he did not attend any special forces training and his Marine airborne qualifications were approved on March 20, 1957, seven months before he actually enlisted. Apparently, the Army approved his airborne status based on training documentation listed in his Marine Corps service record. The Army records include a report of his airborne qualifications that were signed by a Marine captain and dated a full seven months before his enlistment in the Marines. If true this were true, he would have been 16 years old. Do not forget, Sacharnoski had been a file clerk while in the Marines.