# "I'm not allowed to discuss my military service." Always a bullshit line? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555 "2011-03-22T02:42:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/41 "2011-03-22T15:59:19Z")
If I told you, I’d have to kiss you…KILL, I meant kill! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/42 "2011-03-22T16:00:13Z")
Ventura was a UDT (Underwater Demolition Tech) which was later merged into the SEALs, after he finished his service. For this reason, I get the impression he was “grandfathered” into the SEALs, not officially but in the minds of most of the SEALs and the elite warfare community. Jesse Ventura has, if I’m not mistaken, given commencement speeches at the graduation of BUDS class (the first, and most difficult, step of Navy SEAL training.) Obviously Ventura is considered part of the community if the SEAL officers and administration allow him to be part of their ceremonies. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/43 "2011-03-22T16:19:29Z")
I think it’s funny how quickly some of these ‘special forces’ guys will mention their ‘service’, without even being asked. I have an ex-friend of a friend who brings up his ‘special ops’ training rather regularly. He also likes to wear a custome store ghillie suit for Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/44 "2011-03-22T16:37:03Z")
It’s funny, because I have a cousin who really is an Airborne Ranger (I don’t know if he knows that my shitstain brother pretends to be or not) and you could know the guy for years without ever knowing about all the combat zones he’s been to. Of course, military fakers never pretend to have been supply clerks or cooks or truck drivers. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/45 "2011-03-22T16:53:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > But telling someone that “I can’t talk about it” pretty much means you’re disclosing that you were doing something clandestine. It’s just as easy to say something like “Hey, it was the Navy. I did sailor stuff haha.” Anything else is just someone trying to puff themselves up. I don’t agree, as I’ve told many folks that I can’t talk about certain things. I even tell my family that I can’t confirm or deny certain things which they believe they’ve figured out. AFAIK, there’s nothing wrong with people knowing you’re doing or have done classified work or work in a secure environment (although it’s probably poor form for certain types of jobs). I’d say 2/3 of my career to date has involved classified work of some sort or another. And if someone were willing to listen, I could talk for hours and hours about the things I’ve done that aren’t classified and/or sanitized. So what everyone else has said–this guy is full of it. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/46 "2011-03-22T17:28:35Z")
FYI: SEAL selection starts in boot camp. The normal progression is to take the physical tests in boot, go to a service school then BUDS (first step for both SEALS and underwater munitions disposal). I knew one person who washed out of BUDS on medical as an E3. And I agree that it is not unusual to not be able to talk about **parts** of your military service. I can’t talk about what I learned in nuclear power school, nor can I tell you where the subs I served on operated while deployed. It is also true that is not up to the service person to decide when something is declassified. When Tom Clancy released his book “Submarines” we were given specific instructions to answer any questions about that book by saying “Some or it is right, and some is wrong, and I cannot tell you which is which.” ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/47 "2011-03-22T17:28:51Z")
The County of Milwaukee, suing one of the largest actuarial firms in the world, relied on the expert actuarial testimony of a guy with no apparent actuarial qualifications at all. No exams, no credentials, nothing. But he claimed that he had been secretly trained as an actuary by a secret CIA actuarial training program. The acturial firm tried to verify this with the CIA, but they said they had no record of such a guy. And his response was “of course that’s what they _say_ …” I wish I would have thought of that one. All those exams for nothing … [http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/32535139.html](http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/32535139.html) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/48 "2011-03-22T17:31:41Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > The County of Milwaukee, suing one of the largest actuarial firms in the world, relied on the expert actuarial testimony of a guy with no apparent actuarial qualifications at all. No exams, no credentials, nothing. But he claimed that he had been secretly trained as an actuary by a secret CIA actuarial training program. The acturial firm tried to verify this with the CIA, but they said they had no record of such a guy. And his response was “of course that’s what they _say_ …” > > I wish I would have thought of that one. All those exams for nothing … > > [http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/32535139.html](http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/32535139.html) Milwaukee. That’s in Wisconsin, right? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/49 "2011-03-22T18:37:15Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Milwaukee. That’s in Wisconsin, right? I can neither confirm nor deny that. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/50 "2011-03-22T18:51:16Z")
And it’s not like individual SEALs have to hide the fact that they’re SEALs; they have a uniform badge, for cryin’ out loud. **Monty** , Snnipe 70’s theory isn’t entirely implausible. I’ve met more than one person who got out on bad paper who figured that denying service on a job application was a good way to hide their discharge. As long as the company’s due diligence doesn’t go that deep, it may work. On the other hand, companies that do a full background check will find out about it, so not only does the applicant have to admit to a less-than-honorable discharge, he also has to admit to committing fraud on the application by not disclosing his military service. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/51 "2011-03-22T19:37:15Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > …what stupid movie was it, Eddie Murphy, where the guy says “if you were in Nam, what army unit and where were you stationed?” That was Trading Places. Allow me: > [@](#): > > I was in…Sang Bang… > > Dang Gong… > > I was all over the place, a lot of places. > > What unit? > > I was with the Green Berets, Special Unit Battalions…Commando Airborne Tactics… > Specialist Tactics Unit Battalion. > > Yeah, it was real hush hush. > > I was Agent Orange, Special Agent Orange, that was me. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/52 "2011-03-22T20:03:02Z")
If he has to lie about his service on a job application, why doesn’t he have to lie to you about it? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/53 "2011-03-22T20:18:23Z")
This sounds about as plausible as “my hands have to be registered as lethal weapons.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/54 "2011-03-22T20:49:35Z")
I used to work for a guy who had been the captain of a submarine in the Royal Navy. Furthermore, he’d been in command of the RN’s “black boat” – the primary sub they used for covert ops. There were lots of things he wouldn’t talk about, but he was quite open about the normal day-to-day elements of his service. I can’t imagine anyone being \*completely \*unable to discuss their time in the military. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/55 "2011-03-22T22:54:15Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > (OP’s story reminds me of Chapter 10 (“Cufflinks for the Sergeant-Major”) in John le Carré’s _The Secret Pilgrim_.) Great book - my favourite le Carré. Oh and the guy’s full of it. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/56 "2011-03-22T23:30:21Z")
I think I used that same line in the 7th Grade. Nobody believed me then, either. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/57 "2011-03-23T00:32:16Z")
> [@flyboy](#): > > I’d say 2/3 of my career to date has involved classified work of some sort or another. And if someone were willing to listen, I could talk for hours and hours about the things I’ve done that aren’t classified and/or sanitized. So what everyone else has said–this guy is full of it. Indeed. I dealt with oodles of stuff at various levels of classification, but I can and do regale people with Army stories all the time. The truth is, the armed forces isn’t all that exciting a job most of the time, and most stuff that’s classified isn’t all that exciting, either. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/58 "2011-03-23T01:42:51Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > Yes. > > Certainly people have done things during their service that might remain classified, but nobody who has would say they can’t talk about their service at all. They would just say which branch they were in, where they served, and maybe relate a few unclassified activities. Even the most covert of covert operatives spends most of his time on routine stuff. No. Not only are there military people who can’t discuss what they did there are civilians under the same requirement. In fact, they did a Nova special on someone from my home town who took his WW-II job to his grave. I have a family member who can’t talk about what he did in the service. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/59 "2011-03-23T02:37:55Z")
A guy I know who was a SF medic said that there was a high degree of non-chalance and humility among those who did secret ops. He said many of their friends and family either didn’t know they were in the military, or thought they had more mundane jobs in the service. Of course that would be weird to read the newspaper one morning to find out your friend who you thought was a cook was actually an anti-terrorist operative who just got killed by Al Qaeda. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555/60 "2011-03-23T02:44:03Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Agreed. There are certain parts of my military service I can’t talk about, but that’s just a small fraction of the time I was in. The overwhelming majority of the stuff I experienced is fair game for discussion…or possibly fodder for an incredibly boring novel/movie. [You can become a video game designer](http://www.theonion.com/video/ultrarealistic-modern-warfare-game-features-awaiti,14382/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-not-allowed-to-discuss-my-military-service-always-a-bullshit-line/575555.md?page=4)