Is this still going on?
I’m American, and I don’t understand the obsession either. Yes, there are guys out there who lie about this sort of thing (though I haven’t run into nearly as many of them as you), and it’s despicable. It’s far from the biggest problem in our society.
Why do you see it as an obsession? I come to this board for advice and knowledge because I know there are people here who are very knowledgeable on the subject.
Most of the time the stuff you did in the military that is classified ends up declassified after a while, but you don’t get permission from the government to talk about it. Some of it remains classified for a very long time.
But, you have a mail address for you, while you are in the army. It includes a unit designation, and a rank, and at least an APO zip code. If you work in special ops, someone who knows special ops will know your APO was one of them. But most of them are in New York, or California, and a few here and there in other military towns.
However, if you are actually a covert operations officer, you have an entire set of answers you are required to give to folks with forms, and boxes about your military service. If you are a genuine spy, and super secret code word only agent of the Never Existed Division of Super Secret Stuff, then the set of answers are a still pretty much the same.
And they are not lies. They are bureaucratic records of your service, just like everyone else’s, and you can swear to them in court without a worry.
Telling people you cannot tell them is simply a special code for “I am a lying asshole, trying to impress you.” If I couldn’t tell you, I would not have told you. Mostly telling people you have a secret is a lie, even when it isn’t about being a spy. You say “I have a secret.” to get someone to ask you what it is. Try not asking some time. It bugs the hell out of folks with secrets when no one give a shit.
Tris
There is something non-verbal you can pick up on with that, I agree. I remember reading Marcus Luttrell (ex-SEAL) claim if he were at an airport where 5 SEALs were walking around in civilian clothes he could find them due to their body language. Naturally there are exceptions and I’m sure for a lot of instances a person couldn’t tell.
But verbally, I don’t think the real special ops guys go bragging about their service. I think mostly they have enough self confidence and sense of self that they don’t really pursue approval from those outside their units. I don’t know many though, but that is my impression.
For the most part I was allowed to talk about my military service, but I could not even mention certain weapon systems, as their presence in specific locations was highly classified. Additionally, the developmental work that was done on new weapons systems was not allowed to be mentioned.
Just in case you might think that this was all heroic, I assure you that my role was much more as a manager and techo-guy than Rambo. But it was very interesting.
Yeah, he’s probably lying about ever being in the service. I suppose it’s possible he was in some illegal paramilitary organization that lied to him about being a legitimate arm of the service, so he thinks he’s telling the truth.
He has Marine Corps stickers on his car; he wears Marine Corps lapel pins.
Both of which are easily purchased from military surplus stores, among other places. Of course, if he’s smart, he wouldn’t pull his BS with people that actually served.
Well, yeah. I just can’t imagine how someone could rationalize doing this. I would think the gratification from unknowing admirers would be outweighed by the possibility that he’d be caught out in the lie by actual service members and subsequently suffer a very humiliating experience.
First, I concur with what others have said. While there is some stuff in my background I can’t discuss, the lion’s share of my military experience is mundane. And the stuff I can’t talk about, I just keep quiet about and don’t call attention to it.
I think people rationalize doing this in two ways.
One, they really really want to have done these things, or at least want to be able to claim it. They see the medal, hear the accolades and the are jealous.
Second, I think it’s one baby step at a time. They way they were in the military. It feels good and no one calls them on it. Then they say they did some interesting things. If feels good and no one calls them on it. Before you know it, they have a uniform with medals.
I can’t imagine it, either, but a classmate from my HS (who was a huge dork then) came to my attention 20 yrs later claiming to have been a special-secret sniper. He’d watch action movies with snipers and tell his (dutiful but credulous) wife “Yep, that’s exactly how we did it”.
What a tool…
You appear to have met the second man on the balcony. That guy sure travels a lot.
What’s even more astonishing is that someone would delude themselves (?) so far as to join in a Remembrance Day march as a “veteran”. Even if you’re not deluding yourself, why parade around with a whole bunch of people who would surely be able to easily spot you were faking it?!
Human psychology really is a very odd thing indeed.
Thanks for that website!
We now know the term the OP is looking for is “Walt.” Neer hurts one’s credibility to have a UK website backing one up that a phenomenon is actually a … uh … penomenon.
It was at an airshow maybe 10 years ago, when we walked right up to the chain around an F-117, and Palikia told me… " See that panel on the underside? That one there. The thing inside is what I can’t talk to you about."
Ask him, What color is the boathouse at Hereford?
Probably BS but until I saw Fair Game the movie about Valerie Plame, I assumed the whole being a spy and telling friends that you had another job thing was strictly fiction.
I think some try the same thing, only they pretend to be police instead of military. I read about a criminal–a serial killer, I believe–would wear clothing that said, “Police.” When he was told that his minor job in local government (unrelated to law enforcement) didn’t permit him to pass himself off as such, he angrily asked if he could wear a shirt that said “Dogcatcher.”
I’ve also read (I think it was in Reader’s Digest) that there is a certain criminal personality type, where the perp identifies with police: He has applied for a police job in the past, but probably was not accepted, so he tries to get a job that’s as police-like as he can get (such as night watchman); he owns police-type dogs such as German Shepherds, drives a car that’s police-like as possible, and may hang around law enforcement folks and count some of them as friends. Unfortunately, that’s all I can remember. Have you encountered any such blighters?
Welcome to the forum! 
I don’t have any more definite information than you, but I’ve read of this in relation to firefighters. There have also been “doctors” and “paramedics” intervening at accident scenes who’ve turned out to be nothing of the sort. My google-fu is pretty much only finding people who’ve done this sort of thing to scam money, though.
After 22 years you would think I would have gotten laid at least once because I was in the Army. I need to step up my game.
Marines don’t salute indoors. Military personnel don’t salute during the pledge indoors. Military personnel don’t salute during the pledge out of uniform.