When someone has a story to share, the polite thing to do is to listen; and when that story is touching, interesting and inspiring, one simply cannot help but share this story that one heard to other people. And if that story is about a SEAL who risked life and limb in the service of his country, then one’s reaction will probably be that it is your duty to make sure that others know about it.
That is certainly true, in an ideal world -– which is, of course, not the world we live in. In the real world, there are those who are truly heroes, and those who are, for one reason or another, not exactly who they are leading people to believe – unwittingly or otherwise.
We have mentioned a website called CyberSEALs.com. Nowadays, its primary purpose, according to their website, is to provide members of the Naval Special Warfare community “with a private, secure communications link to other SEALs,” as well as to provide information to the general public regarding the US Navy SEALs. It is being run by former Navy SEALs, and in years past, they also ran a service called AuthentiSEALs.
Until its cancellation in November 2005 due to lack of manpower, AuthentiSEALs served as a way to verify a person’s claims of being a SEAL. The site also used to feature a roster called “The Wall of Shame”, which lists people who have been caught masquerading as SEALs.
The drive to tell a story has increased over the years, and there is a never-ending line of people making false claims. Since CyberSEALs could no longer sustain operating AuthentiSEALs, it now recommends using the POWnetwork instead, an organization which is primarily involved in information distribution on POWs and servicemen who are MIA but are also involved in the verification of false claims. Along with being a SEAL, the other wartime heroic that is a favorite among those telling tall tales is that of being a POW.
We will share with you how to verify SEAL and other war- and military service-related claims via the POWNetwork next time.
June 9th, 2009 - 8:29 am
Oh, I can.not.wait. for the follow on post for this. I’m now a subscriber.
June 14th, 2009 - 6:23 am
[...] other branches of the US Armed Forces. Although we can talk about how we can tell if a Navy SEAL is for real or for reel, there is only one visible sign that can help us distinguish them from other officers – the Navy [...]
December 30th, 2009 - 7:34 pm
From an old Shipmate. Can you assist? Thanks
Larry, a guy I went to school with was supposed to be a Navy SEAL. Is there any website to check this.
I don’t doubt but what he was but it was in his obituary, just curious.
His name was Randall A Morgan, he was from Fort Meade, Fl, age 70.
March 9th, 2010 - 4:48 am
Gunner, sorry for the late reply, I don’t frequent this site, but perhaps I’ll swing by more often. We do not have a Randall A Morgan a mistake intentional by him, or unintentional/intentional by family was made. Our database goes back to the early Frogmen of WWII. If there were specific dates places and units assigned we could do a thorough investigation of a claim.
March 10th, 2010 - 9:47 am
Trying to locate a SEAL by the name of Joe DeVita, a family friend; last time I saw him was in Dego when I was stationed at NTC & he was stationed aboard the USS Fort Fisher at 32nd St, I believe. He was an MM2 back then. Wanted to say hi, & tell him my mom passed on a few years ago….would also love to speak with his parents, Joe Sr. & Anna.
Thank you.
April 24th, 2010 - 7:40 pm
Hey, I ran across this guy. I could be wrong but some things just don’t add up. I was wondering if you could give me a hand in verifying his SEAL status? His name is Michael Moore. Thank you.
RR6
October 5th, 2010 - 5:20 pm
I work with a guy names fredrick shoepke who claims to not only be a SEAL, but a Naval Aviator as well. He also claims to be a decorated combat veteran. He lives in Beeville Texas
April 23rd, 2011 - 7:33 pm
Also looking for Joe DeVita; we were stationed together at Moffett Field and we’ve lost touch. Did you ever locate him?
May 11th, 2011 - 5:00 am
It seems now that the elite team of trained seals took out the top Taliban leader the number of fake Seals are rising it’s amazing some one has the B::: to do this 1/2 of them probably haven’t been on a military base are can swim
May 18th, 2011 - 8:11 pm
One way to bust out a phony green beret is simply to ask what replaced ‘nebo’ when you get the deer in the headlight look. Busted.
14 years on an oda.
May 27th, 2011 - 6:26 pm
There is a guy that i have known for a while that claims to be a SEAL. He seems to be quite knowledgeable regarding the Navy and especially the SEALs. He has claimed to be a SEAL for as long as i have known him (6-7 years). There are many people that know him that have heard his “war stories” but no one has been able to confirm if it is true. He seems to be a really nice person and i would hate to think that he is making it all up. can anyone confirm this for me? His name is Victor Moreno born in El Paso,TX. with a birth date of 01/05/1968. Thank you.
July 11th, 2011 - 8:56 am
I know someone who claims he was a navy seal, but I know he wasnt. he uses this claim as part of his con to convince women he is honorable. He has served 8 years in prison for violent crimes against 2 women in Colrado and Hawaii and has been paroled back to Ks where he is using the same tactics to create more victims. He even claims it is PTSD from his special services experience that made him the violent man he is. … Please help me expose this con, he leaves devistation everywhere his lies help him enter…..
July 11th, 2011 - 8:58 am
Micahel Ray Brown dob 1/16/61 claims he was a navy seal, but I know he wasnt. he uses this claim as part of his con to convince women he is honorable. He has served 8 years in prison for violent crimes against 2 women in Colrado and Hawaii and has been paroled back to Ks where he is using the same tactics to create more victims. He even claims it is PTSD from his special services experience that made him the violent man he is. … Please help me expose this con, he leaves devistation everywhere his lies help him enter…..
July 16th, 2011 - 3:22 pm
is it true that Al Gliniecki was a wannabe?
August 27th, 2011 - 5:22 pm
Hi,
I am trying to track down and say hi to a former diving buddy who was a SEAL. I was a 1st class Navy diver who went to dive school in Key West, FL from around Sep 1971 to Feb or Mar 1972. Once we got thru BUDS (yes, our scuba portion was called that and we even had a dolphin or other such marine mammal outside in front of the school) and the Jack Brown portion (short cause they were phasing it out due to CO2 buildup), he joined the hard hat portion of training. He was a Lt. and I believe his last name was Kidney, as in Lt. Kidney. I think his first name was James. I do remember that he graduated from Dartmouth University and was a great guy. Actually, we had a few SEALS who were instructors in the school. I remember a corpsman who was a NAUI instructor as well as allowed us to get NAUI certified as we progressed up the ladder in training. I think his name was Ron Holdin or something similar and I think he was also a SEAL. Thanks!
September 12th, 2011 - 11:41 am
As a Navy vet, I can assure the person who said he knows someone who claimed to be a naval aviator AND a SEAL, that there is zero possibility this person is telling the truth, and points to the extreme likelihood he was neither.
September 29th, 2011 - 9:04 pm
Al Glineicki was listed in the authentiSEAL or veriSEAL database as an imposter while the list was still available online. I personally challenged him on the claim on a couple of occasions and he would neither confirm or deny. He has a gold Trident pin fixed to his little white convertible car he was driving around Gulf Breeze for a while, too.
Personally, I’d call him a fraud.
December 13th, 2011 - 7:09 pm
There is a supervisor name Phadol Gardly who boast in the office about being a navy seal. Currently he probable in the navy in the 60′s and joined the services in Oakland California. That is all he talk about at work so I am wondering if he really was in the Seals.
April 20th, 2012 - 1:18 pm
Hello, I served with Tom Norris in the FBI (Navy Seal, Medal of Honor Receipient) and recently some guy told my wife he was a Navy Seal but did not know Tom. I think he is Bull…… Could you check please: Richard Harkins, supposedly served in the Vietnam “Era” and was in Buds Class 23???. Thank you,
Roger Browning