Category: Phony soldiers

Our friends at Green Beret Posers Exposed send us their work on this fellow, Joseph John Glass;

I would like to introduce Sergeant Joseph John Glass. We were sent his Facebook page b someone seeking to validate his military service claims. So we went to his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/joe.glass.3152 , and we found Joe was a real hero. He was a Special Forces Green Beret Military Policeman Army Criminal Investigation Agent Grenada and Iraq combat veteran awarded the Combat Action Badge, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and even the Legion of Merit all as an E-5 Sergeant! He also sported the Senior Parachutist badge, the Pathfinder Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Special Forces Tab, and the highly coveted, yet non recognized SNIPER Tab.
So to validate Joe’s claims, we submitted a request for military records under the auspices of the Freedom of Information Act to the National Personnel Records Center. And like magic, we soon had Joe’s military records. Seems our hero served October 15, 1982 – November 27, 2007, with the exception of one six month period, Jan 29, 1986-July 21, 1986, all service was in the USAR and ARNG and was discharged as a Sergeant. He held two military occupation specialties, one as a military policeman and another as a supply specialist.
There was no record of his ever being trained as a Special Forces soldier or assigned to a Special Forces Group. He was never attended the Special Forces Qualification Course, Airborne School, Pathfinder School, Air Assault School, and never was awarded the Special Forces Tab, Senior Parachutists Badge, Air Assault Badge, or Combat Action Badge. His records show no award of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, or the Purple Hear
So here’s here is the information contained in Joe’s military record. Joe apparently served honorably in the Army Reserves and National Guard for 25 years. It is always sad to see someone whose true and honorable service just was not enough. I guess Joe would not have had the honor of representing the military at a NASCAR event as captured in one of the many photos from his Facebook page. And then to have the utter disrespect for other veterans and service members to have taken the photo in a uniform adorned with unearned badges and what appears to be a Green Beret.
Service Dates: October 15, 1982 – November 27, 2007, with the exception of one six month period, Jan 29, 1986-July 21, 1986, all service was in the USAR and ARNG
Rank at discharge: Sergeant
Military Education:
Law Enforcement Crs 16 weeks 1983
Unit Supply Sp Phase 1 Crs 2 weeks Aug 2003
Unit Supply Sp Phase 2 Crs 2 weeks Sep 2003
Decorations and Awards:
Army Service Ribbon
Meritorious Service Medal
Army Commendation Medal w/1 OLC
Army Achievement Medal w/3 OLC
Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal w/1 bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
NCO Professional Development Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2
Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon
Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ M device
Assignments:
USAR NOT ON AD 821229-860128 USAR SVC ON AD 860129-860721 USAR CTRL GP
SVC NOT ON AD 860722-881228 ARNG SVC NOT ON AD
2002 10 30 Enlistment HHC 167 THEATER SPTCMD BIRMINGHAM AL
2002 10 30 duty MOSC 92Y10 HHC 167 THEATER SPTCMD BIRMINGHAM AL

Someone sent us this fellow, Wesley Matthew Swanson, the founder and CEO of Red Sky Tactical. At his LinkedIn profile, he claims to have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 & 3.

His records don’t support that claim. He doesn’t have any campaign medals for OIF beyond the awards that everyone gets for being on active duty;

I can’t find any active duty for him while he was in the Reserves, either. So, if you’re signing up for training with Red Sky Tactical in Greeley, Colorado hoping for training from an OIF veteran and Wesley is your instructor, sorry. He’s a combat engineer who never deployed.

Yep, Purple Heart license plates involved, too.

One of our ninjas send us a link to the Jackson, Tennessee Sun which reports that Matthew Curtis Green is charged with criminal impersonation, criminal simulation, forgery, theft and improper display of military decoration after a month-long investigation by local law enforcement.

Apparently, he forged a DD214 so he could get Purple Heart license plates;

The Purple Heart license plate is provided at no charge to Purple Heart recipients.

Sheriff’s Office investigators also found multiple U.S. Marine Corps uniforms with the ranks of staff sergeant, gunnery sergeant and master gunnery sergeant. According to the release, all the uniforms had the rank insignia displayed, along with campaign ribbons that Green did not earn.

I hope it was worth it for him, you know, free license plates traded for jail time. The article isn’t clear about whether he really served or not.

This fellow, David Lang, was outed by some mixed martial arts adherents, and so they sent him to us. He was also busted by our pals at Bullshido. In his Facebook profile he claims that he was a soldier in the 110th Multifunctional Medical Battalion of the Nebraska National Guard;

The National Personnel Records Center says “Who”?

Someone sent us their work on this Jacob Wayne Smith fellow. He owns the Smith Family Dojo ninja school.

In private conversations, he claims that he was a SEAL and an EOD guy and that in the middle of his training to be a chaplain, the Army fired him;

I don’t know why he thought that a former SEAL would enjoy being a wheeled vehicle mechanic when a war breaks out, but there you go.

The Navy says “who?”;

The Army does know him however. He spent eight years in the Army Reserves and he was discharged after a tour of Iraq;

No SEAL, no EOD. There is some discussion on the ninja forums about his qualifications in the martial arts, but I know nothing about any of that, so I’ll just stay in my wheelhouse.

Got any guesses why he left the service?

Here’s a little background on Shane Ladner; He was a police officer at Holy Springs, Georgia who claimed to be a wounded veteran from Operation Just Cause in 1989 and he got an invitation to a trip to Midland, Texas in a parade with other wounded veterans. The float that he and his wife were riding on was struck by a train and his wife lost her leg.

Our buddy, Randy Travis, a reporter for Fox 5 in Atlanta did some digging and discovered that Ladner didn’t participate in Just Cause – he was still in high school. Ladner changed his story to a wound during drug interdiction operations in Central America. And he showed this forged DD214 as proof;

Well, the NPRC couldn’t find a Purple Heart;

His NGB-22 doesn’t mention a Purple Heart, either;

Ladner lost his job as a police officer and he’s facing charges for his Purple Heart license plates because of his lies.

Well, for some reason, Ladner thought that it was a good idea to sue Fox5 Atlanta and Randy Travis for defamation, because, somehow, that would get him a Purple Heart Medal. That failed this week – the case against Fox5 and Randy Travis was dismissed in Georgia court.

Ladner v. Fox5 by JonnLilyea on Scribd

I worked with Fox5’s lawyer on this case, but it looks like the judge didn’t want to touch the stolen valor aspect of this case leaving that issue to the criminal courts.

Like I said, Ladner is still facing charges for using the forged DD214 to get Purple Heart license plates.