ranger poser

**chubbychaser** · Posted On: 10/29/2009 11:19pm

i was never a ranger, but i was in the regular army. it wasn't for me so i served honorably and i got out at the first opportunity.

i was at work the other day and i flipped out on this 19yo kid because he was being disrespectful. he has been going on and on about how he wants to join the army rangers for well over a year now. i've been giving him advice on how to deal with recruiters, meps, and pt and other garbage like that.

in the past few weeks he started wearing an army ranger tab cap around, put a tab bumpersticker on his jeep and been talking in all kinds of bullshit army lingo that i guess he learned by hanging out with the recruiter. myself and another vet there told him ranger isignias are intended for those who have been a ranger. he'd been calling me shitbag among other things implying that i was not a ranger.

on monday, he invaded my workspace and i asked him to leave. i placed my hand on his shoulder and he shouted get your "damn hands off me" and cocked his fist at me. that just sent me overboard. i smacked that hat off his head, snatched his glasses from his face and threw them across the room. i then pushed him in his chest until his back hit the wall and held him there shouting profanities for about 30 seconds.

someone picked up his glasses and handed them to me and i feinted to give them back to him and then threw them across the room in the other direction. by this time the boss was on his way over, i was shaking with rage. i've known a few guys who got chewed up. anyway at this point i am obviously fired (shitty job so no loss) so i continue to shout in this kid's face for another couple minutes while the boss stands off to my left not knowing what to do. the kid says some stupid stuff like, "i thought we were friends" and "what if my glasses got broke?", to which i replied that he was confusing me with someone who gives a ****.

it ended when the kid demanded that, "he wants something done about this" and the boss told us both to leave. i immediately headed for the door while hearing him whine to the boss "what did i do?". it seems to me that this kid has absolutely no intention of enlisting but that he intends on stealing honor by claiming service in the regiment. i know most rangers aren't as nice as me and sooner or later he'll run into one. what should be done about this?

**DepGW** · Posted On: 10/29/2009 11:33pm

I think you pretty much said it. Sooner or later someone who is less forgiving than yourself, is going to hand this kid his ass, and rightfully so. I'm a simple Air Force Security Forces cop, and I have been to Iraq, and I'm with you about this dipshit who is disrespecting the guys who have fought and died for his freedom.

Good job, we need more people like you to stand up and not put up this kind of ****.

**ronin497** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 12:01am

What's his recruiter think about him running around with Ranger stuff on?

If he actually does enlist, he'll get sorted out - or he'll wash.

If he does wash, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he kept telling people he was a ranger.

Can't say I approve of your diplomacy, though. The glasses should have been punched off.

At any rate, is he actually claiming that he is in the Special Forces? A dumb kid with a ranger sticker on his car is one thing, and probably doesn't warrant more than a "come-to-Jesus" talk. Claiming "been there, done that" is another entirely.

From what I've learned running down my poser, most Stolen Valor charges won't really fly unless the guy is actually in a uniform wearing medals/badges he isn't entitled to. If he's wearing some stupid ballcap and has a sticker on his car, he's not guilty of being anything more than an ignorant asshole.

ETA: After reading through your situation again, I have to ask - do you know for a fact he isn't enlisting or are you just assuming? I could chalk up the use of the Ranger tab as being a dumb overenthusiastic kid who doesn't know any better - kind of like a kid who gets accepted to a certain university and starts wearing everything that has the logo on it before he's even started going there.

OTOH, wearing a generic university sweatshirt is different from wearing one that says "Starting Offensive Line" if you get my analogy.

**Wounded Ronin** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 12:05am

You've got a temper like a volcano, but it was a good story.

LOL at ranger poser crying about his glasses etc.

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 12:25am

Every once and a while, it becomes popular to wear military **** on civilian clothes. I see kids who are clearly not in the military wearing Ranger tabs a lot lately. At any rate, he'll get sorted out, and if he actually makes it to RIP, PM me, and I'll make sure that the cadre know about him ahead of time.

**ronin497** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 12:29am

Hey Cas - RIP = Ranger In-Processing? That Ft. Benning?

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 12:38am

Originally Posted by ronin497

Hey Cas - RIP = Ranger In-Processing? That Ft. Benning?

Ranger Indoctrination Program, but it's at Benning, yes. It's actually in the process of rolling to RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program), which is twice as long, and includes training on all the level 1 skills expected in Regiment.

**ronin497** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 4:47am

Do they go through SERE as part of that?

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 9:28am

Originally Posted by ronin497

Do they go through SERE as part of that?

No, they just get fucked up constantly through the whole thing by angry cadre that want nothing more than to make them quit. SERE is MOS dependent.

**chubbychaser** · Posted On: 10/30/2009 2:03pm

Originally Posted by ronin497

ETA: After reading through your situation again, I have to ask - do you know for a fact he isn't enlisting or are you just assuming? I could chalk up the use of the Ranger tab as being a dumb overenthusiastic kid who doesn't know any better - kind of like a kid who gets accepted to a certain university and starts wearing everything that has the logo on it before he's even started going there.

OTOH, wearing a generic university sweatshirt is different from wearing one that says "Starting Offensive Line" if you get my analogy.

he was told by myself and another that what he was doing is innapropriate weeks ago. he started this whole disrespectful attitude and it seems like he is creating this fantasy world for himself because he has low self esteem or other mental problems.

he constantly obsesses about firearms and from what i gather from conversations with him he may not legally be able to buy them because of psychiatric history. he brought multiple combat knives with him to work and displayed them on more than one occasion, i dont know why he wasnt fired for this.

this kid stated multiple times that it is his dream to become a ranger but he has been legally able to make his own decisions for over a year now and has chosen to not enlist.

i got a certified letter today from the employer telling me that my employment has been terminated due to gross misconduct. i dont know what happened to this kid after i left. the more i think about it, i am actually kinda of worried he might try to pull some fucked up ninja **** against me because i damaged his delusional pride.