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Cee Lo of the Voice wears Military award and skill badge

MSG Laigaie

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
3,239
Location
Philipsburg, Montana
People will do these things. You can't stop them. An infinite number of malum prohibitum laws simply have ensured that no one can be responsible for knowing them, "ignorance is no excuse" should now be "hmm, I didn't know that either!".
This "celebbity" is, by circumstance, a role model. "Support the Soldiers", easy to say. When people do this, "I didn't know that either!" is not an excuse. Call his butt out in public.
 

Jim675

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
1,023
Location
Bellevue, Washington, USA
Sure! Use public embarrassment to enforce a sense of decency. I have no problem with that. I just think this does not rise to the importance needed to create a law that provides an exception to the 1A.
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
Sure! Use public embarrassment to enforce a sense of decency. I have no problem with that. I just think this does not rise to the importance needed to create a law that provides an exception to the 1A.

I don't think anyone here has a problem with that.
 

Uber_Olafsun

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
583
Location
Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Former military here and I don't see a problem with it. He is not claiming to have served and IMO it is no different then a child dressing up for Halloween in a flight suit with patches and wings. Those that claim to have earned medals and decorations for careers on the other hand are imposters that I feel should be made illegal. If I impersonated a cop there would be hell to pay. Maybe this was his attempt at showing support. Now put him in a fighter jet (if he fits) and see how quickly he realizes those wings have a little more then a job description behind them.

The important thing is not what the person is wearing but who the person is. Just because you are wearing a Medal of Honor does not mean you earned it and there are those that have earned it but have not be given it. Those that follow them usually have a good idea of what the person is like. When I was in (Air Force 95-2002) the only way you could get an achievement medal was to PCS. We joked it was a medal for you got out of here. I spent almost 7 years at Andrews and never got one because I never PCS'd out of there. When I got out I received a Commendation Medal for my service because they felt the Achievement was too low for everything I had done while there. Medals are fickle that way.

A training class I had attended had a military member in it. He is Army and was infantry. He cross trained to Medical Equipment Maint. We said he was lucky to have gotten out and he was upset. He loved infantry. He crossed trained because he was blown up twice and shot three times on different occasions. We saw the scar the shrapnel had made to his arm and legs (he had to pull a piece out with a gerber). He was awarded the Purple Heart. He stayed in even though he was given the chance to get out but still serves to this day. During the class everyone tried to pay for his drinks since he could not expense it but he took offense to it and kept refusing it to the point we had to catch the waitress before she came to the table. Too many vets in our class to not let his service go unrecognized.

It is not the decoration you wear but the person wearing it. Sometimes they match sometimes they don't. Now if you are on a plane and something happens to the pilot and co pilot and someone with wings gets up to help you might want to ask what the experience is because I probably have more flight sim hours then they have been in a plane.
 

OC for ME

Regular Member
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White Oak Plantation
Looking back at my 20+ year Naval career, riding fast boats, I had many reasons why I joined and stayed in. The reasons were not always easily verbalized then as they are not easily verbalized today. Those many reasons were not always present at the same time. Some of those reason came and went, and then came back again. Some folks would have called some of the reasons selfish and some would have called them patriotic. Though, I would have never then, and do not today considered myself a patriot, I just did what I thought I had to do. What I thought was 'right' at the time.

But, when I summarize my military career, I guess the predominate reason was that I felt is was worth my time and effort to do my small part, like millions of citizens before me, to ensue that this great nation and its citizens could do whatever the heck they wanted to.

Liberty, and the freedom to chose to do or not to do. No other country on earth has the liberties we enjoy here. It is worth defending, it's worth defending her citizens, every single one of them. My likes and dislikes are insignificant compared to this great experiment in liberty that is America.

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Archibald Stuart, December 23, 1791

Citizens wearing military awards.....don't mean nuthin as far as I am concerned.
 

GhostOfJefferson

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
137
Location
Lewis Center, OH
My wife watches this so I see parts of it while I am reading. The other night I see the fat black guy wearing a US Army Good Conduct medal. A full size bleeding medal. He was also wearing a Naval Aviators wings. I tried to find out if he had ANY military service, and it just was not there.

I have sent questions to the local media (TV, newspaper) and the are not addressing it. My question to you is........ Does this wrankle you as much as it does me?? Clowns like this that participate in Stolen Valor (it's an award/skill badge, not jewelry) just pi$$ me off.

You can't "steal" valor.

They're badges. Wearing them doesn't mean others who wear them didn't get trained or earn their badges through some sort of mettle.

Welcome to freedom of speech, I guess.
 

GhostOfJefferson

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
137
Location
Lewis Center, OH
But, when I summarize my military career, I guess the predominate reason was that I felt is was worth my time and effort to do my small part, like millions of citizens before me, to ensue that this great nation and its citizens could do whatever the heck they wanted to.

Amen, that's the same thought I had when I was in the military. Why some wish to create "holy symbols" out of pieces of government metal and cloth, I just don't know. I find the attitude particularly slavish and fawning. Thanks, but no thanks.

Do as you will but harm no others. That's where it starts and ends with me.
 

Stanley

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2012
Messages
375
Location
Reston, VA
Amen, that's the same thought I had when I was in the military. Why some wish to create "holy symbols" out of pieces of government metal and cloth, I just don't know. I find the attitude particularly slavish and fawning. Thanks, but no thanks.

Do as you will but harm no others. That's where it starts and ends with me.

You guys make good points. Just remember some people are "slavish" about it and sometimes for a good reason. I used to be. Every man in my family that was in America has served since the civil war, white and black.

I used to get hella angry as I considered, and still do consider it, a point of honor.

It's a balance if being angry and forcing people to do what you want and realizing that forcing people to do what you want is no different than being a fascist and then what was the point of serving?

Many people here are rabid liberty supporters and that's not a bad thing obviously. I'd just say that liberty isn't the only thing worthy of rabid support.

So would I love to see civilians show some respect? Yes, absolutely.

Will I hold a gun to your head and make you? No, because I served in the US Army and not the Chinese army.

But I still make an exception for Valor medals. I wouldn't mind it being illegal to wear those. Though I would exclude children/family of those that earned those. I know, not really logical but what can I say???
 
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OC for ME

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White Oak Plantation
A kid whose dad/mom/brother/sister/uncle/aunt/cousin/close friend made the ultimate sacrifice, for this country, deserves to wear his dad's et al stuff as a sign of respect and as a public display of honoring and reminding.

Fortunately, in this country, the kid's neighbor or even a stranger may want to wear the same stuff for a very similar reason.

Let anyone wear whatever they want. This is the very essence of liberty in my view. If the citizenry objects, let the citizenry, not the 'state', take care of it.
 

Tess

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
My wife watches this so I see parts of it while I am reading. The other night I see the fat black guy wearing a US Army Good Conduct medal. A full size bleeding medal. He was also wearing a Naval Aviators wings. I tried to find out if he had ANY military service, and it just was not there.

I have sent questions to the local media (TV, newspaper) and the are not addressing it. My question to you is........ Does this wrankle you as much as it does me?? Clowns like this that participate in Stolen Valor (it's an award/skill badge, not jewelry) just pi$$ me off.

While I believe it is pretentious (in fact, I thought it pretentious one of my coworkers wore his medals on a tux at the holiday party this year), it's only an insult if he didn't earn them. Do you know for a fact that he did not serve in the military and earn these? I simply ask, because I don't know.
 

MAC702

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Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
... Do you know for a fact that he did not serve in the military and earn these? I simply ask, because I don't know.

The evidence against includes one of these is Army, the other is Navy. I actually know officers who served in both branches, so this is not unheard of. But also, one of these is for enlisted men, the other for officers, so the chances of legitimately earning both of these are astronomically against him.
 

rotorhead

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
862
Location
FL
Okay, my first thought is that the US Army is so bad that you can get a medal for good conduct?

My second thought is absolutely yes. It should be just as against the law to misrepresent military medals as it is to wear a policeman's badge.

All the services have a version of the GCM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Conduct_Medal

In fact, the Army simply followed the Navy's lead when it came to creating one as the Navy's was the first one created. It appears that the US Navy is so bad that they get a medal for good conduct lol.
 

MAC702

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Nevada
... the Army simply followed the Navy's lead when it came to creating one as the Navy's was the first one created. It appears that the US Navy is so bad that they get a medal for good conduct lol.

Touche'
 

Aknazer

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2011
Messages
1,760
Location
California
Ah, another "out yourself" thread.

You either support liberty, or you don't. That includes the right to wear symbols that offend someone.

Not really. I know for me and I'm sure others the issue is the whole misleading others for personal gain. I don't agree with people who simply impersonate a military member or prior military member (but don't think this in itself is a crime), but when you do it specifically to further yourself you very well could be creating "victims" of your actions. A politician who claims to have been a war vet could very easily get elected based off of the fake persona he built up. Once elected his choices affect all of us, and he owes that position of power at least partially to a lie. Or someone who becomes an advisor to a company like blackwater and is now advising a company on things like tactics where their advice is directly influencing what others are doing and could directly result in their death. Just because there is no directly visible victim like in a shooting doesn't mean that it's a victimless crime. I mean, not being born in the US doesn't create a victim, so I guess it shouldn't be a crime/illegal to be the POTUS if you were born outside the US and immigrated to the US, should it?

If there's already laws that address this then they either need to be enforced, they need more bite, or both.
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
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Louisa, Kentucky
I mean, not being born in the US doesn't create a victim, so I guess it shouldn't be a crime/illegal to be the POTUS if you were born outside the US and immigrated to the US, should it?

If there's already laws that address this then they either need to be enforced, they need more bite, or both.

Obama has created many victims. Being born outside of the US isn't a crime but lying about it so you could become president is. Cee lo isn't lying about being in the military, some people are just assuming that he is because he is wearing the medals. Obama, if he wasn't born in the US, did openly lie about it to get where he is.
 

Uber_Olafsun

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Joined
Dec 9, 2009
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583
Location
Alexandria, Virginia, United States
The evidence against includes one of these is Army, the other is Navy. I actually know officers who served in both branches, so this is not unheard of. But also, one of these is for enlisted men, the other for officers, so the chances of legitimately earning both of these are astronomically against him.

Not as slim as some think. Some transfer service just to get commissioned. Now transfer to become a pilot is a bit of a reach.
 

Hardbuck90

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
76
Location
Hobart, WA
While this may be a victimless crime, I see it as very wrong. It doesn't matter if the badge came from the government or if it's a superbowl ring, there are things that we as a society know and recognize as an award that is earned for setting a higher standard and being among the best of the best, Soldier or professional quarterback. While some of us disagree on whether prosecution is fitting or not I think we can all agree that it is wrong
 

MSG Laigaie

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Messages
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Philipsburg, Montana
While this may be a victimless crime, I see it as very wrong. It doesn't matter if the badge came from the government or if it's a superbowl ring, there are things that we as a society know and recognize as an award that is earned for setting a higher standard and being among the best of the best, Soldier or professional quarterback. While some of us disagree on whether prosecution is fitting or not I think we can all agree that it is wrong

I agree. I did try to find out if he had military service, but there was nothing I could find. I was in the Navy(enl) and then I joined the Army (enl). The "fruit salad" on my suit is my resume. The "laws" that cover this have no teeth. I wonder why.
 
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