A viral video exploded on the Internet in the last few days, starring a man in an Army uniform who is confronted by a veteran in a shopping mall on Black Friday. The man in camouflage says he served in Afghanistan and Iraq and is a member of the elite Army Rangers, but seems confused about a variety of Army rules, regulations and units.
The veteran — a former infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division — lobs a series of questions at the heavyset man in uniform while at Oxford Valley Mall near Philadelphia. He appears confused when asked why is wearing more than one Combat Infantry Badge, an award for those who have personally been in combat, and a U.S. flag on the wrong part of his sleeve.
“You got me on that one, buddy,” the man in uniform says, moving the flag higher on his shoulder at the direction of the veteran.
The situation escalates, with the veteran cursing at the man in uniform and calling him a liar.
“Why don’t you just admit you’re a phony?” the veteran says. “You know that’s illegal, right?”
The clip has been viewed more than 2 million times since it was posted Black Friday. But it’s hardly the only one like it. It illustrates a broader trend in which veterans and active-duty troops spot people they believe are faking military service, confront them on video and then post the results on social media.
“I watched this guy talk to this little kid for like 10, 15 minutes. I heard him say he was Special Forces,” the veteran in the video, Ryan Beck, told Army Times. “Nothing added up with this dude.”
U.S. troops and veterans have long loathed those who fake military service. But in an era of social media and cell phone cameras, they now expose them rapidly, with the videos distributed widely with scorn because of the sales discounts, free drinks and other perks faking military service can yield.
But the practice also has a dark side. The fiancee of the man in the video, told Army Times that they have faced fierce cyber bullying, with contact information and family photographs posted online. Beck told the newspaper that was never his intention.
“That’s a shame,” Berk said. “His kids obviously have nothing to do with it. That’s wrong. That wasn’t my intention. My intention was to have this guy put on blast so he stops doing it.” ....