Comments on: True Competence Is Demonstrated, Not Spoken

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 07:52:46 +0000

Yea, it’s always funny when people are misleading about where they were and what they did. I’ve ran across more than a few people who spin a good yarn about how dangerous it was when they were in Iraq, or AFG, but then find out later they were in a “Dangerous Area” years after it was sporty.

Another thing this points out, is how small of community the Marine Corps is! All it took for that “Country” guy to get outed was a random conversation.

By: G23

G23 — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:44:36 +0000

I HAD a friend that did 2 tours in Afgan and 1 in Iraq. He would captivate a crowd of us civies with his stories and get-togethers / parties. As time went by I noticed that his stories would change slightly every time he told them. After about 2 yrs of this I finally got to meet someone he was in with and wow things were different then. There was almost no talk of the sandbox at all. Finally one day I asked the other guy about some of the stories, he was in total disbelief as to what I was telling him. Turns out it was pretty much all lies. These 2 had been together since boot camp and he said that they never had any action like what we had been told. The best was the scar on my ex friends chest. A story that he loved tell, said he got stabbed in the chest. Turns out that the scar actually happened in a 4 wheeler accident at base on US soil. I respect all of our service men and women for everything they have done. I don’t care what their job was, sitting at a desk or taking out bad guys. But to just flat out lie to me and my family ? It has left a lasting scar on me and I also lost someone who I thought was a very close friend.

By: JTF1228

JTF1228 — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Worked with an Army LTC in Iraq that loved to talk about his “time in Special Forces.” He wore the combat patch, but conspicuously without the tab on top… Turns out he was a loggie assigned to their headquarters.

Of course, less than 60 days into his tour, he shot himself in the leg at the DFAC clearing barrel while re-holstering.

From what we got back, he ended up losing his lower leg due to massive vascular destruction and damage to the ankle (shot straight down his calf muscle). I often wonder what story he tells…

Beware the talker…

By: cc19

cc19 — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:45:24 +0000

The title of this reminds me of an old boss who greatly exaggerated about his military experience (super special forces stuff naturally). His, “war stories,” he enjoyed to tell were so full of shit. He made the mistake of taking these lies on national television so a group of vets called him out and basically the guy had to resign. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy…

By: Gabriel owens

Gabriel owens — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 19:12:07 +0000

Thank you. Very good read.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:30:33 +0000

I’ve seen similar things, seems like the guys that talk the toughest are the ones that refuse to get out of the trucks or put themselves out there when it actually comes time to fight.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:41:17 +0000

I was with 2/1 for the first attempt at Fallujah, we had casualities but nothing like what the guys at 3/5 suffered. Had the politics been left out and Marines left to do what we do best, the lives lost in that second breach may have been avoided. It infuriates me to no end that politicians, who can’t even balance a check book, think they can win the “hearts and minds” of third world trash by meddling with ROE’s or zoning combat areas.

BTW, anyone who flaps his jaws like that “Country” guy is an automatic shitbird, BS filter needs to be set at 11 once you’re in the fleet.

By: jhyers4

jhyers4 — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:33:43 +0000

I really appreciate this post its something people need to hear more but don’t sadly. and thank you Andrew for your service and competency. and I have read many of your blogs and you don’t seem to talk about specific engagements and “action” while you were deployed so that only adds to the wisdom and lesson here.

By: Bub

Bub — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 21:31:53 +0000

actions always speak louder than words.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 19:06:54 +0000

I just discovered your blog recently and have been really enjoying it. Great observations! Humility is such an important character attribute. I suspect that the best teachers are also the ones who are willing to learn from anyone – not the people who just like to talk about what they’ve (possibly?) done.