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When Navy veteran Carol Roberts first met A.J. Dicken, who boasted about being the most decorated Navy SEAL ever, she was in awe of him, and she wasn't the first. "He's a big guy," Roberts said. "He commands authority."

For years, Dicken, 57, claimed he was an ex-Navy SEAL who had served in dozens of covert combat missions, from the jungles of Vietnam to the caves of Afghanistan. He proudly wore the SEAL trident insignia and loved to show off his numerous awards. He would regale listeners about his mission to assassinate Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and his death defying swoop into Pakistan to make the kill shot on Osama Bin Laden. He also carried discharge papers that included two Medals of Honor, and even a laudatory email from Col. Oliver North.

But it was all an elaborate lie, one that he would allegedly use to take hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims -- and something else harder to put a price on: their honor.

03Lightningrocks wrote:Reminds me of a cartoon character I remember from my childhood.

baldeagle wrote: If a man started telling me about his exploits unprompted, I would immediately accuse him of being an imposter. Ask him to grant you permission to get his records from the NPRC. Tell him you will request his DD-214 regardless. He'll most likely slink off into the darkness.

JALLEN wrote:I myself was not a SEAL, of course. I probably could have qualified as a Walrus, though.

VoiceofReason wrote:If I was 18 again, I would not serve nor would I be drafted. What with the courts overturning the Stolen Valor Act, and allowing openly homosexuals to be in the military, I wonder how those showers, aboard ships on deployment are working out?

JALLEN wrote: I myself was not a SEAL, of course. I probably could have qualified as a Walrus, though.

gthaustex wrote:

JALLEN wrote: I myself was not a SEAL, of course. I probably could have qualified as a Walrus, though.

I have to laugh at that....

jmra wrote:

gthaustex wrote:

JALLEN wrote: I myself was not a SEAL, of course. I probably could have qualified as a Walrus, though.

I have to laugh at that....

I'm sure a lot of us resemble that remark.

baldeagle wrote:... Ask him to grant you permission to get his records from the NPRC. Tell him you will request his DD-214 regardless. ...

FOIA and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF)

The public has access to certain military service information without the veteran's authorization or that of the next-of-kin (the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister) of deceased veterans. Examples of information which may be available from Federal (non-archival) Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) without an unwarranted invasion of privacy include:

Name
Service Number
Dates of Service
Branch of Service
Final Duty Status
Final Rank
Salary *
Assignments and Geographical Locations
Source of Commission *
Military Education Level
Promotion Sequence Number *
Awards and decorations (eligibility only, not actual medals)
Photograph
Transcript of Courts-Martial Trials
Place of entrance and separation

If the veteran is deceased:

Place of birth
Date and geographical location of death
Place of burial

*Items rarely available in the records we maintain.

FOIA and Official Personnel Folders (OPF)

Most information in a Federal (non-archival) Official Personnel Folder (OPF) is not releasable to the general public without the written consent of the individual whose record is involved. The Freedom of Information Act does allow, however, for certain information to be released without the individual's consent. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has determined that the following information can be released to the public:

Name
Past and present positions
Past and present titles
Past and present salaries
Past and present grades
Past and present job locations

JALLEN wrote:So if someone starts blabbing on about their SEALness, you can be almost certain they weren't.

I myself was not a SEAL, of course. I probably could have qualified as a Walrus, though.