Folks, I haven’t been on here in a loooong while. But Pima keeps me up to speed on the latest “SAF Gossip” and news from the many friends we have made on these boards. So it was with great interest when Pima told me about this thread and the action of both TPG and the folks who exposed him.
My initial reaction? I remembered TPG well, and I remembered how much I admired him for the service and sacrifice he gave to our Country. So, to say I was angered when I found out this was all a lie? Indignant and disgusted that he basked in undeserving glory and praise from me and the others here who have served? You betcha. But then I calmed down a bit, and my feelings evolved more towards sadness and pity for this man who was so dissatisfied in his own life that he felt the need to make such whopping lies to make himself feel more worthy. A poor, poor man. But still, he deserves to be humiliated and punished for his actions, especially since the lies impacted so many here to include the young men and women who saw his stories as inspirational.
But now I’ve been watching how this thread has evolved, and the words from both sides, TASheehan and the folks on here upset with his not-to-veiled threats against this site.
Well, to quote TASheehan, GOOGLE IS our friend…
https://militaryphonies.wordpress.com/2015/02/
Here it is, the “we” TASheehan continues to reference. Scroll down a bit and you get to see their side of the story concerning this site and the mods. So, it seems a bit disingenuous to me when I read how they called out TacNuke (to include personally attacking him and slandering him), when I also see TASheehan talking about wanting to keep this professional and how he means no harm to this site. His words speak otherwise, LOUDLY and CLEARLY.
We get to see their side of the story, but it seems to me that there may be another side to this story. Allow me to provide MY perspective on both.
As LITS discusses earlier, it appears to me that some people and groups VERY passionate about Stolen Valor got wind on TPG’s posing on here, and decided to see if they needed to expose another “poser”. I applaud their efforts. Honestly I do. Their passion seems a little creepy to me, and their “ends justify the means” attitude frankly falls squarely into the category of “morally and ethically questionable”. But hey, they are protecting the truth (in a questionable manner), and a man’s gotta have a hobby.
Now, here’s how I see it. Justin Facts, an individual saying he’s a kid looking into the military, starts questioning TPG’s service record. Not really in the scope of what this site is intended for, and frankly coming off as confrontational, TACNuke, acting in his mod role to keep the conversations polite and civil, removes the post to avoid further conflict. Someone (name redacted on the “militaryphonies” site) PMs TAC requesting that Justin be allowed to continue to question TPG about his service record on the forum. Tac, again with the full intent first and foremost of avoiding conflict that plaques so many other internet forums (and which we are thankfully mostly free from thanks to his and the rest of the mods efforts), denies that request. And then all H-E-Double Hockey Sticks breaks loose on this thread and military phonies.
Personally, I have to ask, why was it necessary to question TPG about his service record publically on the forums and not in private? To me, it smacks of an attempt to catch TPG in a “GOTCHA!” moment and publically humiliate him. So think on this, TASheehan. Maybe, just maybe, TACNuke felt the same way I just mentioned, and didn’t want this site to be dragged into that mud-hole, especially with all the impressionable young men and women (and their parents) watching.
So your response? You threaten to contact the military press to “warn them about this site”. You threated to contact the sponsors who support this site as well. All because TacNuke didn’t want to play your games in the way YOU wanted to play them. And instead of being reasonable about it, you went even further with your “ends justify the means” attitude and threatened the Nuclear option on this entire sire unless you got your way. Of course TacNuke felt / feels threatened and wanted nothing more to do with you. Your attitude and words on THIS thread only make even more folks here feel the same way.
Now you’ve made some suggestions, and frankly they are reasonable and can be hopefully discussed in a reasonable manner. Perhaps we can reach mutual understanding without the need to threaten this invaluable site and the mods who run it.
TPG is banned, disgraced, and soon to be forgotten – this was your ultimate goal and it was accomplished. Is there anything beyond that worthy of punishing the innocent along with the guilty? Not really.
I applaud your efforts to expose the phonies and posers. I admire your passion. But you're causing friendly fire here in your attack on the mods and this site. I ask you to please think on that....