Army Major gets 5 months for faking awards

Just_A_Mom

Just_A_Mom

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In today's Army Times online at:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/army_fakersentence_080219w/

Interesting that he was tried in civilian court instead of being held for court martial.

Major gets 5 months for faking awards
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Army Reserve Maj. Anthony Angelo Calderone on Tuesday to five months in prison for lying about his Army achievements and awards — including his bogus claim a Silver Star for heroism in battle — so he could get promoted faster.
The Salt Lake City, Utah court also ordered Calderone to pay $9,300 in restitution to the Army, wages he earned as the result of his promotion to major, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Lund.
Calderone pleaded guilty in federal court Sept. 20 to charges of lying about his awards and qualifications in order to gain a promotion.
The felony charge of knowingly making false statements carried up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Calderone was also accused of wearing false decorations between Nov. 22, 2003, and Dec. 3, 2006. That charge, a misdemeanor, carried a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“I’m pleased the outcome,” Lund said. I think the offenses were serious … his conduct of falsely wearing a Silver Star demeans the service and sacrifices of legitimate American heroes who have fought and died for this country.”
Calderone left the sentencing hearing under orders to return by a certain date in the future to serve out his sentence, said Lund, who did not know Calderone’s scheduled return date.
Calderone, who was deployed to Iraq from January 2005 to December 2005, also admitted to knowingly and willfully making false statements about his tours of duty, qualifications and awards. He was charged with falsely including unauthorized decorations and listing tours of duty and military training that he had not completed.
Court documents say Calderone put those false statements, including that he had a Silver Star, the Special Forces and Ranger tabs, and the Combat Infantry Badge, on his DA Form 2-1, the personal qualification record, and on his DD 214, the certificate of release from active duty. Calderone later submitted the falsified DD 214 to his Army Reserve unit, according to court documents. Those false statements on official military documents led to his promotion to major in July 2006, and led to him earning more pay, according to court documents.
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And yet another....

Former Sailor Accused of Faking Awards, Rank....

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/03/navy_fakerquestions_030308/

.........On the front page of the Rural Oneida Star was a photo of Mazurowski wearing a chestful of combat decorations, an enlisted surface warfare qualification pin and a Fleet Marine Force pin. The recruit, who was a mere seven months into his Navy career, was also wearing a third-class crow. And the “E”s on his pistol and rifle medals were upside down.
A short article under the photo said “HM3 Brian Mazurowski” had been blasted “20 yards” by a roadside bomb while standing outside a Humvee while on patrol in Iraq on Jan. 26. The article claimed Mazurowski was attached to “2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment Fleet Marine Force Pacific and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, patrolling a 100 mile radius between Al Fallujah and Baghdad.” In truth, the Hawaii-based 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, would enter Iraq the second week of February, according to a Marine Corps news story — one week after Mazurowski was booted from the Navy.....
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Anger in the ranks

Mazurowski’s plight follows the January general court-martial of former corpsman Dontae Lee Tazewell, who told tales of Iraq combat and awarded himself a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Action Ribbon and other awards — triggering enough points to advance in rank and stay in the Navy, and even get a ceremony in his honor — before being unmasked and adjudicated. He’s now serving a two-year sentence in the Navy brig.
Mazurowski read that article when he was still in the Navy.
“I don’t want to turn out to be another HM2 Tazewell. My story is nothing like that,” he said. “I love the Navy. I really miss it.”
But his former high school principal, Gordon Garrett, tells a different story.
A retired Army colonel, Garrett said he was skeptical of Mazurowski when he came back to Holland Patent Central High School in early January asking to visit former teachers before shipping off to Iraq.
Being a former military man, Garrett was concerned that such a fresh recruit was going to war so quickly, but he reserved judgment.
“He was very appropriate. He was very polite. I didn’t question his going to Iraq. I thought something had happened to his status,” he said. “I remember I told him, ‘Don’t be a cowboy. Do what you are trained to do.‘“
His skepticism was justified shortly thereafter when Parker called him in early February asking if he knew anything about Mazurowski getting “blown up” in Iraq.
When he saw the newspaper article and the picture, Garrett banned it from school property.......
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"banned" the newspaper?


Seems like some people, especially junior members don't always see WHY this is law and what many of these awards mean to the people who actually EARN them, and those of us who look up to the Medal of Honor recipients, or Navy Cross, or Dist. Fly Cross or any number of awards/medals.
 
It's not limited to junior members. Jeremy Boorda enlisted as a seaman in the Navy back in the 1950s and rose through the ranks, gaining a commission. Somewhere along the line he was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal. Just like it's name, it was awarded for him doing a good job. However, awarded with a little bronze 'V' about 1/4" tall, it becomes a medal for valor in combat, a completely different award. Boorda bought a 'V' at the Navy Exchange and. unauthorized, began wearing it. He probably forgot about it. In the mid nineties, he became the top admiral in the Navy, the Chief of Naval Operations, the first to do so rising from the rank of seaman, the first to do so who was not a Naval Academy graduate. A reporter picked up on the unauthorized 'V'. Rather than face an afternoon news brief to explain his actions, he went to his home at the Navy Yard during lunch and blew his brains out.
 
LineInTheSand said:
"banned" the newspaper?
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Read the article - the high school principal is a ret Army Lt Col - he thought the whole story was fishy and when the article came out he banned the newspaper from the school...

here is more:
He told Parker, “You are not going to distribute that paper in this school because I suspect there’s some fraud in it,” he said.
Mazurowski subsequently called Garrett, sticking to the Iraq story, Garrett said.
“He told me ‘Everything on my chest is on my 214.’ And I thought, ‘You fool, to say something like that,’” Garrett said.
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unbelievable.
 
Right, I read the article...and I understand the LtCol is a retired Army officer, however I wouldn't be advocating for the banning of newspapers because an alum lied to get in a story. Banning it won't make it any less rediculous in the first place.
 
I see what you are saying and you make a good poinT - perhaps it was extreme. If you are thinking "freedom of the press" there really is no freedom of the press in high schools, so I don't think it was illegal.
I won't second guess the decision to "ban" the paper for that day -the prinicpal knew the story was false - I can see that he would not want this former student to be held up as a hero in school falsely because of it.
Hopefully - the principal went further and made it a "teaching moment".
 
Oh no, I wasn't suggesting it was illegal. I just think that the story is out there, and he is 100% sure it is false, does it do any good to shield the students from that. I wonder if it was reported a "banned" but in all actuality he just removed copies that may have been present. When I heard banned, I was thinking that he would take action against students who brought the article in, and to that end, I don't think it would be right. Of course, I am thinking with a "college" education in mind, and I have forgotten how restricting (and many times for good reason) a high school can me.
 
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