Veterans Bashing Veterans who are Helping Veterans
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Paul Rieckhoff, founder of IAVA, attacked by wild milbloggers
16 July 2012
Paul Rieckhoff is a veteran of the Iraq war.
After his return from Iraq, Mr. Rieckhoff founded the organization IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America).
IAVA is widely respected. As a result, Mr. Rieckhoff wields considerable influence and likewise has a considerable number of enemies who wish to see him fall. Some of those self-declared enemies operate a website called "This Ain't Hell." These people are trying to destroy Mr. Rieckhoff.
They have accused Mr. Rieckhoff of unauthorized wearing of both a low-rated award (bronze star for meritorious service) and a unit patch. The specific allegations, along with a statement that I just received from Mr. Rieckhoff, are at the end of this dispatch.
I do not know Mr. Rieckhoff other than through communications over the last few days, but I know something of those who are trying to bully and bury him.
The same people have pursued similar agendas with my own reputation. For instance, the website "This Ain't Hell," is written in part by Jonn Lilyea and Mark Seavey, who both associate closely with the discredited website Blackfive, which in turn orbits with the discredited blogger CJ Grisham. Grisham once published a photo of a dismembered mouse he killed. He is known for veiled threats of physical harm to several women and three men, myself included.
Grisham presents himself as a heroic figure returning from war, whose mission in life is to kill zombies and to uncover frauds. Who better to catch a thief? Grisham, an active duty senior NCO stationed in Texas, makes frequent public appearances, raises funds, and uses his puffed up veteran status as a backstage pass. He never misses a chance to belittle President Obama, yet the Army generals let him ramble on via Twitter and articles he writes.
Grisham omits that he was sent home early from Afghanistan this year after complaining about work stress. He never left base, and he saw zero combat in Afghanistan. He complained that he could not take the pressure, blogged about PTSD, and suddenly he was back in Texas, bragging about going to a Godsmack concert. He left his unit behind in Kandahar.
Why is Grisham important here? Because Grisham still makes frequent media appearances and is part of an asteroid belt of milbloggers that some people call “milkooks,” of which Mark Seavey, Jonn Lilyea, Jim Hanson, and Matt Burden are members.
Matthew Burden is the founder of Blackfive, and is a Trustee at Soldiers’ Angels, known for its far rightwing leanings. Burden padded his own military resume, which I stumbled upon but did not expose until now. Burden advertises himself as a special operations veteran, and as a battalion commander. Burden left the military as a major, and he did not attend special operations training. He did not command a battalion in any way that most of us would understand the term command or battalion, and he was no special operator. Matt Burden is a blowfish.
Mark Seavey: Soldiers' Angels Trustee and Attack Blogger
Many of these bloggers, such as Burden, Seavey and Grisham, are involved with Soldiers' Angels, which resulted in my shunning the organization. I cannot endorse Soldiers' Angels while Burden and Seavey are on the Board of Trustees. (If these people are purged, I might reassess my stance.)
Just yesterday, Jonn Lilyea admitted on his blog that he obtained my military records via the Freedom of Information Act, but he found nothing noteworthy, and so he dropped the witch hunt. Lilyea is the same guy who just days ago called a black man an "ape" on his website. That is not a crime, but it is indicative. Especially so considering Seavey is a hardcore member of that website, and a Trustee on Soldiers’ Angels. Do Seavey and Lilyea believe that black veterans are apes?
Why is all this worth mentioning? Why not just ignore them? People have often asked these questions out of naivety. In today's Internet world, and with the shoddy overall media quality from established sources, we see websites such as Blackfive, and characters such as Grisham, Burden and Seavey, taken at face value. They damage and bully many people, but bullying will not work here.
Yesterday, Seavey emailed to me, "Jesus you are dense." I responded in part with, "Please don't call me Jesus."
Jonn Lilyea also emailed to me and copied Seavey with a photo maybe obtained from my military records:
Lilyea emailed the above photo with the following strange email:
Gee, I wonder how and why Jonn got Yon's ID card picture?
Jonn Lilyea
SFC, US Army
Retired
That about covers it for weird behavior. Make no mistake: cyberstalkers can damage reputations and careers in the same way that a physical stalker can shove a blade into flesh.
Why would Mark Seavey, as a Trustee on Soldiers' Angels and blogger at "This Ain't Hell," put himself into a position where he appears to be involved in trying to destroy IAVA? I am not alleging that there is some conspiracy to crush IAVA as a sort of clash of the charities, but I am saying with full seriousness that Seavey, as an attorney who represents Soldiers' Angels, must be fully aware that the appearance should be avoided as much as the act itself.
The saddest part of this is that veterans are bashing veterans who are helping veterans.
Allegations have been made by "This Ain't Hell" that Paul Rieckhoff engaged in dishonest conduct by wearing a Bronze Star and a Special Forces patch before actually getting assigned to a Special Forces unit. Mr. Rieckhoff has been open with me, and I suspect he will be the same with writers who try to drill down to the core on this. It needs attention, as does the archaic paperwork system that our military suffers with. Just recently, a trooper has been emailing me from Afghanistan that some Soldiers in his unit have gone months without combat pay. That Mr. Rieckhoff's paperwork might be off is no surprise.
The original accusations are here.
I called Mr. Rieckhoff and we swapped some emails. I asked for a statement, which he provided.
Michael,
Thanks again for reaching out. I hope this will help clarify things for you and anyone else who is interested. I want to be fully transparent, so here is the background on the BSM and unit patch. During my deployment I was told I was being put in for a BSM for service as a meritorious tour award. My DD214 listed a BSM for service (also attached for full clarity).
I tried to track down a citation later, but I never received one. Initially I attributed this delay to the fact I was in the New York National Guard but attached to a Florida National Guard unit in Iraq. But after several months, and multiple attempts to contact my various units to clarify, I assumed the BSM had not been awarded to me and I never claimed it again. I would never take the chance of misrepresenting my service record. Ever. And I’ve been in contact with the Department of Defense, Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) to seek further clarification. In the unofficial photo from 2004, I wore a service award that was clearly noted in my official separation form DD214 at the time. As stated above, my DD214 included the BSM for service. For soldiers, especially in the National Guard, that is always the form of record. I did not have a presentation ceremony or other formal confirmation of the award. But that was not unusual for me and many other soldiers in the National Guard who have changed units multiple times, and was the case with a number of my other awards from my time in uniform stateside, at Ground Zero, and in Iraq. I acted in good faith by wearing that service award and I take any allegation that I acted otherwise very seriously and personally. That day was the first and the last time I wore my Class A’s after coming home. My subsequent drill weekends et al were all done in Battle Dress Uniform, which does not have medals on it.
I had the SF unit patch on in the same photo eight years ago because I was in the process of transferring over to an SF unit at that time. Let me be clear, it’s a unit patch and not a Special Forces individual qualification tab. I have never claimed to be Special Forces qualified.
Later that spring, I was on national TV talking about the war and thrust into the public eye. It was definitely a whirlwind time that I’ve written extensively about in the past. I talked to the SF Commander, and given my new public profile and uncertain future, I could obviously no longer join that kind of a unit. It was disappointing, but because of the events of last few weeks at that time, I didn’t know if I’d be allowed to stay in the service at all. My life became pretty public from that point in 2004 on. So I stayed in the NY National Guard, and later the IRR, wearing the appropriate unit patches, until I was officially released from the military.
I know this letter won’t satisfy every critic or blogger, but I wanted to make sure my side of things was fully represented. I sincerely apologize if I have offended anyone—especially in the military and veterans community. I have dedicated the past 14 years of my life in service to our country, supporting our veterans and their families, and driving a positive, national dialogue about the unique challenges facing the veterans’ community. I hope I have made a significant difference in the lives of the veterans and families I serve.
Best regards, Paul Rieckhoff
Paul Rieckhoff's redacted DD-214
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Thank you!
Michael
Comments
With that said, these updates amount blogger bickering, and likely only serve to give them greater momentum at the expense of your readership. I don't care about the shenanigans of other bloggers, I would venture a guess to say that most would agree.
We'd rather be reading about Mexico over milkooks.
However, if it's on his DD 214, he should be wearing it! Good on him for not wearing it "just in case", but if it's on his 214, he has it, period. Thne 214 is the document of record for this sort of thing. I had a similar situation with my small arms qualification in basic. My original 214 out of basic had it listed, but it was dropped for some reason on subsequent 214's (as a guardsmen, you get one everytime you start and stop active service). I had to fill out a form and make some phone calls and because I had a 214 with it listed, it was an easyt process to have it added. I'm not being petty, awards and decs apply toward retirement points!
ANyhow, good report Michael, as always!
This a serious subject and you insert the following statement:
Yesterday, Seavey emailed to me, "Jesus you are dense." I responded in part with, "Please don't call me Jesus."
Mr. Yon, had I not just taken a bite of food this would not have been a problem however it has now caused me extreme PTCD...please give some sort of alert next time before intermixing these comments with your normal blog posts.
All the best,
Joe
Laughter lowers the blood pressure BTW
I am an IAVA member, met Paul briefly in 2009 in NYC and have spoken w/ members of his team on several occasions. I appreciate the tireless work and efforts of Paul, the staff and the countless volunteers w/in the organization. Unfortunately many soldiers in the Guard community can relate to Paul's statements about lost records and inconsistent personnel record keeping. Really really glad to hear the facts of this situation and that this is indeed a non-issue.
Stay safe (and sane)!
Regards!
Would like to know about this since I have heard good things about them and have donated to them.
Thank You Mr. Yon.
Therefore I see NO basis for your insinuation that Michael was handing out an indictment of SA other that he would NOT support them as long as said right wing whackos are on the board!
Does that clear it up for you
Hence, if tis on there, wear it with pride and give it no further thought. I had a break in service and upon re-entering I found out the unit I was in at the end of my active duty enlistment got an Air Force Outstanding Uinit award. I spent months trying to track the 381st Training Group historian (my unit, 534th, which got the award was later absorbed by our sits squadron) and gave up. Even though my service was for over 1 year of the two year period resulting in award, I don't wear it. I already had one so it would have just been a device (oak leaf cluster) so no big deal. It's in my 214.
Yes, it is an official document. If you turn in you DD-214 to the court house it becomes a public records matter and anyone can request and obtain a copy of it. Along with Name, DOB, SSN, military awards, military training and complete history of deployments and all kind of good stuff criminals like to get to steal your identity, open bank accounts, request credit cards, etc. Enough said.
I have a bit of experience in dealing with veterans causes particularly the Vietnam Veterans while living in Brevard County FL. While participating in their functions I learned of "Stolen Valor" stories which back then it really had no such monicker, we called the perp's liars, frauds, and con-artists and exposed them by whatever means. When the web came into fruition we then had a really effective tool to spread the word about such deplorable actions and who was doing same.
Now we have Veterans going around using that same medium, the Web, to bicker amongst each other over nit picking details of someone's DD-214? Inexplicably some of the same other so called "veterans" are actually making up stories about themselves and being believed by the gullible and the ignorant.
This really pathetic, when we have many veterans causes these days that are largely being ignored while mil-bloggers engage in personal attacks and carpet bombing rhetoric against other veterans organizations.
Defending one's self against allegations that are false is one thing, but to engage in artillery barrage banter is quite another and those engaging in same just should be ignored and/or shunned! I am guilty of being lured into this trap myself because emotions tend to run hot on these kind of subjects, but I have learned to be more strategic in dealing with these issues and more tactical in my responses.
I always reminded in these situations of John Wayne's response to a young impertinent cub in his last great hurrah "The Shootist":
""I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them."
More Americans need to learn this particular line and live by it and we'll have a lot nicer society, but until then we'll have to live with the likes of the villains Michael so ignominiously exposed several times here!
Which BTW Michael, I think you have given those losers enough publicity;-)
I read a few of black5's blogs... something just didn't ring true about his comments and perceptions...h aven't read 5 since...not a good source... am still reading your's... thanks for the clarification.. Ron
My sainted mother sent me out into the world with the admonition that, it was always the little things that made people or crazy or as she put it, "Upset the apple cart" While Michael does touch on the "big things" it's the little things that matter most to the troops, from the time of Gen. George Washington to the present.
Like for instance the troops ill fitting uniforms, weak equipment, weak tactics, weak leaders (like this Grisham character). It's these seemingly little things that drive the GI batty.
It's the timeworn concept that all the little things one day add up to being the "straw that breaks the camels back" (an apropos euphemism if there ever was one)
Michael is the revelator of all these little nagging straws
But some of the other responses you might think about as they seem like reasonable requests to disengage from the combat actions of blitzkrieg rhetoric between you and the "mil-kooks"
Let those pigs wallow in their own filth, rise above the stench and defend yourself but with dignity and clarity, not reverse blog trench warfare, ok
You are an interesting insightful writer and one of the finest photographers I have ever seen, and you have a wealth of experiences many of us would die for, and some have, (and we'd like to hear more about) so listen to the good part of your heart and put aside the animosity you have for these folks that don't begin to rate in your shadow
You have opened wonderful windows to worlds that many of us can only dream of or ever hope to see and experience. Please keep up that work and put all this garbage behind you. You are doing the lords work when you open peoples eyes to other worlds, but shut them when you go on the attack, please try to keep this mind. I know, I am guilty of the reactionary rhetoric sometimes myself and my wife is always harping on me to knock it off, that ordinary folsk don't want to hera it, and she id right, for once
Peace be unto you and yours
The only real flag I saw that someone may a problem with is the Policy Adviser who worked for Anthony (HotDog) Wiener
So what there are lots of folks that worked for Demoncrats, took their money split. What see is comprehensive group that has all the experience needed to run such an organization including the founder of Craigslist.
If there is someone in particular that offends your sensilbiities please point them out, because most of the group I would love to have my BOD
My webmaster takes care of that. Instructions are simple. No advertisement, pages from holy books of any sort, gratuitous ad hominem, gratuitous profanity, no obvious disinformation, and no massive sidetrack or hijacking of subjects. Basically, just keep it polite and on target and have at it. Chances are I will not even see those comments before they are gone. Banning less than 1% seems to make the site 99% better.
I see he is a Joomla! hack like me
I hope you pay him well becasue most of us don't really make squat at doing this stuff
As you accomplish great things on behalf of our men and women in uniform it will not be without adversaries and negative pundants. Ignore them and Soldier On!
Thank you for your service and your efforts on behalf of all those that served.
I don't know any of these guys but 1, 2, 3 - don't like Obama, lean Right and somebody said something that might be construed as "racist". Right out of Huffpo. I like your stuff by why don't you keep your politics to yourself.
As far as I'm concerned anything coming from Paul Rieckhoff isn't worth spit. He personally attacked my wife in the media after she was part of a Presidential briefing that was televised in 2005 from Iraq. The attack was not only unprofessional, it was disrespectful of soldiers who participated from a war zone. If I ever see that asshole I'll spit in his face. You can pass on my worst regards,full name and email to him. Email back and I'll give my address too.
I've followed you for years on your email list and appreciate what you do. It's just mention of that asshole again as a reputable source that riled me up enough to finally comment.
It would be nice if you could site this instance where, when and who was at said "live briefing" maybe a link to same, there must video of this somewhere, but I cannot seem to find same
That said, as an OIF era Veteran, and volunteer active in Veteran reintegration and employment work, I am never the less grateful for Paul's leadership and his team's work. Many of us are using the new GI Bill benefits and so many more are benefitting from the watchdog efforts with the Dept of VA. IAVA has been, in my opinion, the most effective in engaging Gulf War 2 Veterans and ranks highest in my mind of all the Veteran Service Organizations.. .
That said, I hope our Veteran voice does truly remain as non-partisan as possible...
Dan B, those words of attack did not come from some policy/media adviser. Reickhoff himself made the attack on the integrity of soldiers in a war zone. Nothing he ever does will pardon his sin of attacking the very soldiers he so desperately wants us to believe he supports. He is a class a asshole.
By the way, I'm a vet also, AF 1975-81.
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=18087
I dug around some more using your wife's name in combination with Paul's and here is what I find.
I find that your wife was part of a staged media event that was practically scripted by the GWB WH and your wife played a prominent role because she was the PA NCO for her unit and was doing her job as directed by her unit Command.
Just by the flurry of links I eventually found on this staged event, (which is what all administrations do since PR came into play) I found that your wife was under attack by leftist media before Paul Rieckhoff added his comments. Paul was being used by the leftist media, just as your wife was being by the Bush WH, along with the other troops present, in a PR war between the communist influenced media and the Bush WH. (Kinda like the PR war the "obomination" and his commie buddies in the media are waging against Mitt Romney and the Repubiclicans as we speak;-)
I didn't dig to see where your wife was specifically called out by Paul, but nevertheless your wife and your family was going to be attacked by the commie leftist media whether Paul said anything or not! I don't understand why you are attacking Paul here when it seems your hate venom should be directed at the perpetrators and NOT one of the other victims of the commie medias PR war against America!
I do appreciate you, and your wife's service to an ungrateful nation of dolts, idiots, and MTV morons, but you have to direct your energies against your real oppressors and not people like Paul Rieckhoff being used as media PR pawns! I don't know Mr Rieckhoff and would not know him if I saw him on the street, but he seems to do a lot for veterans causes and is not sitting on his butt playing the victim card and waiting for a Government check, like I see so many doing here in Houston!
He's making a difference whether you appreciate that or not and in the process of making a difference you're are going run across those who may have a difference of opinion, and when large amounts of money and influence are involved, those adverse opinions soon become an open warfare of words! I know! Been there, done that, got the scars and the torn T-Shirt;-) ( I was a PRO for a political motorcycle rights organization trying to overturn the state helmet law when I lived in FL, imagine the hell we caught from the nanny state media)
That said, please direct your vengeance at those who have truly injured you on the commie leftist media, not one of the pawns in the present political warfare over power, greed, and corruption!
Peace be unto you and yours
BTW here is a link to an article from a George Soros funded leftist website purporting to be "fair and balanced"! http://www.prwatch.org/node/4073
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