Veteran Calls out fake Ranger

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**Rusty Trombone**

jasper76 wrote:
@Rusty Trombone: I'm 38. To me, it seems very odd that someone would go to all the trouble of creating a ruse to capture on video an interrogstion of a guy impersonating an Army Ranger and posting it on YouTube.

I honestly wouldn't care if I saw this dude in a mall. Military uniforms impress me about as much as coal miner outfits. But if I did have a problem, I'd either (a) confront the guy without my wife and child present, (b) just tell someone with actual auhauthority to do something about it.

The impulse to video record it and post it on YouTube would be the last thing to cross my mind, because I didn't grow up with YouTube, I don't think vigilante public shaming campaigns are noble, and I don't feel a need to make and publish videos about my private life and post them to the internet...that strikes me as odd.

Fair enough sentiment, I guess, but not everyone thinks the same. Me, for one. I disagree in your using the term vigilante, as well. Are investigative journalists vigilantes now, too? They also 'out' people for being sleazoids...and get paid for the privilege. Public service of a higher order, or bottom feeding muckrakers? I sometimes wince in empathy for the uncomfortableness they give their targets, but it's an artifact of my soft heartedness. I get over it quickly.

**hotsauceman1**

Ensis Ferrae wrote:
jasper76 wrote:

The impulse to video record it and post it on YouTube would be the last thing to cross my mind, because I didn't grow up with YouTube, I don't think vigilante public shaming campaigns are noble, and I don't feel a need to make and publish videos about my private life and post them to the internet...that strikes me as odd.

It's not so much that there's an impulse to put it on YouTube (which gets you wider viewing), but almost ALL of these situations that are filmed, are done so as evidence and sent to the various "Stolen Valor" websites that have been set up. IIRC, some of them actually act as lobby groups to affect local policy to make the sort of people who fake being military/fire/police, etc really think about doing it, due to the potential punishment.

Thats another thing, This kinda stuff should not be illegal, Unless they gain a benefit from it, It should be protected from free speech.

**feeder**

I imagine when one derives their sense of self-worth and identity from belonging to a special club, one will get offended when someone else tries to co-opt that sense of self-worth and identity without suffering the same trials.

If I were to feel the need to play dress up in order to fraudulently obtain high fives from strangers, I'd go as a fireman. Smarter, braver, and sexy as feth, right?

**Hordini**

Jihadin wrote:
To lead troops in a Ranger Bat you have to be tabbed.

Fair enough! And it makes sense.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

hotsauceman1 wrote:
Ensis Ferrae wrote:
jasper76 wrote:

The impulse to video record it and post it on YouTube would be the last thing to cross my mind, because I didn't grow up with YouTube, I don't think vigilante public shaming campaigns are noble, and I don't feel a need to make and publish videos about my private life and post them to the internet...that strikes me as odd.

It's not so much that there's an impulse to put it on YouTube (which gets you wider viewing), but almost ALL of these situations that are filmed, are done so as evidence and sent to the various "Stolen Valor" websites that have been set up. IIRC, some of them actually act as lobby groups to affect local policy to make the sort of people who fake being military/fire/police, etc really think about doing it, due to the potential punishment.

Thats another thing, This kinda stuff should not be illegal, Unless they gain a benefit from it, It should be protected from free speech.

What shouldn't be illegal? Dressing in a uniform or calling someone out on it?

**hotsauceman1**

It should not be illegal to dress in a uniform.

**Hordini**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
It should not be illegal to dress in a uniform.

It's not. That doesn't mean people shouldn't be called out on it.

**CptJake**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
Ensis Ferrae wrote:
jasper76 wrote:

The impulse to video record it and post it on YouTube would be the last thing to cross my mind, because I didn't grow up with YouTube, I don't think vigilante public shaming campaigns are noble, and I don't feel a need to make and publish videos about my private life and post them to the internet...that strikes me as odd.

It's not so much that there's an impulse to put it on YouTube (which gets you wider viewing), but almost ALL of these situations that are filmed, are done so as evidence and sent to the various "Stolen Valor" websites that have been set up. IIRC, some of them actually act as lobby groups to affect local policy to make the sort of people who fake being military/fire/police, etc really think about doing it, due to the potential punishment.

Thats another thing, This kinda stuff should not be illegal, Unless they gain a benefit from it, It should be protected from free speech.

And it is legal, as long as you don't get or attempt to get some benefit, which the faker in this case did...

Automatically Appended Next Post:
I will say, if he were to walk around with a 1st Bat scroll around here near HAAF, he could run into real Bat Boys, and it might not have turned out as politely as it did in this video.

**Medium of Death**

Humiliating a person can be justified but it doesn't make it any more pleasant to watch.

Obviously these people need to be called out for their bs but the people doing the calling out should remember to keep their dignity while doing so.

If you were active service and did this kind of thing would their not be some disciplinary ramifications? I know it would be punishing the wrong person but most jobs require you to have a modicum of restraint when you are seen to be representing your employer.

**Jihadin**

It wouldn't even involve alcohol either.

Jasper what branch and how many years? Obviously the Fake was successful in getting something with his "Smaj" (So the Smaj of Ranger Bat was also in the Mall shopping in uniform with his SSG WTF?)

**jasper76**

Navy...not even 2 years. Discharged for medical problems.

Also, it's not clear that this guy got anything out of wearing that uniform, except the attention of the guy doing the recording. He is carrying a shopping bag. That doesn't conclusively mean he was seeking or obtained a veteran discount.

And for all we know, the "Sergeant Major" doesn't even exist.

**Jihadin**

jasper76 wrote:
Navy...not even 2 years. Separated for medical problems.

Also, it's not clear that this guy got anything out of wearing that uniform, except the attention of the guy doing the recording. He is carrying a shopping bag. That doesn't conclusively mean he was seeking or obtained a veteran discount.

When in uniform its a automatic discount since he did not have to show his "valid" ID CAC Card. 23 years and retired I know this dirt bag got a discount for being in "uniform" Either 5 or 10% discount. On Black Friday at that. I'm not going to second guess how your NCO's/Instructors mentored you but you seem to be missing the "integrity" part.

Also you seem to have missed this part in the thread where I mention he also faked a LEO by wearing his uniform (LEO was killed in line of duty)

A Philadelphia man apparently likes dressing up in uniforms.

Last week, he was wearing Army fatigues at the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown when he was confronted by an Army veteran who suspected that the man never served in the military. The veteran of Afghanistan who lives in Northampton Township, Bucks County, posted the video of the confrontation on YouTube and it has since generated more than 2.8 million views and incensed military families nationwide.

Back in 2003, his uniform of choice was a police coat.

The now 30-year-old Sean Yetman was arrested while wearing the coat of a Philadelphia officer who died in the line of duty. He pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court in May of that year to impersonating a public servant, a second-degree misdemeanor. He was sentenced to three months of probation for that crime along with a summary offense of driving with a suspended or revoked license, according to online court records.

Yetman was arrested after being stopped on North Main Street in Doylestown during a routine traffic safety checkpoint while wearing the coat and displaying a Philadelphia police badge, according to court records obtained by Calkins Media. Both items belonged to the late Robert Hays, who was killed in the line of duty in 1995, the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed.

Yetman told the Doylestown officers that he worked out of the city's 26th District in Fishtown, but then added that he was in the police academy and working in the 26th as a drive-along, court documents show. The police coat, he said, belonged to his uncle.

He was unable to produce a valid driver’s license or any other identification to verify that he was a Philadelphia police officer, Doylestown officers said. They found out that Yetman had a Pennsylvania Identification Card, which came back showing his driver's license had been suspended, officers said.

Doylestown police later spoke with Hays' widow, who said that she had given her son one of her husband’s coats and badges after his death. She also said her son knew Yetman through his girlfriend, according to the court records.

“She said she did not know how Yetman had come into possession of the jacket and the badge,” police said.

A woman who answered the door of Yetman's house on Saturday claimed that Yetman had a military background but declined to provide details. She said the family had no comment on the issue. Phone numbers listed under Yetman's name have been disconnected and his Facebook account was taken down Saturday.

According to a story in the "Army Times," Yetman's fiancee said in an email that "the blow-back to Yetman and his family has been vicious."

The newspaper reported that the woman said Yetman has lost his job.

"We are now hearing death threats. All of this has us concerned for our children and their safety," she wrote, according to the Army Times. "He is a good man with a very big heart and this backlash has spiraled him into a deep depression."

In the YouTube video that went viral and was shot on Black Friday, Yetman tells veteran Ryan Berk, who was a sergeant while serving in Afghanistan, that he is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Rangers and claims he recently returned from Fort Lewis, Washington, which is the base for the 75th Ranger Regiment, 2nd Battalion.

Yetman doesn't appear in the U.S. Army's database, according to retired Col. Richard Nurnberg, the executive director of the National Infantry Association at Fort Benning, Georgia. That means he is not active duty or recently retired. The database covers reservists as well as Army Rangers, an elite special operations unit.

Yetman's name also was not found in any database of Army members who have undergone Ranger training at Fort Benning, according to Nurnberg.

He added that a misdemeanor conviction, such as impersonating a police officer, would not keep someone out of the Army.

During the 3-minute, 26-second video, Berk becomes furious with Yetman for wearing the uniform without ever having served. Berk suspected Yetman was not a soldier because elements of his uniform didn't appear correct and he had trouble answering some basic military service questions, including how he received the three Combat Infantrymen Badges he wore, Berk added.

Berk, who was awarded a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Afghanistan, told Yetman that he would need to be in three different campaigns. Yetman responded that one badge was for service in Iraq and the others for different tours of Afghanistan.

But military authorities, including the National Infantry Association, confirmed that only one CIB would be awarded for service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and/or Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn).

Middletown police and a U.S. Army investigator are reviewing all available video footage to determine if a crime was committed by Yetman while wearing the uniform.

U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, who represents Bucks County sent a letter to Philadelphia-area U.S. attorney Zane Memeger on Monday, notifying him that the video could “possibly” contain evidence of a federal crime under the Stolen Valor Act.

Civilian and military authorities are looking into whether Yetman sought or received military discounts while at the mall on Black Friday or if he violated a state law that forbids the unauthorized wearing of military decorations.

Falsely claiming to be a member of the military is not illegal, but under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, it’s against federal law for an individual to fraudulently portray him or herself as a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property or other “tangible” benefit.

Surplus military uniforms, fatigues and other items, including badges, are available for sale in Army Navy stores, and online. But Nurnberg said that if a military service member wants to give away a uniform, he or she must remove the “U.S. Army” identification badge above the left pocket. That identification marker appears on the uniform Yetman is wearing in the YouTube video, he added.

Under Pennsylvania law it is a summary offense to wear a uniform, decoration insignia or other distinctive emblems of any branch of the armed forces of the United States for the purpose of obtaining aid, profit or while soliciting contributions or subscriptions. It is also a summary offense to, without authority, knowingly wear, exhibit, display or use for any purpose any military or veteran insignia.

Also, it is a third-degree misdemeanor in the state if a person, without authority, purchases, sells, offers for sale or accepts as a "pledge or pawn," any medal, insignia or decoration granted for service in the armed forces.

On Wednesday, Bucks County's chief of prosecutions, Matt Weintraub, said that in order to pursue the misdemeanor offense involving military decorations, authorities would need to prove that Yetman purchased the CIB badges in Pennsylvania and without authority.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pa-fake-army-ranger-impersonated-cop-in-2003-20141203-story.html#page=1

**jasper76**

Why are you questioning my integrity?

And no offense, but I learned well more about integrity from my family than the military could ever teach me.

That additional information about the police uniform makes me suspect even more that this Yetman guy had serious psychological problems, and needs help, which I hope he gets. Maybe its easier to gak all over him as a jackass worthy of this public ridicule campaign, but I cannot do so. It is not within me to join the choir.

**hotsauceman1**

jasper76 wrote:

And no offense, but I learned well more about integrity from my family than the military could ever teach me.

That is another thing I will like to address.
Being in the military does not automatically make you a great person or have integrity.
I have met some real donkey-caves who are in the military. Like, They shouldnt represent anything donkey-caves.

**jasper76**

Yep. Anyone who has been in the military knows it is peopled by both admirable and unadmirable characters, just like everywhere else. There is no magic that eliminates your character flaws by putting on a uniform.

**Jihadin**

Stop assuming I question YOUR integrity. You are defending a guy who took advantage of the uniform for personal gain for that individual has no integrity. Would you slap on a current naval uniform and portray yourself as a Combat Veteran like Yetman did? I highly doubt it. Now tell me why you wouldn't do it and who did you learn that from. I'm Army your Navy. Two different environments for NCO's but I've a feeling you know where I am going with this. If not then there's no point in this discussion.

BTW
They are pressing charges on Yetman for the auto discount he received while wearing the uniform.

**d-usa**

Nobody has defended the guy, if that is what you are reading then it may be time to step away from the thread...

**jasper76**

@Jihadin: Great...now you are dumping on the United States Navy. Whatever. My self esteem is comprised absolutely 0% by my time in the Navy. It was a job which I volunteered for, and for which I was paid.

I've said before that if this guy was wearing the uniform just to gets sales, that's pretty low. However, getting 5% off at JC Pennys or whatever isn't exactly Auschwitz.

All I'll ask is that you imagine the possibility that Yetman might be a very sad and lonely individual seeking to get some kind of positive attention in this grim world before you light your torch and join the mob.

**Ouze**

jasper76 wrote:
I've said before that if this guy was wearing the uniform just to gets sales, that's pretty low. However, getting 5% off at JC Pennys or whatever isn't exactly Auschwitz.

No, of course not. But if indeed he asked for, and received a veteran discount, as some of the reporting has said - and what got the attention of the person who did the recording - I personally still feel he should be prosecuted. I think it's a pretty crappy thing to do - our armed forces are asked to put their lives on the line all for the promise of poor money and lousy physical and mental care if they do get injured, worse job prospects, and so on, and have this dude unjustly enrich himself to one of the few perks - it's pretty crappy.

I agree with you the guy who taped it seems like maybe he has some anger issues, though, especially at the end there where he clearly is losing it.

But you know what was the craziest part of this video to me? That the dude stood there, being questioned and eventually berated. Why not just walk the hell away, right off the bat? I mean he has to know where this is going, right?

Anyway, he might face charges after all. There have also been some other consequences for him.

Man at center of Stolen Valor case once impersonated dead cop

A man purporting to be an Army Ranger at Oxford Valley Mall in Bucks County was confronted by a soldier who called him out for Stolen Valor.
By Jo Ciavaglia,

Last week, he was wearing Army fatigues at the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown when he was confronted by an Army veteran who suspected that the man never served in the military. The veteran of Afghanistan who lives in Northampton Township, Bucks County, posted the video of the confrontation on YouTube and it has since generated more than 2.8 million views and incensed military families nationwide.

Back in 2003, his uniform of choice was a police coat.

The now 30-year-old Sean Yetman was arrested while wearing the coat of a Philadelphia officer who died in the line of duty. He pleaded guilty in Bucks County Court in May of that year to impersonating a public servant, a second-degree misdemeanor. He was sentenced to three months of probation for that crime along with a summary offense of driving with a suspended or revoked license, according to online court records.

Stolen Valor Happens More Than You Think
Meeting a decorated veteran is a big honor. But what if those medals and ribbons are fake. Stolen Valor happens more than you think.
Yetman was arrested after being stopped on North Main Street in Doylestown during a routine traffic safety checkpoint while wearing the coat and displaying a Philadelphia police badge, according to court records obtained by Calkins Media. Both items belonged to the late Robert Hays, who was killed in the line of duty in 1995, the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed.

Yetman told the Doylestown officers that he worked out of the city's 26th District in Fishtown, but then added that he was in the police academy and working in the 26th as a drive-along, court documents show. The police coat, he said, belonged to his uncle.

He was unable to produce a valid driver’s license or any other identification to verify that he was a Philadelphia police officer, Doylestown officers said. They found out that Yetman had a Pennsylvania Identification Card, which came back showing his driver's license had been suspended, officers said.

Doylestown police later spoke with Hays' widow, who said that she had given her son one of her husband’s coats and badges after his death. She also said her son knew Yetman through his girlfriend, according to the court records.

“She said she did not know how Yetman had come into possession of the jacket and the badge,” police said.

A woman who answered the door of Yetman's house on Saturday claimed that Yetman had a military background but declined to provide details. She said the family had no comment on the issue. Phone numbers listed under Yetman's name have been disconnected and his Facebook account was taken down Saturday.

According to a story in the "Army Times," Yetman's fiancee said in an email that "the blow-back to Yetman and his family has been vicious."

The newspaper reported that the woman said Yetman has lost his job.

"We are now hearing death threats. All of this has us concerned for our children and their safety," she wrote, according to the Army Times. "He is a good man with a very big heart and this backlash has spiraled him into a deep depression."

In the YouTube video that went viral and was shot on Black Friday, Yetman tells veteran Ryan Berk, who was a sergeant while serving in Afghanistan, that he is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Rangers and claims he recently returned from Fort Lewis, Washington, which is the base for the 75th Ranger Regiment, 2nd Battalion.

Yetman doesn't appear in the U.S. Army's database, according to retired Col. Richard Nurnberg, the executive director of the National Infantry Association at Fort Benning, Georgia. That means he is not active duty or recently retired. The database covers reservists as well as Army Rangers, an elite special operations unit.

Yetman's name also was not found in any database of Army members who have undergone Ranger training at Fort Benning, according to Nurnberg.

He added that a misdemeanor conviction, such as impersonating a police officer, would not keep someone out of the Army.

During the 3-minute, 26-second video, Berk becomes furious with Yetman for wearing the uniform without ever having served. Berk suspected Yetman was not a soldier because elements of his uniform didn't appear correct and he had trouble answering some basic military service questions, including how he received the three Combat Infantrymen Badges he wore, Berk added.

Berk, who was awarded a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Afghanistan, told Yetman that he would need to be in three different campaigns. Yetman responded that one badge was for service in Iraq and the others for different tours of Afghanistan.

But military authorities, including the National Infantry Association, confirmed that only one CIB would be awarded for service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and/or Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn).

Middletown police and a U.S. Army investigator are reviewing all available video footage to determine if a crime was committed by Yetman while wearing the uniform.

U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8, who represents Bucks County sent a letter to Philadelphia-area U.S. attorney Zane Memeger on Monday, notifying him that the video could “possibly” contain evidence of a federal crime under the Stolen Valor Act.

Civilian and military authorities are looking into whether Yetman sought or received military discounts while at the mall on Black Friday or if he violated a state law that forbids the unauthorized wearing of military decorations.

Falsely claiming to be a member of the military is not illegal, but under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, it’s against federal law for an individual to fraudulently portray him or herself as a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property or other “tangible” benefit.

Surplus military uniforms, fatigues and other items, including badges, are available for sale in Army Navy stores, and online. But Nurnberg said that if a military service member wants to give away a uniform, he or she must remove the “U.S. Army” identification badge above the left pocket. That identification marker appears on the uniform Yetman is wearing in the YouTube video, he added.

Under Pennsylvania law it is a summary offense to wear a uniform, decoration insignia or other distinctive emblems of any branch of the armed forces of the United States for the purpose of obtaining aid, profit or while soliciting contributions or subscriptions. It is also a summary offense to, without authority, knowingly wear, exhibit, display or use for any purpose any military or veteran insignia.

Also, it is a third-degree misdemeanor in the state if a person, without authority, purchases, sells, offers for sale or accepts as a "pledge or pawn," any medal, insignia or decoration granted for service in the armed forces.

On Wednesday, Bucks County's chief of prosecutions, Matt Weintraub, said that in order to pursue the misdemeanor offense involving military decorations, authorities would need to prove that Yetman purchased the CIB badges in Pennsylvania and without authority.

source

I italicized that sentence because it's not true. I googled the section of the PA code that covers it. The previous sentence is accurate. I suspect the italicised sentence was supposed to be removed and was just sloppy editing, but the rule as always is it's legal to play dress-up, the line is when you try to gain something tangible.

**hotsauceman1**

Ofcoure, or else those cop strippers we order t the dorms should be arrested.

**Hordini**

I find it a little bit concerning that when a veteran gets angry and confronts an obvious faker for stolen valor, that some posters just assume he has PTSD.

**jasper76**

Yeah, Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that (although I do suspect it...he lost friends, and was himself injured...it would be unusual if he did not have PTSD under those circumstances). Anyways, I was just trying to explain why he might have let himself get so angry over such trivia.

Anyways, he's clearly not Captain Hero in this interchange.
He lies, uses horrible language in front of his child, uses his kid as a tool for his own personal anger, and embarrasses his family by making a scene. PTSD? Who knows. Difficulty dealing with anger management? Check.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, I find this phrase "stolen valor" to be weird. Being present in a war or conflict does not imply valor. Wearing a uniform does not imply valor. It's a cheapening of the word, and IMO disrepects people who have received commendations for actual valor. Not everyone in the military is brave in the face of actual danger, and not everyone in the military has performed valorous acts.

Let's call it what it is: impersonating a soldier.

**Ouze**

But how we will fetishize the military if we don't pretend every private is Audie Murphy?

**d-usa**

I think "Stolen Valor" is stupid since it seems to imply that CptJake now has less valor because this guy got a uniform of the internet and used it to save 5% of his purchase.

Nothing that guy did "steals" any valor from real soldiers or veterans.

**jasper76**

Yeah...valor is not something you can steal.

"How did you become so valorous?"

"It was easy. I just stole some valor from that guy over there when he wasn't looking. Now he doesn't have it, but I do."

Nonsensical.

**Ouze**

d-usa wrote:
I think "Stolen Valor" is stupid since it seems to imply that CptJake now has less valor because this guy got a uniform of the internet and used it to save 5% of his purchase.

D, You don't know anything. Every time a military member gets enough xp to level up - that works in the other way, too. It's a finite pool, man. Every time someone does what this guy does, the actual military members lose some XP - so CptJake (for example) is in very real danger of again becoming 1LTJake.

Ninja'd!

**d-usa**

Ouze wrote:
d-usa wrote:
I think "Stolen Valor" is stupid since it seems to imply that CptJake now has less valor because this guy got a uniform of the internet and used it to save 5% of his purchase.

D, You don't know anything. Every time a military member gets enough xp to level up - that works in the other way, too. It's a finite pool, man. Every time someone does what this guy does, the actual military members lose some XP - so CptJake (for example) is in very real danger of again becoming 1LTJake.

Ninja'd!

So it's like WoW, where I'm doing a Warrior Quest and some Rogue is killing all the enemies and looting their corpses? He's not even a Warrior, what's he doing on my quest? Stealing Warrior XP?

**Hordini**

It's more like Call of Duty, actually.

**CptJake**

d-usa wrote:
I think "Stolen Valor" is stupid since it seems to imply that CptJake now has less valor because this guy got a uniform of the internet and used it to save 5% of his purchase.

I never had valor. I'm scared of heights, 'little people', spiders, thunder storms, snakes, power tools, deep water, the dark, asking out girls, clowns (but who isn't?), any type of conflict, and once pooped myself when I heard a loud noise.

**d-usa**

CptJake wrote:
d-usa wrote:
I think "Stolen Valor" is stupid since it seems to imply that CptJake now has less valor because this guy got a uniform of the internet and used it to save 5% of his purchase.

I never had valor. I'm scared of heights, 'little people', spiders, thunder storms, snakes, power tools, deep water, the dark, asking out girls, clowns (but who isn't?), any type of conflict, and once pooped myself when I heard a loud noise.

Sounds like an officer

**Ensis Ferrae**

jasper76 wrote:
Yeah, Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that (although I do suspect it...he lost friends, and was himself injured...it would be unusual if he did not have PTSD under those circumstances). Anyways, I was just trying to explain why he might have let himself get so angry over such trivia.

It's one thing that I've noticed about many Vets who have served around me, that they take extreme pride in the uniform and its proper wear, and how it "represents" all the dead who have served previously, etc.

Hell, I had a 1sg in actual tears, chewing out soldiers at a Class-A uniform re-inspection, because he had lost a number of close friends in Iraq and even previous engagements (he was a 1sg, he'd been around since Desert Storm at least)

So, to me, I can envision many circumstances where a guy's emotional response is much greater than would otherwise be "normal" for that situation without it being PTSD.