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Verifying a veterans service

S

Sparktrician

Member
Ok....how might a person go about verifying a DD214? I have a employee who (in many many many areas) is not what what he led me to believe in the interview process and first few weeks of employment.

When I hired him, he supplied me a copy of his DD214 (discharge paperwork? I am unfamiliar) He was adamant that I needed to have this, fine I thought.

Fast forward....lots of things not lining up or flat out lies....wondering if this is too?

How can I verify this information?
 
That maybe hard to do since that is private info. You might if you have all his info call the V.A. and ask to make sure he is on the up and up. I'm not sure if I remember the number right but if I do it is 800-827-1000 and yes that is the right number I looked it up
 
(quoted from post at 12:11:11 03/05/18) Ok....how might a person go about verifying a DD214? I have a employee who (in many many many areas) is not what what he led me to believe in the interview process and first few weeks of employment.

When I hired him, he supplied me a copy of his DD214 (discharge paperwork? I am unfamiliar) He was adamant that I needed to have this, fine I thought.

Fast forward....lots of things not lining up or flat out lies....wondering if this is too?

How can I verify this information?
Click to expand...


Basically a DD214 will tell you several things.

A: that a person served, branch and dates of service.

B: Type of discharge. Honorable, General under honorable conditions, General, General less than honorable, Undesirable, Bad conduct and Dishonorable.

C: Reenlistment status but that a person has to know what that means. RE1 can reenlist, RE2 Can Reenlist but requires a local wavier RE3 Requires DOD level wavier and RE4, cannot reenlist.

D: initial point of entry and point of discharge

E: Military education.

There are a few other things but nothing real important.

Now there are a few things that a lot of people don't know and the kids who join get messed over because a lot of potential employers do know.

US Army Mechanic: They are parts changers. At the lowest level, company and battalion motor pool they can't even replace a blown head gasket. Things like engine/transmission overhauls are done a depot level by civilians. Guys trained as plumbers, electricians and HAV, heavy equipment, carpenters and such seldom get to work their jobs. In garrison civilians under the department of engineering and housing do all that type work on post. Electronics and computer repair are much the same.

So the employee may not be lying to you. They may well have served. But the branch idea of the work experience gained and what is actually learned may be 2 different things.

What has me asking questions is the employee insisting that you need a copy of the DD214. You as an employer may demand to see it as proof of training/service but there is no requirement for you to have it.

Rick
 
It is easy to spot a fake marine. They don't know certain facts that all Marines know like the birthplace and date of the forming of the Corps. Ask and you shall reveal.
 
The fact he insisted on giving you a copy of his DD214 means there's a good chance it's legit. Just not necessarily his!

Have you verified his identity in any way? If you can't prove he's the same guy whose name is on the DD214, then it's irrelevant whether the document is legitimate.
 
Sparky ...... have you ever talked to him about the possibility of his stuff being a bit bogus (considering his progress with you at work)? Why not try that, something might come of it?
 
What type of work are you doing? If with yer name it's electrician the individual may indeed be telling the truth. But if US Army may have little practical experience working on anything. Kinda like a kid right out of school except they have had 3 1/2 years to forget a bunch of stuff because they just didn't have the opportunity to use it.

Rick
 
I am a retired Battalion Motor SGT. A 214 is easy to fake. I retired in 1992 but I think things are pretty much still the same.

Ask him what his job title was. He should have no problem telling you. If he tells you it is classified that would be your first clue. It is true that what someone did maybe classified but their job title is not.No he is not required to give you his 214. You can accept it if you want. But not required.

The 214 is not discharge paperwork. It is a record of service. Everyone gets one. You can also contact the branch of service he was in. Ask for his file portion that they can release.The VA may also be able to help.If he tells you he was a Seal team member. Contact Don Shiply he is on you tube. He is a retired Seal and as access to Seal team records.

If he starts bragging about his military service. Then I would call him a fake. No true veteran bragg's about his service. We served did our job and that was it.
 
Quickest way to "out" a fake Marine is to ask him what his MOS was. Almost no civilians know what an MOS is, and the other branches that have MOS's don't know the Corp's numbering system.

I have a fellow County Commissioner who was/is a Marine. I'd give good money to see a copy of his DD214. We were both Airdales, and I have no doubt he's a Marine, but some things he's told me don't quite add up. Subtle things that only another Marine would pick up on. A profile he filled out on a web site show active duty from '76 to '78. How do you do less than 3 years active? Reserves, maybe?

Also, we recently had to call him out for losing his temper several times with our female county Highway Supt. Could a temper problem have caused an early exit from the Corps? I smacked him down bigtime over it. I was a Staff Sergeant and he was a Lance Corporal, and I seriously doubt that when he filed for Commissioner he realized he'd have a SNCO sitting at the same table.

We'll see what happens.
 
Yes, We are electrical. He is 53, been out a while....His level of experience is hard to tell....seems to get apprentices doing a lot, he is "teaching" and learning their abilities....he says (small red flag). A few things that were more technical (motor control) when he was is on his own with he seems to find reasons to put it off (red flag).

He says he was Navy Seal. Im not saying he wasnt....but there are many other things that dont add up....

He owned his own Co. for 10 years, and one of the supply houses he mentioned primarily using (10 man shop, so a bit of volume) is a shop I buy from too.....problem is they (supply house) has never heard of him...or his company....

Several other things didnt line up....I terminated him today.....Just couldnt shake this feeling about the guy....If I cant trust him...I cant trust him. My company is small....and Trust is paramount for me.

I had enough other reason to terminate him beyond the military service....it may be fact or not, but what caught me suspect was his description of Seal training was like spot on to the scenes in American Sniper.....Granted some things are probably the same....but his description was spot on scene for scene.....

Cant trust anyone it seems
 
I remember a guy who claimed to have rescued his buddy in Nam . A guy looks in his SRB and no Viet Nam . We all went to a wedding in dress blues once and he had no service medals from anything ,Viet Nam ,hero medals . Nope, I thought he was a wack job. Why lie to your buddies about a fake history .
 
I will say that I am 99.9% sure he is a fake. I know three Seals. They never talk about their service or training. You might get I was a seal and that is about it. Plus if the company he claims to have done business with. Has never heard of him. That should be another warning. I have six years Navy. Seventeen National Guard.

I am also a retired generator tech. Worked voltages from low to the megawatt units. Trust is something you must have. As you know one mistake can kill you.You must be able to trust everyone in your crew. I walked off many jobs because of people with hangovers,drugs or just being stupid. You made a good call.
 
I can understand the frustration, got one neighbor all he talks about is his military experience. My dad used to make fun of him; said after his 30 months the last thing he wanted was to talk military. Personally, I always look at the people and go "nope I didn't have to go" and I had a dairy farm, if I was going to do anything else at that time, it sure wasn't going to be where somebody yelled and griped worse than a cow.
 
I was not in the Army when you were or as long as you were, but, I did a whole lot of engine repair. Many valve jobs, few rings jobs, rebuilt tons of carburetors etc and brake jobs. Granted, when it came to transmissions , transfer cases and final drive in trucks, and clutches , we just replaced them with renewed or new units. I got a whole lot of good experience working on trucks that helped me get a job . A good share of the guys were not interested in tearing into something, but I was so I was assigned more of those jobs.

Our Battalion was building a road so it had heavy equipment to maintain, rock crushers and all. That was done in the other shop. We had one guy, (sparky) who welded onto the tracks from morning to night on the D8 Cats. No civilians within 1000 miles to do the repairs.

My MOS was Engine rebuild, but, that job was done in the US at Depot by civilians, so I was down graded so to speak to 2nd and 3rd echelon repairs. lst echelon was done by the drivers under our supervision. (fun to give company clerk a hard time and make him clean the batteries).
 
The only guys we talk military too, are other vets that we know and trust. The rest don't care and wouldn't understand a thing anyway. I wouldn't want to burden anyone else, even assuming they'd comprehend. If a guys runs at the mouth, he's bogus.
 
Most guys register their 214 with the county, then the county will make certified copies, with a embossed deal, impossible to forge and a legal copy. At least MN does it that way. It should be registered thru your Cty Svc Officer, who in turn verifies what you've given him, thus county certified are legit. W/o that, worthless piece of paper
 
(quoted from post at 20:43:44 03/05/18) Most guys register their 214 with the county, then the county will make certified copies, with a embossed deal, impossible to forge and a legal copy. At least MN does it that way. It should be registered thru your Cty Svc Officer, who in turn verifies what you've given him, thus county certified are legit. W/o that, worthless piece of paper
Click to expand...

"Register" with county??!??!?? Don't believe I've ever heard of that. However, have never really used my 214 while in MN. I've got 2 pages; 1 long and 1 short, as though the bottom was torn off and filed somewhere when I got out. Very thin paper! Wife has it filed away right now, so if I ever need it, she better be around! *lol*

Went to VA back in Houston and most likely had to show 214 then, or maybe just my military ID, which expired AGES ago! Keep that card in wallet though. Comes in handy at Home Depot and other places....for whenever we're near such places, anyhow. But no, have never heard of registering my 214 with the county. ...For all I know, we did when we moved up here, but if it didn't happen this week, I probably won't remember. *lol* I know I've been "asked" for it a couple of times, but don't remember anything about "registering" it.
 
After serving three years in Army, when I got released I had to register with the county service officer. I still had a five year obligation left as it was a eight year obligation back then. I was in inactive reserve for those five years and then received my official discharge papers. I had several copies of my DD 214 made when I was processed out of active service.

I still have some of them and have used some for various things over the years. None of them are stamped, certified as far as I know. Never had a problem with them. This is in Minnesota. I was free, freed at last. Then I had to find a way to make a living. No farm waiting for me as the older brother had one and brother in law had the other one. Another rude awakeing as jobs were tough to find. I took a temporary job at IH dealer until 37 years later I finished up at Deere. Never did find that good paying job with benefits.
 
I wouldn't necessarily trust a DD214 alone- there are just too many documents that are being forged these days (they say you can get enough docs to assume a new identity for about a hundred bucks). But I see you have canned him, so I guess its a moot point now.
 
(quoted from post at 17:50:16 03/05/18) I was not in the Army when you were or as long as you were, but, I did a whole lot of engine repair. Many valve jobs, few rings jobs, rebuilt tons of carburetors etc and brake jobs. Granted, when it came to transmissions , transfer cases and final drive in trucks, and clutches , we just replaced them with renewed or new units. I got a whole lot of good experience working on trucks that helped me get a job . A good share of the guys were not interested in tearing into something, but I was so I was assigned more of those jobs.

Our Battalion was building a road so it had heavy equipment to maintain, rock crushers and all. That was done in the other shop. We had one guy, (sparky) who welded onto the tracks from morning to night on the D8 Cats. No civilians within 1000 miles to do the repairs.

My MOS was Engine rebuild, but, that job was done in the US at Depot by civilians, so I was down graded so to speak to 2nd and 3rd echelon repairs. lst echelon was done by the drivers under our supervision. (fun to give company clerk a hard time and make him clean the batteries).
Click to expand...

99 time out of 100 in the Army the tech field job holders really don't get to do their jobs very often or at the same depth as their civilian counterpart. From the time I joined in 74 to the time I retired in 96 battalion level wheel vehicle mechanics were not allowed to change a head gasket. All they were allowed to do was swap components. Support mechanics had to do engine swaps. So a guy who became a wheel mech was qualified to be a mechanics helper as a civilian.

For the OP. Almost every US Government form can be filled out with a computer which means the forms can be found and downloaded. So a dishonest person would me able to get the form, fill in the blanks, get official numbers and job titles on line and claim to be the ground forces commander of Desert Storm......even if his name isn't stormn' Norman. The lengths some of these people will go to trying to claim vet status they never earned is amazing. Worst I've seen was guy who was in fact retired Navy. He wasn't a SEAL but would claim he was. He was a Master at Arms (cop). He did a tour in Viet Nam at a small base camp that had swift boats and a SEAL team. That's as close as he got.

Rick
 
mine shows it was "Recorded in Soldiers Discharge Book" bookxxx,pagexxx
by the county recorder (in PA), with a date.
 
(quoted from post at 19:46:51 03/05/18) Quickest way to "out" a fake Marine is to ask him what his MOS was. Almost no civilians know what an MOS is, and the other branches that have MOS's don't know the Corp's numbering system.
Click to expand...

I run into a lot of "Marines" that claim they either went to boot camp at some place that no one ever heard of, went to PI or SD but can't give Btn or Co, much less Platoon, refer to their Drill Instructors as "DI's" or, my favorite, never even went to boot camp because they were such natural born killers. It used to be some would claim to be USMC "Green Berets" or "Rangers", now they claim to either be USMC "Seals" or "snipers". Obviously the first 3 are total BS, but the Corps does use snipers. But it doesn't seem possible I could run into so many ReCon or Scout/Snipers that all want "a few bucks till payday" or a free drink. Leaves me PO'd.
 
When I retired and was ready to start drawing SS, I started looking for mine which I couldn't find. I think I went to the VA and ordered a copy. When my scheduled appointment at the SS office came up, the copy had not arrived and I headed off to their office empty handed, ready to explain my situation.

Having made an appointment, I walked into the office before the scheduled time, which was filled with all sorts of folks with different reasons for being there. I pulled up a chair and within 5 minutes a woman emerges from behind a door and calls my name. I follow her to her desk and she pulls up my personal information, on her computer screen, including a copy of my DD 214. Was very impressed with the whole thing, how well it was managed and the politeness of the clerk.

As scheduled, my SS checks were/are delivered electronically to my bank account and are as regular as clock work. Nice job SS Admin.
 
I know a Marine whom I asked what he did.
"Oh, I just had embassy duty." Was his reply.
He was in Saigon when we bailed. His job was loading people on the choppers. He was still at his post when they over ran the place, and he and his detachment hoofed it from Saigon to Thailand. While we were fighting that war we had a lot of kids who didn't want to go. Now they want to claim they went and were super heroes.
 
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