Having completed my spirit walk/vision quest, I now return to blogging.
Every six months, give or take, we learn of some minor (or major) gun world personality who has exaggerated, inflated, or outright invented a history of military service in an attempt to make money, gain influence, or further their career. Inevitably, three groups of people form in response:
– Those who never cared for anything the person in question had to say;
– Those who are outraged at the thought of stolen valor;
– Those who think it wasn’t a big deal and that the person has positive traits which mean their tall tales can, or should, be overlooked.
With the increasing lionization of military members in the post-9/11 era, it was probably to be expected that military service would eventually become even more of a selling point in certain circles. There are a lot of people who didn’t join the military but wish they had, especially in the gun world. They look at military members and veterans with varying degrees of envy, adoration, and respect, but also resentment and distaste.
It is this latter group, I think, which forms the bulk of the military fakers. They were unable to join, to complete their basic training, they didn’t have time, etc. – but they see praise being lavished on those who did go through with it and their resentment grows to the point that they think they will only succeed if they pretend to be a member of the elite. They don’t see that there was honor in their attempt to join the military, and that no one would have questioned their integrity if they just said something like “I didn’t make it through boot camp because of a medical condition, but I still love my country and I like to shoot guns. Watch my videos!”
It is the former group of non-veterans which becomes their fans. The more adoration one has for the military and its members, the more likely one is to swallow a load of crap. Adoration intensifies to the point that even when the story is revealed to be false, a significant number have stopped caring about the specifics of military service and have transferred their hero worship directly to the individual in question. These are the diehard fans – the ones who will encourage the faker to continue their work despite “the haters.” They will try to explain away the stories as “not a big deal.”
There are several recent examples to discuss. The most notable is Cory of Range Time, or Cory07ink as he is known on YouTube. He appears with “Erika,” and the duo are often referred to as “Cory and Erika.” For those who don’t know, Cory recently had some issues with…bad publicity. Long story short, he claimed to have been honorably discharged from the Army when in fact he went AWOL before completing his training.
A more recent case is that of “Amy Jane,” a woman who sought to work in the gun industry (and saw moderate success in her brief efforts) based on having been a Marine, but then it came out that she had never graduated basic training and received a medical discharge. This apparently left some people with egg on their faces.
How do these things happen? It comes down to two basic steps.
Step One – Build a Background, But Slowly
This is where the nuances of storytelling are important. Rather than lump all of his eggs into one easily verifiable basket, the Cory and Erika Show planted the seeds of a complicated and decent background in various places until a respectable legend had emerged. Just as with creating a fake identity, these things are best done over time – if someone appears out of nowhere with a fancy video claiming to be a SEAL, they can be exposed as a fraud in a matter of hours. But when the claims are limited to being an Army infantryman who served overseas, and these claims are made over time and in a less obvious manner, the average person’s motivation to research them is lessened.
So it was that Cory built a business and a large YouTube following due in no small part to his false background stories. The other reason he came to prominence – rather, they came to prominence – is that they were not shy about marketing their videos with the use of Erika’s “assets.”
As I stated previously, military service has become a selling point to some – and Cory used his military background the same way he used Erika’s body, to attract men who should have known better. In all likelihood, he didn’t see a difference between lying about his military background and Erika’s body – they were just things he could use to advance his career.
Step Two – Apologize (Sort Of), Redirect
In almost every one of these cases, there is an apology of sorts – Cory’s was rather pathetic and came only after a series of denials and attempts to shift blame – followed by an attempt to redirect attention to the “good” things about the person or what they have done, such as, in Cory’s case, essentially “try really hard to learn from different people about being a good instructor.”
The most rabid fans, the ones who have gone past the military adoration to the personal adoration stage, eagerly accept the suggestion and proceed to attack those who take issue with the liars.
This is when we see the “it’s not a big deal” arguments, or in the case of Amy Jane, the leghumpers and Captain Saveahos come out of the woodwork with encouragement for the damsel in distress. It helps when other personalities such as James Yeager go to bat for people like Cory – and since Yeager has a large following of people willing to overlook a lack of background, Cory’s salvation was virtually assured. In Amy Jane’s case, her looks guaranteed a certain number of desperate, unattractive men willing to reassure her that they were behind her.
Why You Shouldn’t Support Military Fakers
Here is the crux of my argument – why you should no longer give these people your time, money, or attention.
Military service is not incredibly difficult to achieve in all its forms, but for some it is an impossibility. Some are physically/medically unable to join and some don’t feel they have the time or are unwilling to set aside other goals, such as education or family, to join. And most, if not almost all, of these people are honorable and in no way inferior to those who joined the military.
But when someone joins the military, they are in essence saying that they are willing to put aside their personal life for the greater good – that they are willing to serve the public at the risk of their life. Yes, volunteering to join the military has many benefits, and some join solely for those benefits, but it has many drawbacks as well. Constant deployment and training cycles cause stress and family hardship on a level with few equivalents in the civilian world (at the same time, certain aspects of military life are infinitely easier than those of civilian life, but I’m getting off topic).
When someone fakes or exaggerates military service, they not only want you to see them as a hero – for many Americans see all servicemembers as heroes – but they want you to see them as a fundamentally different person at their core than they really are. Rather than being a human with flaws, as we all are, who set aside other aspects of their life to serve their country, they are essentially lazy and untrustworthy people.
They had a choice between honesty and hard work and dishonesty and the easy path of just telling a lie, and they chose the latter. Having a military background is not a requirement for success in the gun industry. Many competition shooters have no military background, and yet they are as in demand, if not more than, military shooters when it comes to firearms instruction or sponsorship deals. But being a good competition shooter requires a lot of hard work and dedication. And that’s simply not something people like Cory or Amy Jane are willing to do.
Nor were they willing to spend months, years, or decades in the service of their country instead of the service of themselves, wrongly feeding their reputation with every story of military heroism that Americans associate with every member of the military. The men and women Cory and Amy Jane were taking advantage of couldn’t compete with the years-long process of building a successful business or brand in this industry, because they were overseas or in training or spending some of their precious little free time with their family.
The fakers and their acolytes will contend that they have worked hard to get where they are, but repeating a lie long enough that they believe it to be true while networking at SHOT and the gun range isn’t hard work – it’s fundamentally dishonest and lacking in the sort of fortitude and moral fiber one traditionally expects in a role model, especially an armed role model.
From taking gun safety seriously at all times to protecting their home and family before expecting others to do so, people in the gun world, and gun owners in general, put a lot of emphasis on personal responsibility.
I wish these people no ill will and hope they find work as something other than a firearms instructor or gun TV show host, but I don’t feel that they have a place in a field where a sense of honor is, or should be, at the core of everyone’s soul.
Excellent points. If an instructor can’t tell the truth to their students about their background, I suspect that’s not the only lie being promulgated.
I did armed civilian search and rescue as a KVCT[kanawha valley communications team]member. Unit-14 was my number. I never served in the military, however. What is even worse are those whom give dangerous home defense advice, often through sheer ignorance. Among the deadliest examples is ‘All you need’.
An 88 pound asthmatic does not need to be told to get a .12 gauge for home defense. Ditto for the very young, the disabled, and the elderly, too. They would be better served by a pistol caliber carbine like the Keltec Sub2000 or Beretta Storm. Yet the wailing and gnashing of teeth among the shotgun worshippers is beyond all logical comprehension. A tool must usable by the user, else it is worthless. God bless our servicemen, women, and animals and their families, too.
Yes this is true. I am a stuntwoman for over 15 years and Amy Jane was hired on a Blindspot PROMO not the tv series to do a hand insert with a gun. Amy states she IS her stunt dbl. I am friends with Jamie Alexander and her stunt dbl and Amy Jane never has done 1 stunt for her. She also states she worked as a stunt woman on Sons of Anarchy. I worked on all the seasons of SOA and Amy Jane was on the last episode hired as an extra. Everyone has called her out on this even the producers of BLINDSPOT told her she needed to take down her article stating all these lies. Which she did take down. She has since changed her FB page to say hand dbl but it is still mis leading to further her career. She is a hoax and flat out liar and a joke to the stunt industry after all this surfaced about her so called stunt work. Why cant people be honest and take credit for what they actually do in life.
Thanks for the comment. Sounds like you have a really interesting job.
It’s a Presidential Unit Citation, for what the regiment did in Normandy.
That’s right Andrew, YOU WEREN’T THERE.
WTF are you even talking about?
Seriously?? Band of brothers
LOL what? Did someone mention Normandy?
Shit, Cobb, you didn’t fight in Normandy, neither.
I got hit in the plane before I got a chance to jump.
Great post, welcome back.
Well said. The most striking thing about Cory is that I truly believe that his military service was completely incidental to his persona and success. Although he probably didn’t realize it, or Mistakenly believed he needed to embellish on his military background, I am of the impression that had he just kept his mouth shut about it all, never mentioning anything of his brief stint, he wouldn’t have been looked at by most of his followers any differently. Instead his ego effectively became greedy, he reached and essentially destroyed something good that most people only dream of, being able to make a living from your passions. But now he has shown his true colors, and those I do not want anything to do with.
Cheers
That’s the rub. This is a sure sign of a pathological liar – they cannot help themselves. So instead of quitting while they are ahead they keep piling on the cow dung.
I am always disgusted by these fakers because I did not find my training and service all that easy. There were times when I did not think I would be able to complete my training and even wondered if the Honorable Discharge was worth the effort.
I earned every ribbon, every medal, every certificate and every DD Form 214 I have (3).
Well stated.
Amen…
+1
Honestly I had never even heard he was in the military when all this happened. I thought his show was based off showing off Erica and shooting (and it seemed like it was enough too).
I was surprised when the whole stolen valor thing came out, but then again I never really followed him that much.
Too bad. He got greedy and shot himself in the foot.
Cory Jackson handles a firearm about as well as anyone I have ever seen. If he can help me attain that level of martial gun handling, then I am all for it. I did not start watching his videos for his military, or lack of, background. Watched a few more to see that cutie Erika but if you think it was her assets and not the gun information that kept me there then you don’t understand that the internet has many more hot girls to admire if that is the goal. I’m not saying he is totally honorable. But to say his success is based on a lie is just as dishonest. I had no idea he ever enlisted until guys like you pointed it out.
Here’s the deal. What Cory teaches is no different and in fact in many instances is a direct copy of curriculum taught by many other instructors before him.
With that being said it all boils down to being a matter of character and choosing an instructor that has integrity.
Bottom line: Cory comes up short in the integrity department.
I was watching there channel mainly for Erica and could have cared less about his military background I wonder if she knew it all was a lie
Solid article. Glad you are back. I will never understand the kind of people that placate those out right liers. I never joined the military, and never plan to, or in hindsight would, but I have a massive amount of respect to anyone one that even tried to get into the military. If they didn’t make it at least they took the step of trying. It’s more than I ever did. Like you said its respectable in in of its self. Just own up to it if you plan on being in the spot light.
Welcome back.
If they lie about their military service record, they have no problem lying about little things.
or just everything else!
In, and of itself. Geez I can’t type.
Missed your writing. Glad to see you back.
What Tam said, you’ve been missed.
I watched Cory and Erika from the start of their channel and am entertained by them. I didn’t even know he claimed that he was in the military. I saw him as just another guy with a YouTube channel, that happened to have an attractive girlfriend that couldn’t shoot but was learning. Then they went on their “training tour”, they went to Tactical Response and I think Gunsite. They then opened a school, became “experts” and started teaching classes well above their skill level. That is when I started backing off. As a firearms instructor and former marine I don’t feel you need to have a military or law enforcement background to teach people to shoot or defend themselves. He could have achieved his goals by just being a regular guy that developed these skills and taught those skills to others. Instead he showed a lack of integrity , having integrity is more important than having a DD214.
I agree 100% with you, i’m a retired IDF sargeant, i live in Argentina and i teach KAPAP/Krav Maga. The head of the organization that i belong to is a civilian that instruct people of the forces (all kind), and he always claimed to be a civilian and never been part of any force. He is exelent, and he is better than people who claim to teach thee same things and belongs to the army. People shoul stop caring about selling a story and more in learning and profesionalizing themselfs
Wait, I thought you were reviewing food now.
Agreed..but have you seen the latest cap about dipshit willis from soe……my god man
Very well written article. It’s difficult to address issues like this and stay classy at the same time. Well done. I am a YouTuber with a channel that it’s slowly growing. Up to 875 members right now. That said, I have wondered how some of these channels have seemingly exploded overnight. I think your deductions have shed some light on that mystery. I strive to maintain integrity in every aspect of my life and that includes my channel Rounds Down Range. I’ve spoken with several of the large GunTubers and am actually friends with one of the biggest names in our niche. What I have learned from those willing to share is to be honest, informative, and just have fun with it. If the channel blows up over time, great! If not, great! I think if I start getting greedy and more concerned about views and subscribership than I am about a true representation of who I am, I’ve “shot myself in the foot”.
Cory struck me as a tryhard cheesedick in the first video I watched, which was also the last video I watched. I found it funny to hear later that he was caught being one. Good to hear from you again.
Rick Taylor nice to meet ya I’m Richard Gozinya
It’s this simple: If you have a guy like James Yeager defending you in spite of the fact you were caught flat-out lying about serving in the US Military, you have major ethical and morality issues. Yeager is an idiot. Posers like him and others who adulate and praise him are equally idiots.
I fear for those who are receiving “instruction” from people like Yeager and Corey/Erika.
YouTube channels are fun and I like many other people enjoy many excellent channels. The minute a person starts however to put himself out there as some kind of “former military expert” it sets off an alert.
My channel is up to nearly 20,000 subscribers, which is peanuts compared to the big channels, but I simply try to shoot and talk about firearms and have a good time doing it.
I train at a professional DOD contractor who runs classes on the weekend for civilians.
Let’s leave the professional firearms instruction to the professionals.
Amsdorf is just a big an idiot as Yeager and Cory.
How do you Know Cory went AWOL during training? I’ve always seen a humble guy working hard.
And he’s worked with guys like Costa, Haley, and Avery. Never saw a reason not to like him.
Search “Cory Erika SOFREP” Pretty cut and dry. Cory has no integrity…especially since he used his girlfriends attractive body to garner Youtube subscriptions.
I regret not having served in the armed forces. I’ve been told by a few who have that it’s OK and there are other important ways to serve but the regret is still there. I hope there is room in the firearms community for honest guys and gals who support the 2nd amendment.
I never regreted not doing military service. Always a warrior, never a soldier. I see plenty of space for knowledgeable people, regardless of their backgrounds.
I was 4F and not subject to military service.
I did grow up visiting friends and relatives in VA hospitals, which tempered any desire to serve in the military.
When it comes to an instructor in ANY field integrity is a big fucking deal.
And when dealing with firearms and self defense which are life and death matters there’s no way in hell I’d take a course from someone like Cory even if he could shoot a 1″ 5 shot group offhand at 100 meters with a stock 1911.
I have never understood the asshats. Even worse though are the people who support them by taking their classes and buying their gear. Still amazed anyone takes a class from Yeager, Suarez, Front Site, etc…….ESPECIALLY when for the same price, and many times even cheaper, you can take a class from a legit Jedi Knight-Think Howe, Vickers, Gonzales etc. or an IPSC legend like Leatham. With guys like this at affordable prices why ever spend it on a faker?
Another aspect worth considering is if you ever do get in a violent confrontation do you want the prosecutor to bring up that you trained with XYZ who is a fake and has been sued for __________ or in the case of someone like Suarez was fired from his job as an officer due to fraud? I want my instructors to be good stand up guys not some crazed lunatic.
I’m one of those civilians who has put tons of time , money , and efforts into training and teaching. I never pretend to be, or have done, anything fabricated. Military service? Zero. Confirmed kills? Zero. One of my newer projects invokes kicking in some doors and busting heads if need be….know what? Haven’t had an opportunity. Frankly, Military service isn’t a key component to good instruction or knowledge. Just saw a.picture today of a respected individual in the industry teaching something I know for a fact has a preferable alternative. Handful of guys I teach and train with are ex-mil and I run rings around them. They listen to me because I respect their experience, they respect my knowledge and ability to eyeball and translate movements and technicalities.
Of all that, I have absolute confidence in my skills and absolute confidence in the training in have received from the individuals I sought out to train me. Some are 100% civilian like myself, others are legit bearded ninjas. Either way, I never presume to know.more than someone else. They say “derp”, I say “okay show me.”
You sound like a poser yourself…lol. You run rings around ex-mil? Yea, okay…maybe the POG’s of the military. Calm down, clown. I am sure you can perform all of your “combat proven” techniques here in the US but when another human being is shooting at you its a different story. Please just stop. Stop.
I think this was well said and got me thinking on a reasonable manner instead of the passionate (pissed off manner) many take to state why they feel that way about military posers. I myself was undecided about Corey until now because I did not know he was using it to further his career. It was only a matter of time before things caved in on his background. I also think it was a shame he felt he needed to do that because I personally gained some firearm knowledge from his videos in the past. But anyone who lies will loose respect from those lied to when found out.
Not taking anything away from law enforcement or those with military training but my personal experience has been that my favorite instructors were those with little to know military experience. As a matter of fact, the military customarily brings in civilian firearm instructors with no military experience to the tune of $25k per week. Stolen valor for profit or any other reason is silliness as is overpaying for lack luster training just because someone was an operator in the military. Just because one was a good operator doesn’t mean the are equally as good at instructing. Id rather learn from the ones they hire at top dollar. Food for thought. The best I’ve found is Len Baxley out of Texas although I’m sure there are others.
Which part of the military brings in civilian instructors? Just never heard of that. In the AF we had a whole sub-career field branched off of Security Forces, known as Combat Arms Training and Maintenance. They are the entirety of standard AF training in small arms. Now gate guards? They are routinely civilian/DoD at Army bases, but I have never met civilian firearms instructors at a military base. Some units may find some extra cash to send a few members to classes but usually the only civilian training military shooters get is what they pay for on their own time. We did some cross service training at a USMC shooting and CQB school. Civilian shooting instructors are certainly not routine.
One of the 3 gunners in Central Texas is an SF Major, I believe he’s taking classes at TAMU. He got into competition when his unit brought in multiple civilian trainers after a string of firefights in Sadr City. According to him, it’s not uncommon, at least at that level.
Great article!
I shut down a successful holster business because I felt I owed something to my country, so I enlisted. I am happy with my decision and wish others would follow….
So you don’t walk-about and have a vision about Cory and Erika? Or was it just Erika?
Just kidding man. Miss your commentary. Welcome back.
Don’t = went.
Here’s a thought that you seem to have overlooked. They probably wouldn’t have had to fake anything if it weren’t for the firearms industry being inherently hostile to anyone without police or military background. Let’s be honest if your just the average civilian it’s impossible to get a job in the firearms industry, you just can’t put your foot in the door. Do not take this as me excuseing what they have done. This is meerly an explanation.
I spent 8 years in the navy, submarines and we got to shoot the 45 maybe once or twice a year. Just being in the service does not lead to a proficiency in firearms.
I loved the comment about lionizing everyone in the service and that all are heroes, it is just not true. When I was in ,78 to 87, most of the guys hated it and we all complained to some extent.
Now we look back with nostalgia and only remember the fun times which were there.
I follow firearms guys that look like they know what they are doing, if they lie about being in the service they I would not look at them again.
Good write up and good page.
EXACTLY!
We surface sailors didn’t shoot that much either. Even when our jobs called for it, range time was rare. When I’m the best shot in the unit…… we NEED more training….
Second full paragraph: “With the increasing lionization of military members in the post-9/11 era…”
Reading is fundamental, jackass.
I never claim more than I am. I am a Vietnam ERA Veteran (Army). That means I served during that time but did not serve in Vietnam. I went through Basic & AIT but did not go. I speak at various Veteran’s functions and make a point to clarify that. Never fails, I get some well meaning folks who ask “What’s the big deal? Just go with the title ‘Vietnam Vet’. ” Doesn’t work that way. That’s why I want to rip the heads off of the liars & deceivers who claim military service when they did not serve. As for those who tried yet didn’t make it through training– fess up. You did what you could.
Welcome back!
And as a retired vet, thank you for the focus of this article.
Well done.
A couple of sayings come to mind:
1) The only thing you’ll ever truly own is your name so protect it.
2) A liar is just a lazy thief.
Good article; glad you’re back.
+10 points great read , and couldn’t agree more. Make more videos !!
Retired, 6 years Air Force STS.
The ability to perform or teach is not dependent on military/LEO experience. Similarly a lack of government service but a list of high profile courses taken is not a rubber stamp of performance and teaching ability.
I am troubled by anyone who feels the need to lie to advance financially or in stature (Cory/Amy). I am also troubled by those who are willing to overlook or downplay such acts of dishonesty (Yeager/SOE). I was entertained by the amount of guys on Facebook who thought a note of support would cause Amy Jane to ask them out on a date or those who signed up for a class with Cory and Erika to watch her shoot a rifle in the prone from behind with short-shorts on.
Corky awol Jackson is like Bieber to the would be warriors of youtube.
You should go a little bit farther. I read in the Atlantic that only 5% of the military staff sees combat at rifle range. So you may have a lot of fakers who were honorably discharged. From my experience you have the grunts and the rest are glorified DMV employees. So if you can’t find an instructor who had real combat experience and could give you a small glimpse of what it is (imagination has its limits) you may very well be better off with a civilian who is a good competitor. That’s because he or she will certainly spend much more time shooting than most of the soldiers in the military.
Not sure I’d go so far as “DMV” employees, but you are right on the point that just because you are prior military doesn’t mean you know jack about combat shooting. And while only about 5% ( I think it’s actually about 7%, but it depends on the semantics) are foot patrolling CIB wearing trigger squeezers, a lot of matches are won by support troops. Most of the instructors at the Army Marksmanship Unit are (a) among the best in the world, and (b) NOT combat vets.
My unsolicited advice to anyone thinking about paying a “prior military” instructor to train them is to ask some questions, like:
1) How long did you serve, and if it’s less than 20 years, why did you get out?
2) What was your MOS?
3) What are some units you were in?
4) Do you have in instructor ASI?
5) Are you certified by the AMU (for Army) or any other military marksmanship units?
6) Were you on any combat shooting teams?
7) What was your duty position?
8) Do you have any references?
Not an all inclusive list, and I’m not saying what the “right” answers are cause they will vary. Just take some notes and hit the internet to see if the units are real and what they tell you makes sense. Or ask a trusted prior service relative or friend. The BS’ers are generally easy to smoke out.
Oh- for me, anyone claiming to have been a SEAL is automatically stricken from consideration.
Good to see your back and good article.
Cory and Erika were people who were going to get someone killed well before this came out. He is a liar who needs to be actively denounced.
And fuck Yeager and Co.
I hear prison bitch is coming out with a new product this year. It’s a 10 inch long dildo with simulated venereal warts called prison cock. Rumer is that he tracked down the first guy to butt rape him and made a mold of his junk.
I’m not all that sure I want to be trained by ex-military to start with, fakers much less so. Reviewing the number of range accidents around the world the Police and Military top the list ! Lets get real we live in a high litigation society which in the end is not that bad, you screw up you pay the bills. I live in NZ and safety is a second hand joke , if you have an accident put the seat belt on so you don’t get a ticket !
Nothing in the post about whether or not the mentioned trainers were good at what they did, just that they lied about their military service to promote themselves. This does not necessarily disqualify someone as an incompetent trainer. If someone can teach you something that could save your life, that’s valuable instruction, no matter who is teaching it.
If someone if a good trainer, then why do they feel the need to falsify their qualifications?
Damn good article. I never went into the military. But you bet I have some real respect for those that did. It sickens me to see another man be a fraud and steal honor from a man that earned it. Throw the fakers away into jail. Thank you for bringing up captain save a ho. This is a big problem today in our culture where weak minded men will stand up for a woman and hand out a pussy pass to a chick thats out of line. “Maybe if I save here she will like me.” This white knighting culture promoted by Hollywood and weak fathers needs to stop.
Honest to God, I got no idea who these people are, except Yeager, and really can not understand the concept of being highly public whilst living a lie, except Yeager, (clearly his ego ‘splains a lot!). How anyone can think that they can run this kind of grift in the electronic age is beyond me.
And I am still waiting for that review of Parmanti Bros sammich! Get your narrow a$$ to Pittsburgh and eat some real food!!!! Oh, and checkout Ohio Ordnance’s updated BAR while you are out east here.
This has to be the best post I’ve read in a long time. You are so right on so many levels. Stolen valor is no joke. Any piece of beep that claims they have served to advance their career or on line image is a freaking joke. You wrote a great post here. I plan on sharing in on Facebook. You put a lot of thought into this and I dig it. Solid.
I am glad you are back!
I’m glad your back Andrew. Bookmarked!
I’ve never been military or LEO although in hindsight I wish I had joined when Reagan was elected and I was still young, but no regrets really. However this stolen valor business is pretty low.
I’m just an average guy who enjoys shooting, loading and learning a new gun system or shooting skill. Time and money for good training is scarce and I read more than YouTube for tips on shooting better. I’m sure I’m not the only one that would like to know a (time) efficient way to check up on instructors and gun scribblers before we waste our time or plunk down the hard earned dollars on pretenders.
Looking forward to more of your no BS posts Andrew.
All I am getting from this article is that no one trusts any instructors that post videos to Youtube. It seems to be the kiss of death. A lot of armchair generals here with no combat experience trying to punk out a bunch of other armchair generals with minimal at best combat experience. Hell, even the guys everyone looked up to at one time are catching it from all sides now. The Beard and Haley most notably. Haley has more time taking a dump in combat than 99% of the guys on these forums. I care not how well trained someone thinks they are, until he is proven on the 2 way range, he is not to be trusted. In 21 years and 7 legit combat tours I have seen the best trained guys lock up after initial contact with the enemy while the unit “dirtbag” who cant tie his own shoes continues to pump 40mm grenades into a house with baseball sized holes through both legs. The point is this, Costa – no combat, Cory – no combat, Rick Taylor – no combat, Howe – def combat, Vickers – combat, Haley – Youtube proof of combat. Guess who gets my money? The guys who know what the hell they are talking about.
“I care not how well trained someone thinks they are, until he is proven on the 2 way range, he is not to be trusted.”
Idk how reliable it is, but in 2011, it was reported that US troops fired 250,000 rounds per insurgent killed. If that’s true, then it would seem that a significant number of combat vets may not be “proven on the 2 way range”. How are we supposed to tell the difference between those who fought well and those who merely survived? How do we know that a particular trainer isn’t exaggerating his battlefield performance?
I think it makes more sense to take a class from a civilian with demonstrable abilities than a combat veteran with unverifiable experience. (Of course, the ideal trainer would have both skill and real world experience.)
“[…]I have seen the best trained guys lock up after initial contact[…]”
So in essence, a person can be taught skills and techniques, but not true personal strength. Again, this confirms my belief that it is important to find a good instructor with good knowledge & skills rather than one with ‘true grit’ but lesser abilities. The trainer can only teach us his knowledge, not his ‘warrior spirit’.
So many people here seem to be missing the point. It’s not about every one in the military being an operator or marksmanship expert or even about being able to teach people. It’s about the fact that people who lie about miltary service are not honest credible people. Cory may be a great firearms instructor but his lying about his service calls into question every other claim he makes. people who are qualified to do a job don’t need to lie about about their background to get respect. No matter what the job is.
I have seen another snake that is even worse. I have seen individuals that successfully join the military, then make their way into more known and respected combat groups specifically for enhancing their post military “cred”BUT they somehow manage to never get deployed with everyone else because of various medical issues etc. So in the end they get the “UNIT CITATION” (like the Band of Brothers reference mentioned earlier) and they get to sack swing in the reputation that others build by going into harms way, but they never actually make the real sacrifices. Then these individuals grow the beard, get the arm full of tats (because that is what it take to be an operator) and then start making money in the gun industry. Too many good people have made the sacrifice for these people to not get “outed”
Just got say, it’s good to see you back. I was getting worried that one of the few sane voices in the FA world has vaporized.
Check out these d bags
This was an amazing post. I am non military and don’t believe you need to be to be a great trainer. But to use fake Valor in anyway especially to gain wealth is an outrage and should be punished by law. I was a fan of Cory and enjoyed is training on youtube but this is the 2nt time iv heard of his fake Valor. I’m no longer a fan. I will be checking this blog regularly great information.
Thanks for getting back to your blog – you do good material and you’ve been missed.
I wonder how many folks who DON’T get upset about poseurs take much pride in their own line of work? I know some relatively impoverished folks – who do good, dirty work and enjoy it – who get outraged at such things, military or not. They take personal offense at fake cops, fake military, fake firefighters, fake anything, and I’m guessing because they take great pride in what THEY do and at some point have had to imagine how they’d deal with a fake farmer or fake logger. And yes, there are such things.
I’ve found from personal experience that you can be respected by guys from SEALs, Delta, Special Forces and PJs if you, too, are one who – although not military – are good at what you do and show it through your good work and humility. There is no substitute for a bit of pride in honest hard work no matter the field, and no stain so disagreeable as one from faking it.
Again, thanks for coming back.
I really thought this article was spot on. I love that you mentioned Amy Jane and all the suckers who tried to be her savior. It seems like her Stolen Valor got swept under the rug. Once she was caught she attempted to justify herself. Her letter explaining her actions was almost more insulting than her claiming the title of Marine, despite never graduating from boot camp. She is a superficial person who will lie to portray an image so long as she can profit from it. I sent her several emails trying to explain how offensive she has been to Marines who have earned the title. She never responded. When I came across your article a while back I sent her a link to it. Her response was typical of someone caught in a lie. Instead of trying to debate or explain herself, she resorted to the petty insult of telling me that I have no life. She’s worthless just like all the other valor thieves.
This is ana amazing article. I am actually a special operations instructor for a 3day bootcamp. No i have never served in the military ever. Couldnt pass doctors physical. But i have been trained in so many ways. Gives me the experience as a contractor to train. Wish i was able to go all the way. Some things just are not meant to be. But i will say. Thank you to all that have served. Also to all the contactors that are not ever heard of. Again great article.
from last month, Amy Jane STILL talks about her service in the Marines in this video from the Washington Times — http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/4/amy-jane-why-girls-should-get-guns/
pretty mediocre shooting, also.
Amy Jane is at it again http://www.examiner.com/article/amy-jane-lies-about-being-stunt-double-on-nbc-s-new-show-blindspot
Amy Jane is at it again… http://www.examiner.com/article/amy-jane-lies-about-being-stunt-double-on-nbc-s-new-show-blindspot
Thank you so much for taking the time you did putting this together. I certainly appreciate it and suspect many similarly situated do as well. Semper Fi!!
Andrew,
I came across your blog and this article when looking at fakers who perpetrate and profit from backgrounds they fabricated and did not earn. Having been in the military for over 27 years and counting and with 13 years of law enforcement experience I want to bring the truth to the shooting industry. I am not much to look at so no calendar shoots for me but what I do offer is real world experience and honesty. Your article hit home with everything I feel.
Greg (AfghanVet)
Great point. I have no use for cory, but I would like to use Erika