|
WINNEN was wearing a black beret w/Seal emblem as where the flash would
be. Claims he was with the Cleveland reserve Navy SEAL.
He went to Pannama. Moreover, he claimed to be SF while in Nam and
was wounded twice/purple heart? He said that he was a retired Lt.
Commander Navy and put in 30 years. He just couldn't take it anymore
and got out. There was to much time away from the family...
  
SERVED ARMY
July 20, 1966 - July 17, 1970
Discharged a SP5
Graduate of Cryptologic School
Vietnam - 6 July 68 - Traffic Analyst - 22 Feb 69
---------------------------------------------------
Dear POW Network,
Please pass this
information along in response to the inquiry regarding Mr. DONALD
WINNIN/WINNEN.
I greatly
appreciate your interest in upholding the honor of the US Navy SEAL Teams,
and your search for the TRUTH. Before answering your questions I must make
clear that I am a private individual, not affiliated with the US Dept. of
Defense or any other government organization. My efforts to expose SEAL
imposters are performed as a service to the public, and in honor of my SEAL
Teammates who gave their lives in service to our nation… men who truly
earned the right to the title “US NAVY SEAL” but who are no longer able
to stand forward in defense of their honor, their reputations, and their
TEAMs.
If
the name you provided is spelled correctly, I do NOT
find a listing in the SEAL Database (end of WWII to the Present Day) for
anyone named DONALD WINNIN/WINNEN.
I have also examined possible alternate spellings, and names with similar
pronunciations without finding any that appear to be applicable. There are
no entries in the SEAL Database for anyone with the last name WINNIN/WINNEN.
There is a single entry for a man named WINANS – an enlisted man who
completed BUD/S training only a couple of years ago but did not complete the
secondary training needed to become SEAL credentialed – and an officer
named WINANT who completed training in the late 60s. Neither of those two
men has either a first or middle name “DONALD”.
Unless
he has undertaken the unlikely action of a legal name change (an action for
which there would be evidence in the form of court documentation) since his
claimed attendance at BUD/S training, and based upon the information you
have provided, I can state conclusively
that DONALD WINNIN/WINNEN has NEVER COMPLETED SEAL training, and he
is not now, nor was he ever a Navy SEAL or a Navy UDT “Frogman”.
When members of
the Naval Special Warfare community meet others who claim similar service,
but whom they do not recognize, there is a conversational exchange of
information that establishes the bona fides of each to the other. There is
no set formula for this exchange, nor for the information that is exchanged,
but it ALWAYS takes place, and the REAL Naval Special Warfare members can
ALWAYS spot a phony as a result of this exchange. If Mr. WINNIN/WINNEN
persists in insisting that his SEAL claims are legitimate, I might
suggest that you ask him these questions:
(1) Since there
is no listing in the SEAL Database for the name you are currently using, WHAT
NAME DID YOU USE during SEAL training?
(2) What was his
BUD/S Class Number? (NB: No
SEAL ever forgets the class number he shouted all day long, every day, for 6
months)?
(3) Where
did his training take place? (NB: Training has been conducted at several
locations over the years; different portions in different places)?
(4) When
did he graduate from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training?
(i.e. a specific graduation DATE)?
(5) When
did he enter the US Navy (a specific month and year)?
(6) When
did he leave the US Navy (a specific month and year)?
(7) What
was his Naval Enlisted Classification code –NEC– or Naval Officer Billet
Code – NOBC?
There
are many other questions which could be asked to further establish the level
of veracity or untruth regarding his claims, such as asking for the names of
other members of his graduating class, but those basic questions are
absolutes. The answers to those
questions are totally UNCLASSIFIED, and every real SEAL will gladly provide
that substantiating information upon request.
I might suggest
that you also ask Mr. WINNIN/WINNEN
to specifically identify WHICH SEAL Team(s) he served on, and when. I am
in direct contact with several hundred of my SEAL Teammates whose collective
experience covers virtually all time periods from the Korean War to the
present; I can quickly contact those individuals to verify any specific
names, events, or other claims offered by Mr. WINNIN/WINNEN.
If he feels that his name has somehow been mistakenly omitted from the SEAL
records, I’d be pleased to speak with him and hear details of his service
which would serve to validate his claims. The Director of the Naval Special
Warfare Archives – a close personal friend and SEAL Teammate – is only a
phone call away and standing by to amend the records if this is ever found
to be true. However, I estimate that I’ve made the same offer to more than
5,000 SEAL imposters in the last eight years, and none of them ever turned
out to be a valid SEAL.
Before
any classified operations may be undertaken as a SEAL Operator, a man must
first successfully complete the totally unclassified BUD/S Training program
and the follow-on secondary training program; the names of all those who
successfully graduate from that training program are compiled in the SEAL
database. Later participation in classified operations has no impact on
whether or not a person is listed as a graduate of the training program.
There are records of every man who has qualified for the title of
“SEAL”; there have been and will continue to be secret missions, but
there are NO secret SEALs… we know them all.
I
must also note that if the man’s claims of being awarded TWO PURPLE HEART
MEDALS are not substantiated by US archival records, then he is in violation
of the STOLEN VALOR ACT of 2005 and potentially subject to prosecution under
federal law. Each count upon which he is found guilty would carry a maximum
penalty of $100,000 in fines and 1 year in federal prison. That black beret
with the SEAL Trident and the associated story of two Purple Hearts is
starting to look like a mighty expensive breakfast ensemble.
The week-long
run-up to Veterans Day always seems to bring out a huge number of imposters,
wannabes, neverwases, and aggrandizers, most of whom find a way to wear what
amounts to a military Halloween costume in an attempt to draw praise and
admiration from others, and especially to draw attention from media
representatives. The important point to consider in this matter is that Mr. WINNIN/WINNEN
has presented you (and others) with false information. Whether his
motivation was purely self-aggrandizement and media attention for the
Veterans Day crowd, for employment purposes, monetary gain, increased social
status, “dating” opportunities, or just personal notoriety, it is clear
that his personal ethics have not prevented him making false statements
about his background. If the man’s personal ethics do not prevent
him from offering such a false statement about his background, you must ask
yourself what other false statements he might have made, or might be willing
to make. Thank you again for your concern in this matter, and for your
assistance in upholding the honor of the US Navy SEAL Teams. If I can be of
any further assistance to you in this matter, please contact me at your
convenience.
Respectfully,
Steve
Robinson RM2(SEAL)
USN
1970-1978
SEAL Team ONE
Inshore Undersea Warfare Group ONE
Defense Analyst – Soviet Threat specialization 1981-1993
UDT-SEAL
Association - Member
POW Network Board of Directors
Naval Special Warfare Archives - SOF Analyst/Contributing Journalist
Disabled American Veterans - Life Member
FORMER Special Investigator - SEAL Authentication Team
CyberSEALs.org
- Webmaster
Author
- "NO
GUTS, NO GLORY - Unmasking Navy SEAL Imposters"
|
