GARY M BRIGGS
03/2010
He claims to be from Seal Team 1, served 4 or 5 tours in Vietnam, 4 purple hearts and a bronze star.
03/17/2010
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.
Please
be aware that you are the second (2nd) person to inquire
about Mr. GARY M. BRIGGS
in the last week, and you are the fourth (4th) person to
report Mr. BRIGGS’
claims to me since September of 2007. Mr. GARY
MORRIS BRIGGS is a known SEAL imposter.
Here
is my formal statement of findings regarding your inquiry:
I
do NOT find a listing in
the SEAL Database (SEAL Teams and predecessor units from1943 to the
Present Day) for anyone named GARY M.
BRIGGS. I have also examined possible alternate spellings,
and names with similar pronunciations without finding any that appear to
be applicable. In point of fact there are only TWO (2) men listed in the
entirety of the SEAL Database (17,300+ entries) with the last name “BRIGGS”.
Neither of those two men has the first name “GARY”
or the middle initial “M”,
and both of our men completed UDT/SEAL Training years after the end of
the Vietnam War.
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 GARY M. BRIGGS has NEVER COMPLETED SEAL
training, and he is not now, nor was he ever a Navy SEAL, a Navy UDT
“Frogman”, a member of any Naval Combat Demolition Unit (NCDU), or a
member of the Naval Amphibious Scouts & Raiders (S&R).
Here
are some explanations which you might find pertinent to this particular
matter:
Before
any classified operations may be undertaken as a UDT/SEAL Operator, a
man must first successfully complete the totally unclassified UDT/SEAL
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 UDT “Frogman” or Navy “SEAL”; there
have been and will continue to be secret missions, but there are NO
secret “Frogmen” or SEALs… we know them all.
Mr.
BRIGGS’ false SEAL
claims were first brought to my attention in September 2007. In that
account Mr. BRIGGS was
reported to have claimed that he was a Navy SEAL in Vietnam (4 tours),
that he had been awarded 4 Purple hearts and 1 Bronze Star”, and that
he had saved another man’s life in combat.
In
March 2009 I received another inquiry about Mr. BRIGGS
from a xxxxxxxxxx. That inquiry stated that Mr. BRIGGS
was making claims of being a SEAL, and that inquiry included a statement
that Mr. BRIGGS was
claiming to have been awarded 4 Purple Hearts, 1 Bronze Star, and to
have made 4 tours in Vietnam as a Navy SEAL. That inquirer also reported
that Mr. BRIGGS was “a
work place harasser, a bad and mean dude…” and that Mr. BRIGGS
had been told to “take his loaded gun home from the workplace”.
On
14 March 2010 I received yet another inquiry about Mr. BRIGGS
from a xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx recounted the same claims as
being offered by Mr. BRIGGS
that the previous two inquirers had recounted – i.e. “4 Purple
Hearts, 1 Bronze Star, 4 tours in Vietnam as a Navy SEAL”. ...
You
may also view Mr. BRIGGS’
actual service record – obtained under the Freedom of Information Act
from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri – by
clicking on the words “ACTUAL
RECORDS” on that web page, or by visiting the records
directly using the link http://www.pownetwork.org/pownet.secure/briggs_gary_m.pdf.
Mr. BRIGGS actually served
in the US Navy from 13 June 1956 to 28 September 1959. Mr. BRIGGS
is NOT a graduate from UDT Training in Little Creek, Virginia, or
anywhere else. He is not listed on the graduation roster of UDTR Class
17 or any other graduating class.
According
to his official military records Mr. BRIGGS
was discharged after THREE (3) years and THREE (3) months as a “SEAMAN
RECRUIT” (Enlisted pay grade E-1 – the lowest rank in the Navy).
Such a low rank after more than 3 years of active duty is generally
indicative of disciplinary action in which a service member’s pay
grade is reduced as a punitive measure.
There
were no “SEAL Teams” prior to 1962. SEAL Team ONE did not exist
until being officially commissioned in January 1962.
Fort
Pierce, Florida, was the training site for the US Navy’s demolition
men of WWII – the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders, the Naval Combat
Demolition Units, and the Underwater Demolition Teams. Fort Pierce
ceased to function as a UDT training area at the end of WWII. There was
no UDT or SEAL training conducted at Ft. Pierce in 1956 (or later).
Because of its historic significance during WWII, Fort Pierce was
selected as the site for the National US Navy UDT-SEAL Museum.
Thank
you for your efforts to maintain the honor, integrity, and reputation of
the US Navy SEAL Teams. If I can be of any further assistance to you in
this matter, please feel free to contact me.
Very
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"
he claims his first wife destroyed his medals and that his second wife purchased them back for him.
Claims he was a Navy SEAL, received a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, during his 4 tours in Vietnam.
... 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
GARY
M. BRIGGS. I have also examined possible alternate spellings, and
names
with similar pronunciations without finding any that might be
applicable.
In fact there are only TWO (2) entries in the entire SEAL Database for
men
with the last name BRIGGS; neither of those two men has the first name
“GARY” or a middle name beginning with the letter “M”.
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
GARY
M. BRIGGS 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
you have an opportunity to speak with the man at some point in the
future,
I might suggest that you to ask Mr. BRIGGS 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 rank at the time he left military service (including
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. BRIGGS 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. BRIGGS. 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.
No one gets to the SEAL Teams without first completing BUD/S Training.
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....
One last note; It was formerly a violation of federal law to WEAR
specific
military unit insignia, badges, patches, pins, tabs, awards,
commendations, medals, or uniform garments for which one did not have
formal/official authorization. Such actions were listed as a
prosecutable
offense under Title 18 US Code Section 702 and 704, which specified up
to
$5,000 in fines and up to 6 months imprisonment per each count on
which an
offender was convicted. It was subsequently recognized by lawmakers
that a
loophole of sorts existed within the wording of Title 18 USC which
allowed
imposters to make false verbal claims regarding military credentials,
and
to then display items for which they had no legitimate authorization
as
keepsakes without legal repercussions so long as they did not actually
wear them on their person. To avoid prosecution false claimants often
filled their walls with forged citations, commendations, and awards
for
valor, and then posed for pictures beside those false certificates,
but
never actually WORE them on their person.
An amendment to Title 18 USC, Section 704, called the “STOLEN VALOR
ACT”
(S.1998), was signed into law in Dec 2006, and now makes it illegal to
even make false VERBAL claims of receiving “any of the service
medals or
badges awarded to the members of such forces, the ribbon, button, or
rosette of any such badge, decoration, or medal, or any colorable
imitation of such item”. That amendment very specifically identifies
certain awards for valor – including the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF
HONOR, the DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS, the NAVY CROSS,
the AIR CROSS,
the SILVER STAR, the BRONZE STAR, the PURPLE
HEART, and the POW MEDAL
– which, if falsely claimed, are considered
grounds for prosecution.
It must be presumed that since the earning of the status
of US Navy SEAL carries
with it a special Naval Enlisted Classification (NEC)
code and a unique
breast
insignia (SEAL Trident badge) that the offering of false
verbal claims
of
being a SEAL would also fall within the jurisdiction of this amended
version of the 18USC. This matter, of course, would be for the courts
to determine.
Thank you again for your concern in this matter, and for your
assistance
in upholding the honor of the US Navy SEAL Teams. If your reports
regarding Mr. BRIGGS having claimed the Purple Heart award are
accurate,
and if he was not authorized that award, then he may be prosecutable
under
the STOLEN VALOR ACT of 2005. ....
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
UDT-SEAL Association - Member
Special Operations 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
Lima News, June 26, 1960
Feb 2, 1974
