JESSE BERNARD JOHNSTON III

AP INVESTIGATION: Texas man faked way into Army

Associated Press

By DANNY ROBBINS, Associated Press Writer Danny Robbins, Associated Press Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Texas man with no military experience tricked the Army into letting him enter a reserve unit as a noncommissioned officer earlier this year, a deception that placed an untrained soldier in a leadership position in a time of war, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The revelation comes just months after the Army drew criticism for failing to flag the suspicious activities of the Army psychiatrist now charged with killing 13 and wounding dozens of others at Fort Hood.....

.
DALLAS — A Colorado congressman wants Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to provide answers on how a Texas man apparently tricked the Army into allowing him to enter the reserves as a noncommissioned officer.

Mike Coffman, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered a letter to Gates' office on Monday asking him to address issues raised by an Associated Press story last Friday detailing the case of Jesse Bernard Johnston III.

The AP reported that Johnston, 26, was given the rank of sergeant when he enlisted in the reserves in February despite no military experience other spending six weeks in a 12-week Marine officer candidate course while he was in college in 2004. Because Johnston didn't complete the course, he never became a Marine.....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gLL0D4hAoSd5CNr2SIDFmAUa3jAAD9FTEK5O1

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_army_faker_052110/

Man faked his way into Army as an NCO

By Danny Robbins - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 23, 2010 9:53:48 EDT

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas man with no military experience tricked the Army into letting him enter a reserve unit as a noncommissioned officer earlier this year, a deception that placed an untrained soldier in a leadership position in a time of war, an Associated Press investigation has found.......

APNewsBreak: Army changes enlistment procedure

By DANNY ROBBINS Associated Press Writer © 2010 The Associated Press

May 27, 2010, 4:09PM

Anonymous AP

This undated photo shows Jesse Bernard Johnston III, 26, wearing a Marine dress uniform with ribbons and medals even though records show he never served in the Marine Corps. An Associated Press investigation has found that, despite not having a military background, Johnston was able to join the Army Reserve in February and was given the rank of sergeant. Records show his only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004. Because he didn't complete the course, he didn't become a Marine. The Army is now investigating the circumstances surrounding his enlistment and whether he was able to gain his rank based on a phony Marine record. (AP Photo)

DALLAS — The Army is instituting a new procedure for checking the backgrounds of enlistees who claim to have a military record after a report that a reservist apparently faked a background as a Marine to enter the service.

Recruiters can no longer simply accept discharge papers as proof of service, Douglas Smith, public information officer for the Army recruiting command, told The Associated Press on Thursday. They now must also seek to verify the documents through a military database, he said.....

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/27/stolen-valor/

Stolen Valor

Posted: 05:41 PM ET

Program Note: Watch Randi Kaye’s full report tonight on AC360° at 10p.m. ET.

Randi Kaye
CNN AC360° Correspondent

As Memorial Day approaches, it got us wondering here at Anderson Cooper 360 about all those folks who pretend to be veterans.

Many of them come out especially around this time of year and flaunt their fake credentials and medals, hoping to impress friends or get better treatment at the Veterans Administration. But the case of “Stolen Valor” as it’s called that we are reporting on for AC360 tonight is unlike any other.

In this case, a 26-year-old man from Texas duped the United States Army! Yes, the top military in the world was fooled! The guy’s name is Jesse Johnston and he used a standard form resume required by the military, known as a DD-214, to stretch his credentials. On it he claimed he had four years experience in the Marine corps, combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, a bronze star and a purple heart.....

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/09/ap-army-faker-gets-6-months-091710/

Man who duped Army gets 6 months in prison

By Danny Robbins - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Sep 19, 2010 17:57:32 EDT

DALLAS — The Texas man who earlier this year tricked the Army into allowing him to join Army Reserve as a noncommissioned officer has been sentenced to six months in prison and a bad conduct discharge, an Army spokeswoman said.......