About a month ago, Hernandez wrote an op-ed called “Signs, Of Veteran Entitlement.” Since that time he’s been in contact with some of people highlighted. He’s made some corrections and gained some new insights, some of which you may find surprising. We implore you to allow cooler heads to prevail as you read through. And now, the Update. Mad Duo

“Combat Vet” Yard Signs: Follow Up From a Veteran With a Sign

Chris Hernandez

I was wrong about at least one thing.

In my essay “Signs, of Veteran Entitlement”, I suggested most if not all of those putting “combat veteran, be courteous with fireworks” signs weren’t really combat veterans. I’ve been proven wrong about that. After I published the essay, I was contacted by this man:

He emailed to tell me he was a former regular Army infantryman who deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, and was later recalled to deploy again with the Army National Guard. I’ve spoken to him by phone and Skyped with him, confirmed he is in fact the man in the picture, seen his pictures from deployment, and seen his two DD-214s (one from the regular Army and one from his NG deployment) showing that he served in Iraq and was awarded a Combat Infantryman Badge. I’ve also seen the document from the VA awarding him 100% disability for PTSD.

He asked me not to use his name or face, so I’ll call him Joe. He was emphatic that he was just a regular soldier, not a hero, not an SF operator, but a leg infantryman. He was never wounded or decorated, but he was there and did his job.

Without question, at least one of the people who put up a “combat vet” sign was actually a combat vet. Undoubtedly there are more. So I was wrong.

I wasn’t the first to write a negative article about veterans who put up the signs, and I wasn’t the first to use Joe’s picture. Joe first read a different article about the signs (which was extremely insulting toward “pogues” and suggested Joe was one), then he read mine. After reading it, he decided to email me.

His email was titled “My picture was used in a story you wrote about the fireworks sign.” I expected to read “I’m a real combat vet, you’re a worthless bastard and if you don’t remove my picture I’ll sue you!” But Joe didn’t want to beat up on me, he wanted to clear the air.

“Upon reading your article I have to say I agree with the biggest part of it. I had never really thought of it the way you did and I now deeply regret ever even getting one of those signs. I used to be part of Military with PTSD, and was actually an admin on their Facebook page. I backed away from them about two years ago, when I started having real questions about them.”

Joe wrote at length about the sign, and why he put his sign up. He obviously doesn’t have an objection about the principle behind the signs; if he did, he wouldn’t have put it up in the first place. I do have a problem with the signs, and Joe has no obligation to agree with me. But Joe wasn’t saying the signs themselves are evil. He said they aren’t worth the negative attention they attract, and more importantly, they don’t work.

“That was the biggest point you made, I think. The signs don’t actually do anything. It’s not like anyone but us cares about us anyway.”

Whether or not the signs had any effect, they have in fact attracted a ton of negative attention. Breach Bang Clear published a critical essay before mine. OAFNation (“Operator As Fuck”) posted a comment on Facebook about the “faggoty ass signs”, along with Joe’s picture. Before Facebook deleted the post, it sparked a heated debate which included comments from a woman who claimed her PTSD-stricken Marine son “grabs his gun and runs outside” when he hears fireworks (sorry mom, but the military doesn’t train or condition us to run into the open when we hear gunfire). Task and Purpose published an essay saying, among others things, “The idea that celebrating your patriotism causes harm to the very men and women who fought for this country evokes a grave sense of injustice. But the negative stereotypes [a combat vet sign] creates about veterans is far more damaging.” OAFNation recently published an essay titled “Collateral Damage: the Typecasting and Self Destruction of the American Veteran” in which they strongly condemned veterans who revel in the stereotype of the damaged, hair-trigger combat vet. Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer posted on Facebook that veterans with signs should “Stop the cry for attention and pick a side”.

I believe the signs deserve negative attention. However, that doesn’t mean Joe intended to create negative attention when he posted his sign and picture. As much as the signs piss me off, as ridiculous as I think they are, I don’t think Joe was trying to do anything wrong when he posted his.

“Man, I didn’t mean to attract attention. Believe me, I don’t want attention. I didn’t even ask for the sign, Military with PTSD just sent it to me because I used to be part of the organization. I got the sign in the mail, and I just did what everyone else was doing, you know, I put up the sign and sent the picture. I’m not saying it wasn’t my decision; I mean, I’m the one who put it up. But I didn’t think it would cause all this. And I didn’t find out until everything blew up that Military with PTSD used my picture as their Facebook cover photo.”

I told Joe his picture got so much attention because he was wearing a t-shirt that said “I am comfortable with violence” while standing in front of a sign saying, in effect, he was too sensitive to handle fireworks. He understood that. “I just happened to be wearing that t-shirt that day. I always wear t-shirts from GruntStyle, 11Bravo and companies like that. I didn’t even think about what I was wearing.”

I checked Joe’s Facebook page, and there are several pictures of him wearing infantry-themed shirts. There are also plenty of pictures of him in Iraq. As I said, he’s the real thing and I was wrong to suggest everyone who posted the signs was a phony.

However, I was also right about something.

As I said in my original essay, I strongly suspect most of those who put “combat vet” signs in their yards aren’t combat vets at all. So let’s look at another veteran who posted a sign in his front yard. In fact, let’s look at a particularly significant veteran with a sign in his yard. Let’s look at the THE guy, the CEO of Military with PTSD, Justin Gourley.

Here’s Gourley with his sign:

Gourley served in the US Navy from 2000 to 2004 aboard the USS George Washington. He appears to have served honorably. Some have questioned Gourley’s service, but fortunately for Gourley a record of his honorable service is available on a military-themed web site. Unfortunately for Gourley, that web site is This Ain’t Hell, which is dedicated to exposing stolen valor and military fakers.

TAH’s article, titled “Sailor catches the PTSD”, doesn’t lay out an accusation that Gourley is exaggerating; instead, it repeats Gourley’s own account of his service. Gourley’s horrible trauma apparently began with an experience so brutal, former Hanoi Hilton residents are probably thankful they weren’t in Gourley’s shoes.

Justin Gourley first developed symptoms of PTSD after … wait for it … attending a Navy antiterrorism class.

Justin and his wife even wrote a book about living with PTSD, in which Justin described how the antiterrorism class changed him. As I read his words, I nearly burst into tears. His description of the class was like looking straight into hell.

“They taught us how terrorist can make a bomb out of things that you would never expect. Then we learned about how they would use women and children to sneak bombs past security. We ran drill after drill until we stopped hesitating and acting on emotion when it came to everyone. Everything I thought I knew about people changed then. No one could be trusted. My view on life now was simple, everyone is the enemy.”

Being around such a highly-trained killer must have been terrifying for his wife.

“He talked about his weapon qualifications and how well he’d done on the sniper test. And he also told me that he got promoted to the rapid response team leader. Sitting there talking to him gave me the chills. There was no emotion in his voice and his eyes were black as the night. The fun-loving Justin I knew my whole life, had been transformed into a well-trained highly skilled machine that could kill without thinking twice.”

Justin wrote about other traumatic experiences: an aircraft accident that injured several sailors, another accident that killed a sailor, and the rescue of a fishing boat that caught fire, resulting in the death of one fisherman (whose body Gourley had to recover). The ship’s records confirm a sailor was killed in an accident. But oddly enough, the George Washington’s logs say it was in port for six months at the time Gourley was dragging a dead fisherman from a burned boat. Must be a misprint.

thisainthell.com

Gourley’s book: “In September 2003 a major mishap aboard the USS George Washington happened when a plane was landing on the flight deck. Justin had to secure the area and help the wounded.”

Joe, the infantry combat vet formerly of Military with PTSD, had heard about the plane crash. “Justin never talked about it, but the word around Military with PTSD was that a plane crashed onto the deck and a bunch of sailors died. I could understand that. I mean, people get PTSD from car accidents and stuff. So I get it that Justin had PTSD from seeing his friends burn to death.”

The problem? The ship’s logs don’t mention a fiery crash that killed sailors. A plane was landing, the arresting wire broke, the pilot ejected and seven sailors were injured. “September 11, An F/A-18D, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106, crashed into sea, off Virginia Capes, after the #4 arresting wire broke during landing aboard the GW. Lt. Rich Rivera ejected safely. Seven members of flight deck crew were injured.”

When I told Joe about that, he shook his head in apparent disgust. “That’s not what we were led to believe.”

Gourley’s carrier also deployed to the Middle East to support Operation Enduring Freedom. According to his own book, he saw no action (see previous screenshot of “Justin’s Naval Career”).

So let’s ignore the cynical skepticism I have toward many PTSD claims. For the sake of argument, I’ll agree that Justin Gourley really does have PTSD from a Navy antiterrorism class, an accident which did not result in a fiery crash that killed any of his friends, and the loss of a friend in a different accident.

But why would I consider him a combat veteran?

Combat can be hard to define. I had a hard time calling myself a combat veteran after Iraq (where I had a couple of IED and small arms close calls but was never in a firefight). But I gave myself credit for having been on real missions, with real danger from a real enemy who really wanted to kill us. It wasn’t until after big firefights in Afghanistan that I really considered myself a combat veteran. But I understand there are degrees of combat; one isn’t required to kick in doors and shoot enemy in the face to have been in combat.

But the sailor who never set foot in a war zone and never heard a shot fired in anger isn’t a combat vet. Period. Call me judgmental if you want, because in this case I am. If you haven’t been in combat, you’re not a combat vet.

The Rachel Dolezal #wrongskin principle doesn’t apply here. There is no such thing as being born with #wrongveteranstatus, and no such creature as a combat veteran-kin (like “otherkin”: “Otherkin are people who identify as partially or entirely non-human.”). Maybe Justin Gourley “caught the PTSD” from a shipboard accident and/or the terror of an antiterrorism class. But he didn’t catch combat experience. ‬

Now that July 4th has passed, we won’t see “combat vet” signs again until New Year’s Eve. Chances are before then we’ll read the same stories and see the same pictures we did a few weeks ago. Well-meaning people will share tragic stories of traumatized veterans on their Facebook pages, reminding their friends that we’re fragile eggshells requiring the most delicate handling.

Media outlets will publish articles urging the public to protect pets and veterans from fireworks noise.

Radio stations will broadcast messages like one heard by another Breach Bang Clear writer: “This 4th of July, remember pets and vets,” as if we’re no different than a scared Pomeranian.

Concerned citizens who see us as damaged victims will share pictures like these.

heartlikeadog.com

Every time Americans see these signs, every time another media outlet reminds the public to tiptoe around us, every time a “concerned citizen” unintentionally reduces us to the level of terrified lapdogs, our honor and the public’s respect for veterans die a little. And we die a little with them.

I’ve said this before, and it bears repeating: these signs are harmful. They make the public think we’re poor, damaged victims worth of pity but not respect. They perpetuate the (false) stereotype of the psychologically damaged, hair-trigger loser that so stigmatized Vietnam veterans. That stigma is why a fellow aspiring writer, upon learning I was a combat vet during a friendly conversation, quietly asked, “Are you okay?” That stigma is why my coworker nervously commented, “You seem so normal for having been in Afghanistan.” That stigma is why my former supervisor announced, just as I was passing his door, “We don’t want to hire any of them war veterans. They all got mental problems.” And some veterans relish that stigma.

A few people have commented that I have no room to speak on this subject because I don’t have PTSD. Fine. I’ll defer to my friend Justin Watt, who does have PTSD after deployment to Iraq’s “Triangle of Death” in 2005-2006. Justin lost his best friend to an IED and had seven soldiers killed in his platoon, including two abducted and tortured to death. Worse than that, Justin literally risked his life to turn in four members of his platoon who raped and murdered a teenage girl after murdering her parents and sister.

“I had some real problems after Iraq,” Justin said. “I’ve had to call for emergency help before. I’ve thought about eating my pistol. But every time I needed help, I got it. I handled my problems, I didn’t expect everyone else to change for me. I’d never put one of those signs in my yard, because I don’t want anyone to think of me and other veterans as broken toys. We gave up the right to be victims when we joined the military during a war. If you’re a veteran and you can’t see the harm these signs cause, I don’t know what to tell you.”

When I learned that Joe was actually a combat vet with PTSD and sign on his door, I was surprised. When I learned that Justin Gourley wasn’t a combat vet but had a combat vet sign in his yard, I wasn’t surprised at all. I still strongly suspect most of those with signs either aren’t combat vets, or so stretch the definition of combat as to make it meaningless. But whether they’re combat veterans or not, those who post these signs aren’t helping. At a time when America and its military are under attack both abroad and at home, when our nation expects us to stand in its defense, some veterans put up signs saying we’re the helpless victims who need to be defended.

This is America. Put one of those signs in your yard if you want. I never will, and Joe tells me he never will again.

P.S. “Joe” is in the Columbus, Ohio area, and wouldn’t mind finding a few vets to hang out with. If you’re interested, please email me at [email protected] and I’ll let him know.

Mad Duo, Breach-Bang& CLEAR!

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Chris Hernandez Mad Duo Chris (seen here on patrol in Afghanistan) may just be the crustiest member of the eeeee-LIGHT writin’ team here at Breach-Bang-Clear. He is a veteran of both the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also a veteran police officer of two decades who spent a long (and eye-opening) deployment as part of a UN police mission in Kosovo. He is the author of White Flags & Dropped Rifles – the Real Truth About Working With the French Army and The Military Within the Military as well as the modern military fiction novels Line in the Valley and Proof of Our Resolve. When he isn’t groaning about a change in the weather and snacking on Osteo Bi-Flex he writes on his own blog, Iron Mike Magazine, Kit Up! and Under the Radar. You can find his author page here on Tactical 16.