A man who claims to be an Army Ranger was confronted by an Army veteran in the midst of shopping on Black Friday. According to the veteran, he immediately noticed the man because of his uniform, which had inconsistencies. The full confrontation was recorded on video, which went viral on YouTube.
Army Sgt. Ryan Berk was shopping at the Oxford Valley Mall on Black Friday when he spotted Sean Yetman in a fatigue uniform. Berk approached Yetman and told him that his son, who had always admired people in uniform, wanted to meet him. What followed the introduction was a series of questions hurled by Berk as an attempt to reveal the fact that the man was a "fake."
At first, Berk asked him how he got the three Combat Infantryman Badges (CIBs) that are affixed to his shoulder. Yetman said that he got them in Afghanistan.
"All three?" asked Berk with a surprised tone in his voice. According to Yetman, the first badge came from Afghanistan; the second from Iraq; and the third from his second mission to Afghanistan.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Berk when he heard the reply.
According to Anthony Anderson, an Army veteran who runs the site called Guardian of Valor, the three CIBs are enough to tip off a real soldier.
"The CIB is a very prestigious award for an infantryman," said Anderson. "You get shot at to earn that badge. And getting three CIBs is more rare than getting the Medal of Honor."
Army regulations state that regardless of the number of campaigns that a soldier had been placed at to fight the Global War on Terror, only one CIB can be earned.
Next, Berk asked him about his combat patch. Yetman said he gave it to a kid. Then, he asked the man why his flag patch was placed too low on his arm. This caught Yetman off guard. "You got me on that one, bud," said Yetman as he tried to place the patch on the correct location.
Berk also asked him about his shoes and T-shirt underneath the uniform.
In the end, Berk called the man a phony and said that he could be in real trouble for wearing a uniform when he's not a real army person.
"It's frustrating, because you serve with good men who have either lost their loves or been seriously wounded who earned that uniform," said Berk.
The video below contains expletives and therefore must be viewed with tact and caution:
