Newville pastor admits his tale of being a Navy SEAL was just 'an ego-builder'

[RamboLiberal]

From the editors: After Osama bin Laden was killed, The Patriot-News reached out to find former Navy SEALs living in the midstate to tell our readers about life in that elite fighting force. Reporter Dan Miller, an Army veteran himself, was told the Rev. Jim Moats was a former SEAL, interviewed him and wrote the story for Saturday’s paper. It didn’t take long for some readers to label Moats a fraud. The Patriot-News regularly interviews veterans to tell their stories. We do not regularly ask those we interview for proof of their service, believing these men and women would not lie and dishonor those who have fought bravely defending our country. Unfortunately, this time we were deceived, and we will discuss steps to try and ensure that it does not happen again.

The Navy awards the gold Trident medal to those who have completed SEALs training and have earned the right to be called a SEAL.

The same gold Trident can be bought at a military surplus store, and that’s where the Rev. Jim Moats of Newville got his.

Moats was never a Navy SEAL — even though that’s what he told The Patriot-News on Friday, and that’s what Moats has allowed his congregation at Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville to believe for five years.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/05/newville_pastor_admits_his_tal.html

News media beward - there will be more fakes popping up than real current or ex-SEALS.

[kick-ass-bob]

1. Isn't that a crime?

Impersonating a soldier and falsely claiming a medal?

[CBGLuthier]

7. no, they tried but pesky damned 1st amendment gets in the way

Also seals are sailors not soldiers. :-)


The Stolen Valor act has been ruled unconstitutional. I don't think the SC has weighed in yet. It is, of course, unconstitutional but you never know how they will rule.

[HopeHoops]

2. Yeah, and his SON called him out on it. It was in the Patriot-News today ALONG with...

...an article that said the Navy estimates that for every 300 people who claim to have been SEALs, only one really was. What the fuck is wrong with people?

[msanthrope]

6. That's gonna be an awkward Thanksgiving...n/t

[Autumn]

3. So he LIES. Wonder if he has read the bible,

the part that says it's a sin.

[LynneSin]

4. Gee, didn't one of those commands tell us to "Not bear false witness"

and I think Coveting was covered in there too.

This man should resign his position. He gives a bad name to pastors.

[Marr]

5. There are so many phoney SEALs. I'm pretty sure I've met five or six personally.

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. I'm a Seal. Honest!

I just *look* like a walrus.

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. Don't worry, his congregation MUST forgive him.

He will be just fine.

[Dappleganger]

10. What a jackass.

It's one thing to bring shame on yourself for telling a lie such as this, but to bring shame to your family members because of it is horrible.

He really should resign but I doubt he will (Oopsie, my bad!).

[LeftinOH]

11. I can just imagine what actual Navy SEALS think about these wannabes. n/t

[JBoy]

12. From the article, too funny:

Shipley said Moats’ story about being re-assigned to kitchen duty and about being waterboarded were lifted from the Steven Seagal movie “Under Siege,” while his reference to being hit by SEAL instructors was vintage “GI Jane.”

[kestrel91316]

13. "...his congregation at Christian Bible Fellowship Church...."

Posted without comment. Because non is needed.

[Nailzberg]

14. I think every guy going to my college on the GI Bill was a SEAL or Green Beret

No one was ever a cook or a maintenance guy.

[LiberalAndProud]

15. I wonder how many in his congregation belonged to the purple heart bandage brigade,

and I wonder if they'll forgive this self aggrandizing creep. Never a SEAL, never set foot in Vietnam. If I lived close by, I think I'd attend a service just to chant "liar liar pants on fire" throughout his sermon.

[Blue Owl]

16. Oh Lord Thou Art Not Made Up

n/t

[SoCalDem]

17. What a doofus.. Seals like their anonymity, but within the community they DO know each other

and they surely know a fake when they see one.. and a "man of the cloth" too:rofl: Bearing false witness 24-7...:)

[damntexdem]

18. Ego builder? Lying about your own past?

How can you boost your own ego by lying about your past?

Well, maybe if you have Alzheimers, but otherwise?

Of course, as Anne Richards said, "if I become any more forgetful, I'll be able to hide my own Easter eggs."

Still, lying about being an ex-Seal isn't an ego booster, it's an attempted reputation-booster. So, I guess it's an indirect ego boost for those who can get off on respect conned from others by lies about self.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. But, did it get the good pastor laid?

[AngryAmish]

20. I was a Navy SEAL

I can swim and blow things up good. And shoot guns.

That's the ticket!

[LibertyLover]

21. I know one real, live former SEAL -

my cousin Will. He is a Naval Academy grad - he graduated the year the printer of the diplomas screwed up and misspelled "Naval" on the diplomas :evilgrin: . After graduating he went on to SEAL training, got through it and even had his photo in Life Magazine that summer which was taken as part of an article about SEAL training. He was a SEAL for 5 years before getting out and starting his family. The thing is, the only reason I know he was a SEAL is because he's family. He never said much about it, except for a few humorous stories about silly things that happened on base or to him while on duty. His duty station was down in Virginia Beach. I don't remember his team number, so I am not going to say it was SEAL 6. Once in a while he'd mention that he had been on detached duty in Malaysia or had just come back from Indonesia or was going to Thailand. I met several of his teammates too - same thing, a few funny stories about training or the same "just got back from Thailand and ate the best pad thai noodles I've ever had" comments. An interesting bunch of people are SEALS. This guy is just an idiot.

[Cirque du So-What]

22. 'Ego-builder?!?' What a charming euphemism for a fucking LIE!

Someday, people will catch on to the fact that pathological liars & sociopaths are drawn to positions that depend upon others to trust them.

[DefenseLawyer]

23. My nephew is a Navy SEAL currently

He has that "thousand yard stare" of a kid that has seen way more shit than a kid should and pretty much acts the way you would expect a trained assassin would act. If you ask him he says it's great, when he talks about it at all, but I cringe at what kind of a man he'll be when he's done.

[Blue_Tires]

24. Way to vet your sources...

Becoming a pastor seemed like a strange career change after doing all the super-secret special ops missions on the other side of the world...

Personally, I'm not a SEAL, but I have played one online in Counter-Strike...

[madamesilverspurs]

25. Maybe he took his inspiration

from a former president who pretended to have served in the national guard . . .


-

[AmBlue]

26. Yet another....

 #notintendedtobeafactualstatement a/k/a BALD-FACED LIE!

[gatorboy]

27. Haha! Typical Republican. Always lying about their military prowess.

From a previous article on the man:

http://www.pennlive.com/mobile/news/

"What he learned from the SEALs — discipline, leave no man behind and teamwork — are things Moats said he applies in everyday life. You train to succeed in war and the same is true of spiritual warfare.

“Every week there is a training session. I’m the commanding officer, preparing them for the spiritual battle they face every day of their lives,” Moats said.

He is proud of the SEALs in the raid and of the military personnel who supported them. He describes himself as “extremely conservative” and not a President Barack Obama supporter.

“But I’m ecstatic he is going to Fort Campbell to thank the team. Nobody thanked us coming home from Vietnam,” Moats said.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. Another "Liar For Jesus"