GARY M BRIGGS           

ACTUAL RECORDS

... 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