Well, there are laws say that a person can't impersonate a police officer, so it should be the same regarding military personnel. It's one thing to dress up for Halloween, it's another to dress up and trick people to think you're an actual military person. So, I say they're doing the right thing to stop these phonies.

mark, I am fine, thanks for asking :)
just M.O. here, but laws are too leniant these days. crimes are rising, jails getting overfilled, more taxpayers money wasted on these scumbags. maybe the laws should be more intimidating and carry more fear. Like if you murder or rape, you lose your life; you steal you lose a hand. Could be deemed somewhat barbariac, but it could also make a person think twice before he/she commits a crime. to a criminal, there should be no such thing as cruel and unusual punishment. take that loser who beat up the 70 year old vet just because. let that POS get placed in a room with one of the family members of the vet with a hand axe. he already doesnt deserve to live anyways(offtopic)

Proposed: NEW PROGRAM FOR FAKE HERO/HERO WANNABEES
Each imposter should be arrested by the FBI. Then provide them with a current Battle Dress Uniform, give them a BB gun, a copy of ARABIC MADE EASY, a 1 year supply of MREs,a pair of Groucho glasses with nose, then fly them to Iraq and drop them off alone to guard a street corner ... a minimum of 25 miles from the nearest US Military operations area. If they survive a year on their own, great! If they do, then they might get a "I survived" medal to brag about. If not, oh well...

Paul, that made me LOL..good idea too. I'd vote for it :)

NJ: Wouldn't being more strict just make jails fill even faster? Maybe we should just do what you're suggesting. There are plenty of great models for your justice system in the Middle East. We could just copy Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, or Afphganistan before the Taliban fell. Those are all excellent models to choose from. I'm not saying these guys shouldn't go to jail, but to say someone should have their hand chopped off is outrageous. I hope you have never committed any sort of crime in your life or made a bad decision.

Heath:
An alternative as stated above a few times would be to ship criminals off overseas to do very hard labor, that way they aren't in jail sitting there.For example, send them to Africa or some place to help build homes and water, sewerage systems; work that is extremely hard labor but also has positive outcomes.

The wearing of Military honors by those not entitled to them is despicable and wrong, and should be punished to the highest degree available to law enforcement. This behavior is an affront to the men and women who served their country and EARNED those awards. I have dressed at halloween as an airmen, but have taken great pains to never display medals or ribbons, and have always made sure that while the costume was fairly authentic, I DID NOT, even on that day claim to really be a colonel or major, etc. Moreover, it was not done to defraud people and to gain jobs, benefits, or money from the recognition, but to honor the armed forces in special Halloween service persons events. Impersonating an officer is especially defrauding when the person is an ex-military individual and knows quite well the military code of conduct and regulations on insignia.

And for Eoghan, I am especially saddened to hear that you consider yourself 'irrelevant', since that is wholly untrue. This weekend, especially, your sacrifice and those of your comrades back to the Revolutionary War needs to be remembered vividly and clearly, since it is a reflection of the cost of freedom. Jefferson said "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the Blood of Patriots and tyrants", we shall dismiss the tyrants and utterly forget them, but I will grieve the Patriots, and the cost exacted from each and every one and mourn the payments we have made.

For those who take this too lightly: I guess I should lie about my military honors and ranking, just so I can get a better job, privileged benefits, and the like over 'non-military participated' folk. In addition, I guess it's ok for me to lie to the younger, gullible youth about what I did as a war hero, going against what true history states. I guess you boneheads would lie about your high GPA and making Magna Cum Lada, being CFO of some big-time bank industry, yada yada yada. There are just some people in this world who are as ignorant as those lousy wannabe singers on American Idol and yet, they buy into your pack of lies.

I understand that this is wrong, but doesn't the FBI have better things to do than chase imposters? A waste of Taxpayers monies....

We earned the metals that we were AWARDED. Any one who want to wear them can certainly apply to the service of your choice and see if you can fullfill all the entrance requirements. Then if they have the cahones to be able to survive and take orders without question and serve and maybe even die for our Wonderful Country, they too can wear those ribbons awarded to them. Until then, the COWARDS should be tried convicted and allowed to meet the United States Marines that Control Levenworth! Then we will see what kind of metal they are made of.

Question for you NJ, did you ever serve or are you making rants on stuff that doesn't concern you? If it's the latter then you are just as big of a posser as these guys.

Don't let yourselves be fooled into calling these imposters "poor slobs" or think that they only have a "fixation" on receiving accolades for things they did not do. They do this for the perks.

Have you ever seen a stranger anonymously pick up a restaurant tab for a soldier in uniform? I have...it was heart-warming. I happened to be dining with that soldier. He returned from the restroom and became embarrassed when I told him what had happened. He said he didn't deserve that because he had not yet served in Iraq or any other battle field. I told him that he deserved it for being in uniform and willing to go when his time did come up. This is just one example of the kindness that some civilians offer to soldiers.

These imposters are in this game for the perks. That is called "gain by defrauding" and it is a felony offense. Since they are defrauding by using government materials, it becomes a federal offense. They deserve any jail-time or penalty that any other fraudulent criminal receives.

There are far too many Americans being criminalized by absurd laws which will ruin their lives forever, because now they are unemployable convicted felons, and have an arrest record. The silly USA military medals are not even made of precious metals such as silver and gold, and the USA need to stop giving out "Junk metal," medals to our brave USA soldiers. If somebody wants to pretend that they have been in the Army, "So what," it should be a compliment, considering how many young Americans have gotten killed in four un-declared wars, Korean War, Vietnam War, 1st Gulf War,(125,000) and now the barbaric current Iraqi war which has seen 4,000 USA soldiers killed, and at least 25 American soldiers have been tortured, casterated, burned, and then slowly beheaded with a dull, rusty knife. So the FBI should spend their time investigating Hallibruton's sinful practices, instead of arresting harmless American citizens who love the military. Hell let's stop having all the big Halloween parties if it's against the law to pretend to be somebody that you are not!

I am a civilian, working for the military, and believe it is a disgrace when an undeserved person wears the uniform or medals. However shameful it is, the only crime should be if they use it for personal or financial gain. If they are delusional they need mental help, not jail time.

SILLY USA MILITARY MEDALS!?!?

RedMoons....you are beyond words. At least beyond words permitted in this blog. You don't deserve the freedoms those "silly medals" have given you. You are a ....oh....I just can't say it because I'll get reported.

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I have a friend that always wishes he had become a Marine. I was a Marine for 8 years. He walks around and does the ooh-rah stuff and talks about "his beloved Marine Corps". Part of me is flattered because I know he admires me, but then another part of me is sad that he tries to grasp onto something he is not. He is not however a criminal.

I may be an only child, but I have millions of brothers and sisters. I live close to Arlington and amongst the rows of white stones, I see parent's, spouses and comrades mourning heroes who no longer have a voice. These people however have us to protect their legacy and honor their sacrifice.

Being an admiring, misguided and delusional soul is not a crime. Stealing an award and a hallowed honor is a crime.

technopeasant....please read my post that went up just prior to the idiot's that called them silly medals. Most of the people that do this are in it for gain and profit. I will agree with you that if they don't quite have a full basket, then they need help, not jail time.

These individuals who claim to be military heroes when they not apparently crave the attention and limelight to fill up their sad and pathetic lives. I feel this is a disgrace to those in our armed forces who gave their all in the defense of this great country including their very lives. To me the sentences they have received for this outrageous afront to the true military heroes has not been adequate enough. I am glad our FBI and any other law enfocement involved in these apprehensions of these individuals continue for as long as it takes.

GOD BLESS THE MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR ARMED FORCES EVERYWHERE!

I spent twelve years active duty and fourteen yeras in the reserves and I am humbled by the sacrifices these young men and women make every day.

These imposters don't need jail time. They need to be publicaly shamed in front of their families, parents, friends and co-workers.

I think anyone who has put on a military uniform... been scared, alone, hurt, captured... would never want to wish pain on a fellow American for dreaming about being "a hero". Didn't we serve so that others could enjoy these eccentricities? If not, what did we fight for in the first place?

One other comment. When you see any serviceman or woman, especially if they appear to be very young, please make sure they don't happen to be wearing an JROTC uniform. They are the same dress uniforms the servicemen/women wear and the medals and ribbons those kids earn are quite impressive.

My son just finished 4 years of NJROTC. He was on his way to a community-service project, in full dress blues. The 5 rows of ribbons and the medals he earned filled up most of his jacket breast. We had to make a stop at a store and he became quite embarrassed when a WWII vet commented that he didn't earn that many medals during the war. My son was very quick to tell him that they were ROTC medals and said they didn't hold near the importance that service medals hold. Although he was proud to wear his NJROTC uniform, he was bashful regarding the attention his ribbons drew.

So...just as a precaution, check to see if there is an ROTC patch on the sleeve.