Thread by @angrytigerp

#NathanPhillips Claims to have been a "Recon Ranger" in Vietnam. democraticunderground.org/100211698735 As a servicemember, let's break this down: There is no such thing as a "Recon Ranger". Closest is the 75th Ranger Regiment Reconnaissance Company, established 1984. Way after 'Nam. [1/11]

So instead, let's look at the other possibilities: USMC Force Recon or Army Ranger. Well, most media I've seen paints him as a USMC vet, so Force Recon it is. Force Recon, in modern times at least, takes 9ish weeks of training, on top of basic USMC boot camp. [2/11]

Even in Vietnam, USMC Boot Camp lasted no less than 9 weeks. That means 3 months of training. Boot Camp even today lasts 12 weeks, so there's no reason to believe FR school would be cut down. This means about 18 weeks of training, or 4.5 months. quora.com/How-long-was-U… [3/11]

Now, Mr. Phillips is known to be “64 as of 2018”. If you do basic math (2018 – 64 + 18), this makes him 18 in 1972. Now, I'll grant you that we could have a few months of wiggle room on either side, but the timeframe is rapidly shrinking here. resourceintel.com/us/nathan-phil… [4/11]

The point here is that sometime in 1972, he did 2+ months of boot camp, apparently classed up immediately for 2.5 months of FR school, then was shipped immediately. Keep this in mind because we withdrew all COMBAT ELEMENTS of the Armed Forces from 'Nam on March 29 1973. [5/11]

This would CERTAINLY include Force Recon, a combat force. Now, we ALSO didn't send any more troops over there after the ceasefire in January 1973, so Phillips would have to have been there no later than that. historyplace.com/unitedstates/v… [6/11]

Where does that leave us? Phillips, claiming to be a “Recon Ranger” (when no Marine I know would dare to imply he was part of the Army Rangers, and the ONLY possibility of a “Recon Ranger” term is a unit not formed till a decade later). [7/11]

I'm not denying he served, but I am denying he served in anything but a peacetime military. I'll point out that PHILLIPS HIMSELF never says “Vietnam WAR veteran” or simply “Vietnam veteran”, but a “Vietnam TIMES veteran.” as per his CNN interview. [8/11]

As a Sailor, I'm proud to serve, I'm also reluctant to use it as a virtue signal. That the media has chosen to rally behind this as a bullet point to prove how amazing of a person he is when video evidence PROVES he lied about the kids saying “build the wall” annoys me. [9/11]

Our service is not a weapon to be wielded to get our names in the news, or to slander high school children. This isn't even the first time he's done this. fox2detroit.com/news/native-am… [10/11]

Wanna complain about me trying to analyze his past? Think about all those kids YOU jackals screamed to dox, then reconsider. Phillips is not beyond reproach. There's a reason there's a sudden walkback across every major news outlet about “not having the full story”. [11/11]

12/13 to emphasize:

Phillips is fairer game than any of those kids are. He's a grown adult. A grown adult who was initially surrounded by a bunch of thugs, then when the full story came out is suddenly defending a bunch of innocent black men...

13/13

Then when it turns out those innocent black men are part of a group classified a hate group by the SPLC, suddenly he's just 'defusing the situation'.

Ya know, by being a hero who steps up in the face of some kids rather than the four evil men taunting them for an hour.

Final 14/14:

And no. You're right, I'm not special or 'cool' or 'heroic' for being a peacetime (-ish?) servicemember. But my point is, neither is Phillips.

Well, thanks to @CassandraRules for the retweet, let me emphasize VERY much:

NO. MARINE. WOULD. CALL. HIMSELF. A. RANGER.

Some "startling" news for anyone who's just now seeing my thread:

forbes.com/sites/johnbald…

Phillips has explicitly said he's USMC. Army Rangers are 100% off the table now.

https://twitter.com/BGMorgan4/status/1087403301266771968

And assuming Force Recon, he would have had even MORE training time than I initially accounted for, because he would've gone to Infantry School first.

veteranstodayarchives.com/2009/07/28/the…

Folks, just an addendum to tell both sides:

Phillips' choice of the term "Vietnam Times Veteran" is likely accurate. The VA defines any servicemembers from 1963-1975 as fitting this.

He may well have been active duty in some capacity during this time.

marines.mil/Portals/59/Pub…

Oohrah history textbooks:

(Pg 153):

"7 May [1972]. On that day, the 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, the last infantry battalion in the field, stood down". We were there a few months longer.

... There is no page for 1973. All USMC were out of 'Nam by then.

The source of "Recon Ranger"? A cadence?

We'll see.

Hey people. Been getting comments questioning Mr. Phillips' tribal membership.

I want to make clear that I do not condone nor support any implication that he has lied about this, nor do I have any reason to doubt it.

I am addressing his military service ONLY.