Dear Mr. President

My name is Bryan and I am currently a senior in high school in Northern California. My topic is on the crime of Stolen Valor and the people who use fake military uniforms to identify themselves as a soldier. This topic is important to me as I have family who serve in the military or did in the past. I personally am interested in joining the military myself so this topic is very important to me as it will also effect my life in the future. One major issue in our country is the extreme use of stolen valor. Stolen valor is when an individual uses fake military patches, uniforms, identification and others for privileges and benefits of actual soldiers. People are constantly still doing it as there is little we can do to stop these frauds from presenting themselves as military personnel, the less we stop fake personnel the more frauds will continue do it. The most popular way of stopping these frauds right now is actual and former soldiers catching them in their lies face to face, this is a hard way of catching people because they actually can be real soldiers.

These frauds are getting treatments and privileges they did not earn, as others go to war and come back to earn this title and praise. A website called www.stolenvalor.com is run by a team featuring three former Navy Seals, a former Army Ranger, and a former Counter-Terrorism agent. The people working there are strictly focused on helping find frauds, but cannot do anything themselves as they are not law enforcement. They will help you get proof and then you must contact local law enforcement. Stolen Valor is a federal crime so people will be punished if they are caught. People who are caught can lose their jobs, spend jail time, pay fines, and also serve community service. An example of a man who got caught was a police officer who claimed he served in the military before he became a police officer, the man was found guilty and ordered to turn in his uniform and banned from being a police officer in the future.

Former military members have also been found guilty of the crime as they have served their country but choose to try and give themselves more medals and praise then was actually earned in time of service. As a proud member of our country it is our duty to stop these frauds from earning any special privilege that is not rightfully theirs. The men and women who sacrifice their lives and sacrifice time from their families to serve and protect their country deserve to come home and earn any special treatment. If anyone has a problem with this claim and federal law then they should stop being scared and join the military themselves if they really want the benefits that bad. If you have the time and guts to spend money on fake uniforms and medals and want to be praised as a soldier, then you have the time to go down to your nearest recruiting center and sign up for the military.

Sincerely,

Bryan  A.