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Rant. Disappointed in our freshly hired veteran

Tomekeuro85

Sergeant
Commercial Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 11, 2007
592
1
38
Chicago Suburbs, IL
So we were needing a new employee at our machine shop. I interviewed maybe 10 people and got it finalized down to 2 guys. One was a new machinist with a bit of machining and setup experience. The other was a 10 year Marine Veteran with 2 tours under his belt, but no machining experience.


While he had no experience, he was very enthusiastic about becoming a machinist long term, plus he was an armed forces veteran, so we hired him.


Everything went great. He was showing up to work 15 mins early every day, learning constantly and telling us about how excited he is to have finally gotten a chance to work in a machine shop.


Later that week things started to seem odd. He said he was in presidential protection detail for a year. Told us he had 19 confirmed kills. Told us he had been blown up by an ied and spent 3 months in a coma. Told us he was in the unit that was filmed urinating on the dead insurgents. Story after extravagant story.


Yesterday he called us at 530 am, 30 mins before we start work. Left us a voicemail telling us he had gotten into a car accident at a particular intersection and was sitting there and waiting for a tow truck.

I guess what he didn't know is that about 5 mins after he left that message, I was driving past said intersection. No sign of an accident, no tow truck, no police, etc. After I got the voicemail, just out of curiosity I went back there, thinking maybe I missed something. Nope. No indication that any type of accident had occurred, especially that early in the morning when it's rare to even see another car and definitely nothing serious enough to warrant a towed vehicle.

I called him several times throughout the day and left a voicemail telling him to get back to us, but never heard back. He didn't show up again this morning and didn't answer his phone, so I left a voicemail and told him he was no longer with us. He worked here for a total of 10 days.

Oh well. Plenty of other guys are ready to fill the position.
 
Sorry to hear that, my wife is in charge of hiring and having issues finding qualified applicants also. It’s amazing how many people can’t pass a drug test and/or have a driving record free of DUI charges.
 
I run a business in Florida. I have to hire throughout the state. We have some real winners. Sometimes it feels like 75% of this country does not even want a job. In Miami I have guys that fake their entire resume and experience to get into the company property just long enough to steal everything they possibly can. Being a veteran doesn't make you any more likely to succeed at a job in my opinion. I have hired good ones and complete flakes. The most disappointing thing is how willing people are to tell lie after lie to get what they want.
 
That's unfortunate. However, I'm sure there are a lot of "veterans" out there who never served a day. It's easy to fake a DD214. A pet peeve of mine is the misuse the term "retired". I constantly see news reports with E5's, E6's, etc., who are "retired". If you ETS after 4 years, 6 years, or 12 years, ...you are not "retired". Just because you are a "veteran" doesn't mean you are "retired" when you terminate service. I had to explain this difference once to a young soldier who was ETS'ing after 4 years of service. He was a good troop and wanted to know why he wasn't getting as much time to prepare for his transition out of the Army as our Sergeant Major who was retiring after 22 years of service. Had to explain that ETS is not the same as "Retirement".
 
Curious if provided proof of honorable discharge, or did he just claim to be a veteran?

0600 start time? Running shifts?
 
I'm actually starting to wonder if he ever even did serve. He had several Marine Corps tattoos, bunch of Marine stickers on his car. We never asked for proof of service. I guess we were too trusting to assume people have morals but I lose more faith in this world as the days go by
 
the job i currently have didnt know i served until probably 3yrs into my employment. i didnt feel it necessary or want any favoritism to be employed by being a veteran. i feel too many people ride that boat for all its worth. i have never felt the need.
 
I'm thinking his ultra-secret black ops contractor "Unit" got the call for a red-eye to Israel or the Ukraine, and he didn't have a chance to make up a better cover story.
You should give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe give him some time to Ebay some medals.
 
Just because someone is a veteran doesn't make them a great person. Hate to say it, but I met all kinds while in the military. You would like to believe that the military would teach lifelong discipline and a high degree of integrity. that said, most of the best people I have met were during my days in uniform.
 
Did you at least get the chance to meet his wife?

magnum-pi-naiades-29.jpg
 
Lots of shitbirds in the USMC, sad but true.
As Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."

And, as a general rule, the guys that talk allot ain't done shit.
 
^^^ yeah lotta shitbirds. Sounds like your employee was some sort of admin pog or supply. They always have the best war stories, got their CAR because someone in their battalion had a neg discharge on the base. These guys with their bs stories are easy to pick out. Unfortunately for you, you tried to do the guy a favor.
 
As a soon to retire active duty guy I appreciate your efforts to help out veterans.

My resume will consist of nothing but my education and 21 years of active duty. It's highly unlikely unless I am applying for a DoD contact job that my job qualifications will have any bearing in my future employment. (Although if that job exist it would probably be epic, lol.) I'll be relying on someone to take a calculated risk. If they view my service favorably and that asists in me getting the job, I am fine with that. Of course, after that it's up to me to earn the job.

On the flip side the military is representative of our country and we have our fair share of mouth breathers. (Less so in the AF ;) ). When I start hiring vets I'll be verifying MOS/ AFSC / rates and references.

Vince
 
^^^ yeah lotta shitbirds. Sounds like your employee was some sort of admin pog or supply. They always have the best war stories, got their CAR because someone in their battalion had a neg discharge on the base. These guys with their bs stories are easy to pick out. Unfortunately for you, you tried to do the guy a favor.

wow, let the POG hate go lmao. I can pretty much guarantee you that no one got a CAR that didnt deserve one. Hell, i think i know a few who deserved one and didnt get it. But you know, they were just POG's and shit.... Never met a grunt who was full of shit or anything.... hahahhahahhahaha
 
Its to bad things did not work out. Hate to see people trying to be something they are not. Keep looking seems like it takes three tries to find any employe that fits the position. Good luck.

Rich L
 
The military has our fair share of idiots and posers just like everyone else. I am by no stretch of the imagination a "Billy Bad Ass". However I can tell you that most of us that went through some traumatic stuff aren't going to open up immediately or brag about it. I cant tell you how many guys ive met who were "Recon/MARSOC in Afghanistan. Come to find out they were supply admin or some crap and make sure you hear the phrase "with Recon" when they try to explain away their BS. OP I'm sorry your former employee tarnished the Marine Corps and your business. You're better off without him.
 
Second day, still haven't heard back.

He hasn't really tarnished the image for me though. I have several friends who served in the Marines, as well as the Army and Navy. I figured since they were all pretty responsible with high moral standards and such, that it would be the case for all veterans. And this particular guy was a pretty good actor because he convinced us.

In any case, I called the other potential candidate and he is more than happy to start his new job with us on Thursday.
 
Something tells me this guy didn't serve a day.....

I'm thinking the same thing. And his claim of 10yrs is sort of odd as well unless he's disabled. That puts him between enlistments, but I guess with his super ninja background..........
If this guy was actually a Marine, let me apologize for the bullshit. There's a weird dynamic where Marines are coninually judged on the behavior of other Marines so we tend to take it to heart, whether we're still in or have been out for years.

I'm moving to the Chicago burbs myself and would have been honored at that opportunity to learn machining, but I also would have been very honest with you in the beginning and said that a 0600 show-time was a bad match for me, but I'd be glad to work a mid shift or night shift.

I'd be interested to hear if this guy had in fact served. It really sounds as though he didn't.

Good on you for hiring a "vet" (if he was one), and I hope this doesn't fuck the next guy.
 
I think the guy did serve and was probably 3/2 but nowhere near the incident. Most likely he served and got booted with a Big Chicken Dinner because he was a shitbird.

His work ethic is obvious and he did not develop that in the Marine Corps, this is just another ass who gives the service a bad name.

As for 19 CK, shit I got 2 million, and they are still in my cruise sock.
 
Well, I fudged up. He verbally told me he had 10 years and 2 deployments. Resume says 5 years. Just for fun, here's the resume. Tell me what you make of it. Those of you with real military experience can probably distinguish the BS from the real stuff.


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None of that USMC stuff means much to me since I was in the Navy. But under "qualifications" I see some fluffed up stuff that would have me asking some pretty probing questions during the interview.

The biggest red flag, for me, is the large discrepancy between the length of military service as stated on the resume vs his verbal claims.
 
Yea,


From here on in, I will be dissecting resumes very carefully and really questioning everything on them.

I was honestly pretty trusting that someone who comes face to face will be telling the truth about their past and abilities, etc.


Because of this guy, every potential hire will go through a very rough interview process and have to explain everything on their resume in detail.


I am definitely to blame for part of this, because I was assuming people are good by nature.
 
I run a business in Florida. I have to hire throughout the state. We have some real winners. Sometimes it feels like 75% of this country does not even want a job. In Miami I have guys that fake their entire resume and experience to get into the company property just long enough to steal everything they possibly can. Being a veteran doesn't make you any more likely to succeed at a job in my opinion. I have hired good ones and complete flakes. The most disappointing thing is how willing people are to tell lie after lie to get what they want.

A bit off topic, but funny you mention Miami. My wife had a good size small business (Daycare) there for five years. Average # of employees at any one time 14. When she sold the business I asked her what was the total number of people she hired/fired/replaced in the 5 years. She looked it up; answer: 185 people! Think about it...
 
Glad to hear that this story isn't anywhere as negative as it could have been. And yes, Due Diligence is required when screening applicants. Also, consequences can be quite high.

My only suggestion though, is to kindly remind you that not everyone is a lying, cheating, back-stabbing con-man.

On the contrary, the biggest problem is the fact that lying, cheating, back-stabbing con-men go out of their way to "look like everyone".
 
I never served but appreciate those that did and when my son was in high school I started prepping him for the real world of finding a good paying job being a white male. It took me years to get a good paying job and several times I was told, by people I knew that worked at companies I was applying at, that if I wasn't a minority or female then I wasn't going to get selected. The post office told me I needed service preference points. At the time I was hired where I presently work you had to either be a vet or have family preference. Very seldom did they hire off the street so I see nothing wrong with using military service as a benefit in getting a good job and I appreciate the OPs willingness to high vets.
 
WOW!! I'm sorry you got burned... As bogeybrown said, we tend to take it personally when someone tarnishes the reputation of the Corps.

From the resume you posted, it does sound like he did one enlistment. Sept '07 to Sept '11... four years. There are some definite embelishments on his resume though, and a few other 'red flags' that make me believe that he's not even close to being what he claims.

From the resume, he claims CLB 26 S-4... In the Marine Corps S-4 is the Logistics section, and CLB-26 is the Combat Logistics Battalion that supports the 26th MEU. (All this I'm posting you can find on the web) Now, he's definitely a POG (Persons Other than Grunts)... not that a POG means you didn't see any action or hit an IED... but if you look up the two deployments for the 26th MEU during that time frame, BOTH of them were amphibious deployments!! He definitely wasn't on any 'presidental protection details if he was so attached to CLB 26, and being hit by and IED is very doubtful also. 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for the red flags... His 'Certified USMC prisoner/detainee chaser handler' was probably a 2 hr class that is part of a pre-deployment work-up that EVERY ONE goes through, His USMC Non-Comissioned Officer Leadership Course could be any number of things from a satellite written course to a week-long course at his duty station. He states he was a NCOIC... Non-Comissioned Officer In Command, yet a Battalion doesn't have an NCOIC... they have Staff Non-Comissioned Officers In Command. He states he was in charge of 12 Marines (a squad) which is about right for an E-4 (Corporal)... I'm guessing he might have got out as a Corporal because you'd have to be pretty shit hot to make Sergeant in 4 yrs, but that's not even close to being 'In Command.' Also his choice of 'Jacksonville NC' for the locations are kind of suspect... CLB 26 is in Camp Lejeune NC, though it is pretty close geographically.

Long and short of it... if that resume went across the desk of a prior service Marine, he'd get slammed pretty hard for his verbage and embelishments... he'd definitely get called out for any of the other stories he told too.
 
That kinda s**t makes it harder for vets to get hired. My first real job after etsing was by a guy that was a vet and wanted vets. He ran a diesel mech shop and told me if I started out @ $7 an hour they would hook me up with basic tool and after a year they were mine. That was 16 years ago. I have moved on to a dealership and see him sometimes. He always says he is proud of me. He took a chance and I am glad I did right by him. Since then I've only seen one vet hired that worked out and he has been next to me for the last 10 years. Stand up guy for a squid. All the others couldn't pass a wizz quiz or pussed out. Sorry you got screwed.
 
Do people rally put all that stuff on resumes? I only put three bullet points about military in mine:
-Real world, front line, leadership experience
-Keen attention to detail, and substantial risk assessment experience.
-A list of my cool guy schools.

I don't think it's really appropriate to list that much crap, but I also have a bachelor's degree on there to sweeten it up.

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