Albert Valentine Bustamante; Marine forger
January 4th, 2013
Here’s one I came across from our buddy Scotty. Albert Valentine Bustamante claimed service from 1973 – 1979 and time with the Marine “Special Forces Recon” units and here’s his DD214 to prove it;
Everyone knows that they type out your Bronze Star citation on your DD214, right? What? They don’t?
Well, that DD214 conflicts greatly with his FOIA;
Go over to Scotty’s link and read the discrepancies between his claims and reality. It’s a hoot, he even lied about his high school years. The internet is a real bitch when she wants to be.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
He is so high speed it makes me cry
January 4th, 2013 at 12:34 pm
So he’s the bastard that gave Shinseki the beret idea.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
So what exactly is “outstanding duty preformed”? I have some ideas but they don’t make for polite conversation.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
O-4E…this guy is so high-speed he leaves a vapor trail doing PT.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
I bet he is combatives level Chuck Norris.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:39 pm
“Therefore has performed a lifesaving duty.” Oh, okay. I can guess that his major was not English.
January 4th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Poser or not, his name rocks!!!!
January 4th, 2013 at 12:46 pm
And as I noted elsewhere: Not all of his PII is redacted, Jonn, but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say 1–he didn’t enlist when he was 15, 2–if you’re gonna forge a DD-214, it’s a lot more believeable if you use the proper font.
Probably because his DOB is faked, but hey, YMMV.
January 4th, 2013 at 1:00 pm
He’s got stuff all over the place and sadly, his MC is buying his BS. He claims the whole “had to enlist or go to jail thing” also even though he was still a minor at the time.
His forged DD-214 is a recent development. I love how he removed the “Other Than” from his disharge type but still left the KFS1 on there. KFS1 is DISCHARGE IN LIEU OF TRIAL BY COURT-MARTIAL.
He also change his rank to E-4/CPL on the DD-214 yet he’s wearing SSgt rank on all his pics. Could go on and one with this one.
January 4th, 2013 at 1:10 pm
“Carried Officer LT…”
I guess I failed to learn that “Officer” is part of every officer’s title LOL
January 4th, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Ballad of the phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret:
Fighting phonies who are not shy
No self esteem they tell stories and lie
Men who may beleive just what they say
The sad, sad men of the phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret
Silver wings upon their chest
Throw in a DSC, scuba bubble, silver star and CIB with all the rest
One hundred men will show up to the Legion Riders poker ride today
But only three will be Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret
Trained to live off gullible people throughout the land
Trained in scamming folks, mouth-to-hand (sorry had to ryhme)
Men who pose by night and day
My records burned phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret
EOD badge and Master Aviator wings upon their chest
These are scam artist, America’s best
My service and medals are classified by the CIA even today
So the story goes for the phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret
In various cities young wives wait
Their phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret has shown up late
He has cleaned out the account as you might have guessed
Leaving her $110K in bills and this last request
If the FBI shows up asking about the silver wings on my chest
Tell them I moved out west
Better yet the military called me back into duty today
Thanks for the great time…your phony Marine Special Forces Recon Soldier Green Beret
January 4th, 2013 at 1:13 pm
@11.
Now that is funny!!
January 4th, 2013 at 1:15 pm
How does a Lance Coolie not have an MOS?
A Marine wearing a Beret?! Burn it with fire, please.
January 4th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
@13 He was an 0311. That piece on his forged DD-214 is true. He didn’t think to change it to 0321 to support his claims.
January 4th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
In his bio he talks about how he walks the path laid out for him by his heavenly father as well as his cherokee wisdom…..
I’m not particularly religious nor am I am cherokee shaman, but I suspect being a lying, forging, phony is not something a heavenly father or a wise cherokee would normally do….
Just another sad little man desperately trying to pretend to be something other than what he really is….
January 4th, 2013 at 1:25 pm
“In his bio he talks about how he walks the path laid out for him by his heavenly father”
I guess he missed the “Thou shalt not bare false witness” part.
January 4th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
I love how his black beret has the universal flash adopted by the Army in 2001. Apparently his Marine Special Forces BlackBaret unit specialized in time travel, too.
You know what’s sad, though? He may be a poser but at least he knows how to wear a damn beret. I’ve seen AD soldiers who can’t form a beret for shit but this guy actually has a squared away looking beret.
January 4th, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Another “Rice Paddy Daddy” that served with the “Secret Squirrel Security Forces” in the ‘Nam… he’s died a couple of times and has “seen the light”.
Got to love these losers, each and every one of them….
January 4th, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Yeah, and Albert Valentine Bustamante doesn’t get lost, the earth just reorients itself to him.
January 4th, 2013 at 2:21 pm
@19 Albert Bustamanta doesn’t join the Marines; the Marines join him.
January 4th, 2013 at 2:22 pm
*Bustamante
January 4th, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Thanks Mustang, I was going to point out how interesting it was that “honorable” was center justified unlike everything else, but the KSF1 is a dead giveaway. Your Marine lingo frighten and confuses me.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Albert Valentine Bustamante can touch MC Hammer.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:25 pm
Albert Valentine Bustamante eats babies and shits out Delta Force team members.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:36 pm
When Albert Valentine Bustamante walks into a room, he doesn’t turn the lights on, he turns the dark off.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:45 pm
Albert Valentine Bustamante let the dogs out.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Albert Valentine Bustamante lost his virginity before his father.
January 4th, 2013 at 3:51 pm
His old balls MC must be all posers as well to allow for that obvious fraud shit to fly. Having clicked the link and seen the eagle, globe, and anchor on a fucking beret almost made me barf. Shitbag couldn’t even handle garrison life of an 03 and he claims all sorts of combat valor. Fuck this poser forever.
January 4th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Death once had a near-Albert Valentine Bustamante experience.
January 4th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Somebody needs to frag this worthless oxygen thief. He’s *all over* stolen valor/wannabe’s/TAH/The Whole Got Damn Internet and he’s almost as bad as the energizer bunny.
January 4th, 2013 at 4:13 pm
You know, I remember a friend of mine in the Marines being so mad when the Army stole their berets to make us a lighter, faster striking force… wait…
January 4th, 2013 at 4:39 pm
As I said in another post, the “Motorcycle Club Vietnam Vet” has become an established archetype in the motorcycling world. It’s one of those things where there are likely so many fakers that it’s not worth it to call them out. In fact, the “Motorcycle club poser” is probably such a prevalent form of military fakery that it probably deserves to be in its own sub-category.
Also, there is a huge sub-industry within the motorcycle world that caters directly to the VN Vet bikers (both real and fake) and obviously those people have a strong interest in not busting out the fakers.
All of which kind of makes me wonder what will happen as Vietnam further recedes into the past. Yes, there are already Desert Storm/GWOT/AFG/IRQ MC riding vets but they don’t command the “instant cred” of the VN Vets, at least not yet (my guess is that this is because none of the more current wars have gained the elevated “Noble Lost Cause” status of the VN war in our cultural memory.)
But sooner or later, math is going to “out” these fakers. You can’t be 53 years old and claim to be a “Vietnam Veteran” unless you can explain how you were duking it out with “Charlie” at the age of 9 or 10 years old.
January 4th, 2013 at 4:40 pm
I’m changing my name to Bustacappa.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:03 pm
I was an AF Personnel Specialist (did at bit as an MTI, but still) and NO ONE wants to stolen valor me! I’m very hurt by this fact.
Do you have any idea the paper cuts I got? Or the time I sprained my wrist mounting the air conditioner at USMTM/ELF-ONE?
/hrumphh
January 4th, 2013 at 5:13 pm
Tango9 #34, I think The Duffel Blog did one on a phony clerk, if that makes you feel any better.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:23 pm
Anyone know the MC? Can’t see the back of his cut.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:30 pm
#35 LOL yeah I saw that one. Having to wrap a measuring tape around the girth of a sweaty ass reserve captain the size of Oprah is a tough job, but someone has to do it.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:41 pm
@36 Pretty sure it’s the Oakville chapter of the Gypsy’s. He’s in the pic on their cover photo: https://www.facebook.com/oakvillegypsy.mc
January 4th, 2013 at 5:52 pm
Huh. An MC taking in shitbags. Whoda thunk.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Geez – not only is this guy incompetent at basic arithmetic (as NHSparky notes above, I doubt he enlisted at 15), but he can’t do even cursory research to support a fake story, either. Then again, after looking at the quality of the writing on his faked DD214, that’s not surprising.
A quick Internet search turns up the fact that there were zero US casualties during Operation EAGLE PULL. So his claim of getting a BSM for saving a wounded Marine officer during EAGLE PULL is easily proven to be BS.
http://www.history.navy.mil/seairland/chap5.htm
There were some USMC casualties during Operation FREQUENT WIND – 2 KIA and 2 lost at sea, and at least 1 WIA. The 2 KIA and the WIA were Marine corporals who were wounded at the DAO location in Saigon. The two lost at sea were the pilot and co-pilot of a CH-46F which crashed at sea at the end of a night SAR mission. The two enlisted crewmembers survived.
http://www.fallofsaigon.org/iframe.php?id=12
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frequent_Wind
However, none of those casualties were USMC officers wounded by enemy fire, so he can’t claim “they put the wrong operation on my DD214″, either.
Lastly, it’s the “Combat Action Ribbon” that the Navy and USMC awards. The USAF is the one that awards a “Combat Action Medal” – since 2007. Prior to 2007, there was no such thing as a “Combat Action Medal”.
http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=11444&page=1
Obviously, Bustamante “ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed”.
January 4th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Two fat girls and what… 4-6 meth heads? Losers.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
#40 the AF did have a combat ribbon for many years (remember I’m the papercut guy). Let me do some digging, it’s tickling my memory… I believe it was for air only (pilots/aircrew) but let me get my ducks lined up and do a little research into the 8 brain cells I have left. Not the Air Medal, but a combat ribbon… going hunting brb.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:02 pm
When he was outed over at the SV facebook page I went through his chronological record and put in order (now posted on Scotty’s page). It was a little daunting due to all the entries that were backdated because of his time being UA.
He spent nearly his entire last year of service UA, being a deserver, in the brig, or in civilian jail.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Damn, can’t type today. Meant *deserter
January 4th, 2013 at 6:03 pm
Combat Readiness Medal. Been around a while. I didn’t look up the official award criteria (this is all from memory) but it was awarded to personnel serving in positions likely to get dead, in 1 year increments.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Tango9: two-year increments, actually. But the CRM never did and still does not require actual participation in combat, so it’s not exactly designed to recognize the same thing as a CIB/CMB/CAR/CAM/CAR.
And yeah, I did have to look up the criteria (smile):
http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=7789&page=1
January 4th, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Hondo, I’m old, and it’s been 12 years so it was all from a clouded, hooker-infested, Jack Daniels memory, so forgive me.
I know it isn’t the equivalent but it’s what we had when I was in.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
and hell, when I was in we had the “all, some or none” ribbon wearing policy. I only wore 2: My MTI ribbon and my AFEM.
God, the chief would get pissed when I wore my blues… best part of my day.
January 4th, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Hey, Tango09! My memory is kinda foggy on that one as well, but wasn’t it awarded to folks like refueling crews over/near combat areas and such? Seems like we had some boomers back in the day with them. (Was in a KC-97 unit many years ago.)
January 4th, 2013 at 6:59 pm
I was with the 552d AWACW so we gave them out to the aircrews. Those and Air Medals by the truckload when they participated in Bear-H intercepts. Ah, the good old days.
January 4th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Get a tail number, get an air medal.
think those flights were 0-9′s
January 4th, 2013 at 7:02 pm
actually… 20 0-9′s = 1 air medal if I recall correctly. I lived in the dorms on Tinker and I remember watching A1C’s with 2 AMs walk by. fkers.
January 4th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
@39 and @41 Not going to get into a pissing contest, but generalizing that all MCs are filled with bad people is ridiculous. Isn’t that one of the things we get worked up about on this forum? Aren’t we critical of the media when “they” generalize that all vets have PTSD or that all gun owners are buttons?
January 4th, 2013 at 9:21 pm
nutjobs……not buttons. Stupid autocorrect
January 4th, 2013 at 9:39 pm
@54
I lick buttons better
January 4th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
like..not lick
Damn you autocorrect
January 4th, 2013 at 9:53 pm
@56 lol. Love autocorrect
January 4th, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Waht iz autokorect?
January 4th, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Is his daughter the one who murdered that other little girl?
January 5th, 2013 at 8:18 am
I am a Real Vietnam Veteran,all of 67 and half of 68.First tour with the First Cav..Second with the 195th Assault Helicopter Company, 2nd lift as a doorgunner. I have a few Air Medals.
This should clear things up about the Air Medal:
Established in 1942, the Air Medal is awarded for meritorious achievement in aerial operations, for heroic acts in aerial operations against an armed enemy, or for merit in operational activities. During the Vietnam War, for instance, a single award of the Air Medal denoted participation by ground troops in a requisite number of “Combat Air Assaults”.
The number of Air Assaults was 25.For most of us,our Air Medals were ‘Hard Won’.
As for this puke Bustamante…he makes me sick and he gives All Vietnam Veterans a bad name. I called him out on his phoney decorations on his Facebook page and he was trying to bullshit me so fast that he couldn’t even keep track of his own bullshit story ! He ended up blocking me. That was a coward’s move.If your legit, stand up and prove it, if your not,run away. The closest Bustamante ever got to combat was watching ‘Full Metal Jacket’. He never took part in Operation Eagle Pull and wasn’t even in the Marines when it to place. He is Not Airborne Qualified nor was he ever assigned to Force Recon. He’s just a liar. His forged DD214 looks like he paid a 4th grader to do it. And Bustamante.. ” If your reading this, Viet Nam is ‘One Word’.. it’s spelled Vietnam…Why didn’t you know that ? Oh…That’s right..You were Never There ! What you should do ,you piece of shit, is go to the Vietnam Wall in DC and fall on your knees and beg forgiveness from the 58000 + that served and didn’t come back for posing as one of us ! May you rot in hell you asshole !
January 5th, 2013 at 8:56 am
Tango9: understand the getting old part, amigo. That’s why I look stuff up – CRS. Plus my background is Army vice USAF and I got curious. (smile)
Have to admit that the concept behind that one kinda baffles me. Based on similar criteria an equivalent Army award would cover serving an aggregate of 2 years in pretty much any tactical unit in the Army.
Another example of the differences in service customs and philosophies, I guess.
January 5th, 2013 at 9:40 am
Nearly 24 hours and no threars of “lawers” yet? These guys are slipping. Maybe Gunny Driveway can give him some pointers.
January 5th, 2013 at 11:11 am
My favorite pic is the one where he is wearing an Army black beret with the USMC EGA device and Army E-6 rank on his collar (note the absence of the crossed rifles which is on all Marine NCO ranks from Lance Corporal up to Gunnery Sergeant.)
January 5th, 2013 at 12:03 pm
@63 – I found the pics equally “disturbing”, particularly the one where he’s sporting the service “A” uniform with 4 hashmarks, denoting 16 years of service but has only 1 bronze star device on his Good Conduct Medal. And the gold EGA device on a beret? Give me a f-ckin’ break! I won’t even go into the fact that he wouldn’t have been eligible for the Vietnam related medals he claims to have.
This guy is all over the internet now. I wonder if anyone has ever called him out on his shenanigans… that is, if they even bothered to do any research about his exploits.
BUT… I recognize that’s the society that we live in now. Folks aren’t held accountable for their actions, and are somehow permitted to get away with lies by folks who just enable them to get away with such nonsense.
January 6th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
I’m writing this on behalf of the Gypsy Motorcycle Club. This is to let you know that after our own investigation, to include a FOIA request for his DD214, we have removed Albert Valentine Bustamante, aka Razorback from our membership.
It may seem that our action was slow in coming. You’re correct. We took our time to do due diligence. Bear in mind that this man was a member of our club – a brother – off and on for twenty years. We don’t do background checks; we tend to trust our members. When word was first made public about his fakery, we took it with a grain of salt, because the man who brought it to light had a fairly public grudge against Bustamante. Yes, there was an obviously altered 214 posted. However, as easy as it seems to be to fake the document, it could have been anyone who forged it. We needed to make sure he wasn’t being falsely accused, so we took the approach of “innocent until proven guilty”. Obviously, once we got our own copy, we now know who the forger is.
For the record, a significant number of our members are veterans, myself included (USN 1987-91). If ever doubted, I don’t know of any who wouldn’t offer their 214 for scrutiny. Again, including me.
I’m sure you’ll continue to post about Bustamante. I would however, ask that any derogatory comments about our club cease. The wheels of justice may have moved slowly, but they moved. Leave us out of the rants from now on.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me through the Facebook message system.
Worth “E.T.” Cadenhead
Area D Vice President
Gypsy MC Int’l
January 6th, 2013 at 2:15 pm
Mr. Cadenhead: thanks for the update. Glad to see your MC decided to do the correct thing here and throw Bustamante the LSoS out on his ass. Some organizations simply don’t care; yours obviously does.
January 6th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
It’s not a military-only club so it makes sense that DD-214s are not required and reviewed. Hell, there’s enough problems with posers and embellishers getting over in the AL and VFW.
January 6th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
His biker name should be “El Shitbaggo”.
January 6th, 2013 at 9:52 pm
68 was me.
Too many beers.
January 20th, 2013 at 12:58 am
With respect to the name, this could be “The Fifth Most Dangerous Man In The World”.
He would seem to have more than an NDSM “Nasty D”.
February 4th, 2013 at 11:46 am
When a young lady approached me with this guys story, we knew immediately that he was a phony. We put in for the FOIA and verified he was, in fact, an ass-bag poser. However, his MC did not believe it until we convinced them to do their own FOIA on him. Once they received his records, they kicked him out. He still has his supporters as most do, but he is exposed for the most part. After being exposed, he still claims everything and says that mistakes were made on his paperwork and he needs to clear it up at the VA. The VA may have been duped by his DD214 as well, but that’s on them. There is also evidence that he was the beneficiary of a few fundraisers for a car accident he was involved in where they had him listed as a “Vietnam Veteran”.
February 4th, 2013 at 12:05 pm
He should have had a 4th grader review his DD-214 for punctuation and grammer.
April 12th, 2013 at 7:12 am
I sent in a tip to the VA OIG hotline. Hopefully they look into this guy.
April 12th, 2013 at 8:59 am
Hmmm… Got this back. Did someone else tip them off??
“The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) Hotline received your complaint dated April 12, 2013. The VA OIG’s mission is to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse within VA programs. The Hotline accepts tips or complaints that, on a select basis, result in reviews of:
–VA-related criminal activity.
–Systemic patient safety issues.
–Gross mismanagement.
–Misconduct by senior VA officials.
Our staff has reviewed your complaint and determined that the issue has been properly addressed. Our review did not result in the creation of an investigation report. This is our final response on this issue.
Thank you.
XXX
Senior Analyst
VA OIG Hotline
April 12th, 2013 at 9:20 am
You kiddin me? The VA wouldn’t know a faker if it sat on their faces and wiggled.
April 29th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
[...] Avila at channel 4 WOAI in San Antonio, has a broadcast tonight starring some of our old friends, Alberto Bustamante, Tina Kerston and Paul Schroeder. Jaie confronts them with the camera. I predict hillarity. He told [...]
April 30th, 2013 at 7:46 am
[...] Jaie Avila at WAOI4 in San Antonio, writes an article today about confronting two of our phonies, Alberto Bustamante and Paul [...]
May 7th, 2013 at 11:01 am
This dude is a stooge, but he gets my vote for the best name.
“Bustamanate”.
Tough.
Also, did anyone notice what a wretched, whiny pussy with “wide eyed-I lied” syndrome he looked like in the interview compared to the “hardcore” pic above?
I hope his MC is kicking the shit out of him.
If there not, then they are fake MC club at best.
May 20th, 2013 at 9:49 am
[...] Albert Valentine Bustamante; Marine forger [...]