Just to make my position very clear.
I wrote for SOFREP from May 2014 until I resigned on 31 May
2015. Even at that time, sofrep had a terrible reputation within the Special
Forces community. My goal was to learn as much as I could about this new
medium, attempt to promote the Special Forces Regiment positively and try to be
a voice for those who were still on active duty.
It took me awhile to start seeing those behind sofrep for
who they indeed are. (FTR my wife didn’t trust any of them from day one). It
took awhile to realize that their motivations were so much different than mine.
I had just retired after 20 years in the Army, 16+ in SF. I considered those
still serving as my brothers. I still do. For me, that will never go away.
In my opinion, those behind sofrep didn’t view the world the
way I did. Their experiences and contacts were tools to be used for monetary
gain and pure self-promotion.
The perception I had was that they targeted SOF vets who
were just getting out and desperately looking for a new “team.” (This is how I
got sucked in.) sofrep used these guys for their stories. When they were no
longer worth the squeeze? They were slowly let loose, to drift away quietly.
(Ask yourself why there is such a high turnover of authors at that place.)
The straw that broke it for me was when I found out what
Brandon Webb had said about Gold Star Wives.
"There is a small and sad
group of SOF widows who can't move on," Webb wrote in a comment published
on Feb. 22, using the abbreviation for special operations forces. "They
drink too much, pop prescription pills like tic tacs, sleep around, and use
SOF/Military charities as their own personal ATM machine when the money gets
low. They like to stir up drama to remain relevant."
A few women wrote to Webb,
complaining about the comment. He responded on Twitter, for all of his nearly
20,000 followers:
"I stand by that statement
100%. Not all SEALs are good guys and not all Widows are saints," Webb
wrote
When I saw this, I didn't hesitate. I quit. Within hours I
had submitted an official letter of resignation and then very publicly
resigned. I posted my departure on both Facebook and Twitter. I wanted the
world to know that my association with sofrep, Brandon Webb & Jack Murphy
was over.
I’ve learned one very important lesson about Social Media.
If you are honest with people, they will generally forgive honest mistakes. If
you publicly admit you fucked up or associated yourself with someone that you
later find out to have completely different moral and ethical standards, face
the music. Admit it, apologize, and try to learn from it. And yes, this is how
I see my time at sofrep. A major mistake. (As I said before, my wife never lets
me forget that she thought they were shady from day 1.)
Many times, in the last few years I have seen things that
sofrep has done, and I am glad that I did this. Letting the world know that my
association with Brandon Webb, Jack Murphy, sofrep, force 12 or any of the
other sites that they own, is over. I am also thankful that for whatever reason
Jack Murphy and Brandon Webb chose to delete all the articles that I wrote for
sofrep.
Try and google my name + sofrep, and you will see that they
are all directed to dead links.
As to the video they released. I don't believe the reasons
(excuses) they have presented. I have my own opinions but I won’t share those
here.
I hope everyone will finally wake up and see Brandon Webb and Jack Murphy, for who
they are. Not who they used to be.
Ironically the quote on this meme is from Webb which is why
I used it. The picture is from one of my deployments.
