bobdina
08-21-2010, 11:18 AM
2nd lt. who wore SEAL insignia loses job
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 21, 2010 9:24:01 EDT
Second Lt. Douglas Sofranko, a Florida National Guard officer photographed wearing a Navy SEAL Trident insignia he didn’t rate, has been relieved of his full-time duties with the Guard, and his future in the military is uncertain.
Sources told Army Times that Sofranko had been fired from his full-time job under state orders after Army Times informed Guard officials that Sofranko was wearing unauthorized insignia. But a spokesman would confirm only that he was no longer on temporary Guard orders.
Sofranko was a sailor from 1996 to 1999, during which time he attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in Coronado, Calif., but did not graduate. He received his commission in the Florida National Guard in August 2009 and, when confronted by Army Times on Aug. 4, admitted occasionally wearing the SEAL Trident on his Army combat uniform. Sources in his unit — 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry — said he also posted a copy of the SEAL Creed on his office wall.
When asked why he did it, he said “No excuse, really. Just poor, poor judgment.”
Sofranko, until recently, was on active-duty operational support orders for the Guard.
“ADOS is a temporary active-duty status for a specific project,” said A.J. Artley, spokesman for the Florida National Guard. “As far as we know … he is no longer on ADOS orders — we are not aware of him being fired nor were we made aware of the reason why he is no longer on temporary orders.”
Artley earlier told Army Times that Sofranko’s unit is investigating the matter. Most of his unit is deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, and Sofranko was serving as part of the rear detachment in Miami.
Army Times was unable to reach Sofranko for comment.
“We spoke with his commander, who told us he anticipates to have a decision on this matter completed by the end of this month, and this was all he was able to say at this time,” Artley said.
In a deeper review of Sofranko’s training records, it’s clear he didn’t make it very far in SEAL training.
According to those records, Sofranko reported in June 14, 1996, and started training with BUD/S Class 209 on Aug. 19, but was no longer in the class when they started “Hell Week,” one of the toughest weeks of SEAL training.
“Sofranko is not on the Hell Week roster for Class 209, therefore he dropped somewhere in the first three weeks,” said Cmdr. Greg Geisen, spokesman for Navy Special Warfare Command.
Geisen said the command also checked the records for the next class, 210, which began Hell Week on Nov. 10, as SEAL candidates often get rolled back for medical or other reasons, but his name doesn’t show up there either.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/08/army-guardsman-wearing-seal-insignia-082110w/
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 21, 2010 9:24:01 EDT
Second Lt. Douglas Sofranko, a Florida National Guard officer photographed wearing a Navy SEAL Trident insignia he didn’t rate, has been relieved of his full-time duties with the Guard, and his future in the military is uncertain.
Sources told Army Times that Sofranko had been fired from his full-time job under state orders after Army Times informed Guard officials that Sofranko was wearing unauthorized insignia. But a spokesman would confirm only that he was no longer on temporary Guard orders.
Sofranko was a sailor from 1996 to 1999, during which time he attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in Coronado, Calif., but did not graduate. He received his commission in the Florida National Guard in August 2009 and, when confronted by Army Times on Aug. 4, admitted occasionally wearing the SEAL Trident on his Army combat uniform. Sources in his unit — 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry — said he also posted a copy of the SEAL Creed on his office wall.
When asked why he did it, he said “No excuse, really. Just poor, poor judgment.”
Sofranko, until recently, was on active-duty operational support orders for the Guard.
“ADOS is a temporary active-duty status for a specific project,” said A.J. Artley, spokesman for the Florida National Guard. “As far as we know … he is no longer on ADOS orders — we are not aware of him being fired nor were we made aware of the reason why he is no longer on temporary orders.”
Artley earlier told Army Times that Sofranko’s unit is investigating the matter. Most of his unit is deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, and Sofranko was serving as part of the rear detachment in Miami.
Army Times was unable to reach Sofranko for comment.
“We spoke with his commander, who told us he anticipates to have a decision on this matter completed by the end of this month, and this was all he was able to say at this time,” Artley said.
In a deeper review of Sofranko’s training records, it’s clear he didn’t make it very far in SEAL training.
According to those records, Sofranko reported in June 14, 1996, and started training with BUD/S Class 209 on Aug. 19, but was no longer in the class when they started “Hell Week,” one of the toughest weeks of SEAL training.
“Sofranko is not on the Hell Week roster for Class 209, therefore he dropped somewhere in the first three weeks,” said Cmdr. Greg Geisen, spokesman for Navy Special Warfare Command.
Geisen said the command also checked the records for the next class, 210, which began Hell Week on Nov. 10, as SEAL candidates often get rolled back for medical or other reasons, but his name doesn’t show up there either.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/08/army-guardsman-wearing-seal-insignia-082110w/