---
title: "Even Among Troops, Stolen Valor Can Be A Problem"
date: "2015-07-06"
modified: "2015-07-06"
authors:
  - name: "James Clark"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/james-clark/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/even-among-active-duty-troops-stolen-valor-can-be-a-problem/"
categories:
  - "Analysis"
  - "News"
---

# Even Among Troops, Stolen Valor Can Be A Problem

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/05/19033003-1.jpg>)

Embellishing, or even outright fabricating war stories — contemporarily referred to as stolen valor — has gone on as long as there have been wars. What some don’t realize is that this can occur among veterans and active-duty personnel as well. [Ashley Rowland of Stars and Stripes](<https://www.stripes.com/news/2015-07-05/stolen-valor-can-also-be-a-problem-among-active-duty-troops-1814376.html1>) looks at the story of Damian Barbee, an E-8 who was charged in May about lying on his service record. He was charged for falsely claiming to have earned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Master Parachutist Badge and an Army Commendation Medal with combat “V.”

Oh, and his Ranger tab was fake, too.

“In many cases, there’s a very clear and specific financial gain that they’re seeking. For others, there’s something about wanting to be perceived as a hero, to have people look at them with admiration,” said Christopher Frueh, a psychologist at the University of Hawaii, adding that the lie “becomes a narrative, it becomes a story, an excuse, an explanation, a way of filling some other gap.”

After he was caught and charged, Barbee was demoted to the rank of staff sergeant and sentenced to hard labor for three months.

## Author
James Clark is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JamesWClark>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jclarkjournalism/>)