What does Yon do when people, including current and retired Troops oppose his rhetoric? He attempts to shut them down. What does Yon do when he is caught in a lie? He makes allegations in an attempt to shut up those with proof of the truth.
Recently, an online forum of Veterans and Actively serving Special Forces began discussing Yon's recent crusade against Army DustOff. The question of the forum, "Quiet Professionals" was what their thoughts were of Yon's call and petition to have the Red Cross markings removed from Army MedEvac helicopters. A few of their members had opinions about the concept, and of the author of the referenced article. The opinions on the subject matter were strong, but the opinions on the author were to become strong in the manner in which Yon (mis)behaved himself.
A retired SF Team Sergeant noted: "From what I understand Yon has been "escorted" off some Special Operations bases"
"In any case, insinuations that I have been kicked off of SF facilities damage your standing unless you can provide evidence. None exists; it never happened." Michael Yon, 26 Oct 2011 1:14AM, continuing with a veiled threat: "I have turned down those opportunities steadily since 2005. Perhaps I should list the reasons. I think you would rather I not."
I've been around enough Special Forces Soldiers enough to know that threats are not well-received, and rarely work out well for the person who issues them. I've long believed that the silence from the SF community in regards to Yon was primarily a "professional courtesy" as they are not known for public battles. That is the reason they gained the nickname, "The Quiet Professionals." They do great deeds with little public recognition, and rarely talk about it outside their own circles.
As far as my comment of you being escorted off a compound, be very careful in what you ask for as my "source" would be considered A1.
If you would like to take this conversation "private" we can do that also. You are still considered one of us and we will afford you all the considerations of being a Special Forces soldier albeit a Jr. member .
No one here said you didn't have a brain, though some of us are pointing out you do lack Special Forces & military "experience".
Yon was not going to have any of it. His response was to state he "wasn't" one of the Quiet Professionals, and I'd tend to agree: He's neither Quiet, nor Professional:
"If this is the new Special Forces, my decision to leave was correct. I am not one of you. No desire to take special favors and take it offline." Michael Yon 26 Oct 2011 10:48AM "Name your source. Name the compound that you claim I was escorted from....And so when you make your claim, it's going to get dicey because it never happened"
There has long been a discussion over whether Yon's claims to his military record in Special Forces was as he claimed or not, but at least one member of the forum had remembered him. It wasn't long before others took a look at Yon's Wikipedia page, which Yon has claimed to have "his people" fix. It continues to be the belief by many that Yon was given the option of a military discharge or if not, a forced discharge, but somehow "flat feet" has entered the discussion on reasons or excuses for his departure.
But what of the accusation of Yon being escorted off a Special Forces Compound? Well, a verified member of Special Forces, a serving Command Sergeant Major, provides the details:
Mr. Yon, allow me to substantiate the information TS is referring to. I will try to be brief, as I am not the wordsmith that you are. TS, I apologize for being late to the conversation but had to be cued in via email.
You may recall entering a Team House on FOB GABE, Baqubah, IZ in either 2004 or 2005. I recall it was warm so its feasible that it could have been later in our tour in 2005. We had our own independent compound on the perimeter of FOB GABE.
I was the Team Sergeant of ODA XXXon FOB GABE during that time frame. You asked one of my guys to talk to me and I met you in our main living area. You told me that you were in Iraq independently as an author and told be about your previous book. You asked a couple of questions about what we were doing (as had other reporters) and I deferred you to our PAO located in Mosul at the time. You pressed on with your questioning, even suggesting that I/we could benefit in the long run from the association. I interpreted this as being beneficial to your writing and a breach of OPSEC and became rather short with you. Our dog, "Sheik," sensed my anger and bit you on the back of the leg (not sure if she broke skin or not, but at the very least got a hold of you pant leg) With that, I told you to leave our compound and not come back and walked you back out of the Team House and through the gate. I then instructed my BDOC guards to prevent you from ever entering the compound again. In such, you we're removed from an SF Compound at that time and the statement is true.
Before this altercation, a couple of my guys had accompanied the GP Forces from FOB GABE (Likely the 1st Battalion 6th FA, 1st ID but could have been the Engineer Battalion on the FOB; I don't have access to historical CONOPS archived on sipr from home). During this operation, my guys there to advise and assist on SSE observed you taking evidence from an objective and organizing it for your own photographs, potentially contaminating evidence and placing the legitimacy of the operation in jeopardy.
I went on to report the objective observation as well as our interaction to the CJSOTF Commander and SOTF-N Commander and was told to conduct no operations while you were present. I went to relay this information to the 1/6FA Battalion Commander and he ensured that you were not allowed on any operations that we conducted jointly with his Battalion. You may recall one night being loaded up with 1/6FA being asked to leave the vehicle. I remember this because I watched you load up and had to talk to the BC about it because of my guidance from higher.
So there it is. You may remember, admit, deny, whatever. I really don't care. Neither TS, nor I made a public deception. These are the facts as I recall them. 9 of 10 members of my ODA are still on active duty and can verify the altercation.
In re-reading my original post, I initially thought it a bit immature. After reading your comments here, I have to say that my original assessment of your character is what I believe today.
I should go on to say that I did not dislike you or wish you any ill will. Your success to this date in reporting actions on the ground has been well documented. I simply reacted to a situation at the time in the interest of the OPSEC of my mission. I expected you, as a former Special Forces Soldier to understand and you didn't. My responsibility at that time was the safety of my Soldiers and mission accomplishment. Surely you can understand that now?
Yon suddenly falls silent on the issue of being thrown off the SF Compound, as he is want to do when presented with factual evidence of his false statements, and goes into full on threat and vindictive retribution mode:
"How did the murder investigation turn out? During an operation in about February 2005, it was allegedly by an officer in 1/6 that one of your team mates murdered an unarmed Iraqi while he lay face down on the ground. After I left Diyala, I did not track that any more and nearly forgot about it until now. What was the outcome of the investigation? Was there an investigation?" Michael Yon 27 Oct 2011 01:37 AM
The Command Sergeant Major spells out the facts on the ground:
I was there in February of 2005. Nobody on my team was investigated for murder. Within SOF, all direct fire engagements are documented, and all shootings are further investigated. This was true in 2004/2005 as well, (I recall this also being the policy of the 1st ID at that time). I am not aware of any accusation from an officer in 1/6. I was pretty close with their Battalion Commander and can't imagine that he wouldn't have told us had any formal complaint been made. Perhaps this officer in 1/6 made this false claim to you, but didn't have all/any facts? All shootings during that time frame were investigated and the shooters cleared of any wrong doing. The specifics of what you allege in your comment are completely false.
The interesting aspect of this is that it also shines some light on other claims of Yon to SF. He has long enjoyed his claim to being "the youngest" or "one of the youngest to become a green beret"
"Oh, by the way, "one of the youngest" at 19 makes you a peer of a great many SF troops. There's also a ton of guys from the period that graduated prior to their 19th birthday." Pete
Turns out the youngest to have ever earned the tab was 18, in the prior age of "SF Babies," i.e. those that went straight into Special Forces after joining the Army, prior to the current 18X program.
Now that one more cloak has been pulled off the mystery that is Yon, now that one more allegation that Yon has been removed from operations has been uncovered, Yon is on a full-fledged bent to insinuate misdeeds from the quarter of those providing the truth. He is attacking Special Forces on his Facebook Fanatics page, with vague allegations of a "murder" he failed to mention back in 2005. No doubt, he'll be asking his fanatics to donate more of their hard earned money, while he sips from the lap of luxury in a 3rd World country.
Uncle Jimbo Matt Burden, himself, has some interesting commentary on the continuing Saga of Yon's Self-Destruction, including the very pertinent questions of why he threw out drive by allegations and then left the country in a hurry. He has also written a rather interesting post on this particular episode. He also did an article on the issue of specific allegation of Yon, of some kind of malfeasance on the part of the military related to the MedEvac of SPC Clark, which is what got this whole thing started.
Added: The drive by allegations by Yon against CJ, mentioned below indeed pre-date the Yon MedEvac petition to have the Army DustOff birds stripped of Geneva Convention Red Crosses. In the aftermath, of Yon's graphic warporn description of a Soldier's death, CJ expressed his outrage in the manner of a Drill Sergeant, while Yon feigned fear for his life.
The Tarnak Saga:
1) The Bridge Over the River Tarnak Looking at Fact and Fiction of the incident
2) From Tarnak Bridge to Bruhaha Looking at Yon's obsession for Menard
3) The Tarnak Scalp That Wasn't Looking at Yon's claims of scalping Menard
4) The Yon Conspiracy Over Tarnak: Looking at Yon's Conspiracy Theory Origins
Deviant Behavior
1) Yon OPSEC Violations: It can't be more blatant but some are in disbelief
2) Yon Publicizes Video of American Soldier Losing Legs.
3) Banned By Yon!
4) Yon's Attack on PTSD as insanity
5) The Banning of an Angel
6) Yon Fears a Fobbit
Stumble It!
