Entries with Surname (Title)s starting with 'F'

Case notes:

How do you know when a wannabe is lying?   Usually when they can’t even tell you basic information on their service in the Australian Defence Force.

Meet David FLOOD from Katherine in the Northern Territory.   Here we see a gonged-up David FLOOD relaxing with a hard-earned beer after participating in an ANZAC Day Ceremony.   Nothing wrong with that, unless you are a complete fraud and didn’t earn any of the Medals and Awards shown in the photograph.

We first became alerted to FLOOD when this photograph was sent to us and it was noted that while he wears the Australian Active Service Medal (AASM), he does not wear any campaign medal which might be expected.

We did some checking and found no records of FLOOD ever having served in the ADF.   WE contacted him and asked if he could explain this apparent anomaly but after numerous emails we were still left in the dark until we received an email apologising for his actions.

It is an offence to wear medals and awards you are not entitled too.   This is a simple case of a wannabe, fraudster who was happy to have everyone believe he was a returned serviceman.   But not just an ex-serviceman, but rather, he portrayed himself as being just that little bit special.

Directorate of Special Forces?   Oh, why can’t these wannabes just be a plain old cook, a rifleman or a tanky?   No, it is always ‘Special Forces’ because they believe their stories of daring-do cannot be checked.   

David FLOOD is a fraud, he is committing offences against the Defence Act Defence Act 1903, where he is in breach of Part VII Sections 80A and 80B, which state there is a maximum penalty of $3,300 fine and six months imprisonment or both for:

80A. Falsely representing to be returned soldier, sailor or airman
80B. Improper use of service decorations

DEFENCE ACT 1903 - SECT 80A

Falsely representing to be returned soldier, sailor or airman

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:

(a) the person represents himself or herself to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman; and

(b) the representation is false.

Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(2) For the purposes of this section:

(a) returned soldier means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Military Force raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire, or as a member of the Military Forces of any Ally of Great Britain;

(b) returned sailor means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Naval Force raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire, or as a member of the Naval Forces of any Ally of Great Britain; and

(c) returned airman means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Air Force, air service or flying corps raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire or as a member of the air forces of any Ally of Great Britain

DEFENCE ACT 1903 - SECT 80B

Improper use of service decorations

(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:

(a) the person wears a service decoration; and

(b) the person is not the person on whom the decoration was conferred.

Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(2) Where the person upon whom a service decoration was conferred has died, it is not an offence against subsection (1) for a member of the family of that person to wear the service decoration if the member of the family does not represent himself as being the person upon whom the decoration was conferred.

Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (2). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

(3) It is not an offence against subsection (1) for a person to wear a service decoration in the course of a dramatic or other visual representation (including such a representation to be televised) or in the making of a cinematograph film.

Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (3). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.

(4) A person shall not falsely represent himself as being the person upon whom a service decoration has been conferred.

Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

(5) A person shall not deface or destroy, by melting or otherwise, a service decoration.

Penalty: 60 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.

Welcome to the real-world David Flood. 

Christopher Leslie Ford is the epitome of the reason we exist. He claims to be a returned Veteran and he is not. He wears six Defence Medals he did not earn.  He wears numerous badges he did not earn. He has marched on ANZAC Day as if he were a genuine Veteran.  He has dressed  in Army uniform portraying himself as a much decorated Special Air Service  (SASR) Warrant Officer Class Two.

The  photograph was taken at the Huskisson Returned Services League (RSL) Club in the Jervis Bay area of  New South Wales on ANZAC Day 2011.  A major Royal Australian Navy unit and the Defence Parachute Training School are all located in this area. At the

RSL Ford was quickly approached  by RSL members and he was seen scurrying off.  Here is a report of that encounter from  erudite members of the Huskisson RSL.

"Another was primarily dressed in Army uniform 2A for a SASR WO2, but

with the fol anomalies; brown T-shirt visible under shirt, no infantry

red sash, Regt lanyard on right/incorrect shoulder, WW2 medals over

right breast pocket, and over the left breast pocket a combination of

current ADF medals & ribbon bars for same incl unit citations; & SASR

para wings & beret.

It is understood that the person described wearing uniform is / maybe,

Chris Ford.

It is also understood that he has claimed to have served in 3RAR & SASR

in the MEAO.

This person was particularly apparent to all ADF pers present at the RSL

luncheon for his unusual and inappropriate form of dress. He was

questioned by two members of PTS after which he left the RSL function.

SGT XXX has since questioned current SASR pers

WRT this person who have no knowledge of a Chris Ford in SASR.

It is apparent that this person is illegally presenting himself as an

SASR mbr with operational experience, wearing uniforms and awards to

which he is / may not be entitled".

Ford is a pitiful man with a history of "fleecing" money from vulnerable people. He fakes Defence caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as part of his method of operation.

He also claims to have been shot through the left shoulder during his "war service" .  We guarantee he has no Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) file where such matters as PTSD and war caused injuries are dealt with.

At various times he has claimed to have served in the following locations:

Rwanda

East Timor

Cambodia

Iraq

Afghanistan

Somalia

Swanbourne (Barracks of Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) )

Townsville

Canungra

The medals and badges he wears on his left breast in the  photographs are:

Infantry Combat Badge

Australian Active Service Medal  

AfghanistanMedal

IraqMedal

Australian Service Medal

Australian Defence Medal

United Nations Special Service Medal

On his right breast he wears:

Medals purporting to be those of a direct relative

Unit Citation for Gallantry

Meritorious Unit Citation

Army Individual Readiness Notification Badge (Steyr Rifle)

On his right sleeve:

SASR Parachute wings

He also wears a Lanyard on the wrong shoulder.

On his left sleeve

Skill at Arms Badge 'S'  (Indicating he is a qualified Sniper).

All of the medals and badges are fake and for wearing them he can be charged by State Police under the Defence Act 1903 Part VII Sections 80A and 80B

80A.    Falsely representing to be returned soldier 

80B.    Improper use of service decorations  

His fake PTSD allows him to bludge on those who take him in and provide him with the necessities of life. 

This man is the enemy of all those in the Veteran and ex Service community.  He is the worst kind of malingering, lying, fraudulent wannabe and excuse  for a human being.

If you see him report him to us and we will ensure that establishments in his area are appraised of his presence

We are probably the only organisation in  Australian and New Zealand to proudly welcome him  to be featured  a star performer on a web site.

David Freeman is a  Lieutenant Colonel retired from  the Australian Army Legal Corps.  He wears nine medals, seven are legitimate and two are illegal worthless junk.

The last two medals worn by Freeman are the offenders, they are medals from a bogus Order of St John and he does not have permission to wear them.

There are dozens of schisms of the Order of St John.  Department of Honours and Awards recognises only the Order of St John that is headed by our Sovereign Queen Elizabeth 11. It is named:

The most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem  

There are dozens of "copy cat" organisation, who for a range of reasons  create a Chivalrous hierarchy and bestow titles, medals and honours on themselves.  It really is just big kids playing dress up.

Freeman is a member of, and wears the medals of  a bogus group named:  Order of St John of Jerusalem  Knights Hospitaller .  Here is their logo:

Note their Grand Master HRH Prince Karl Vladimir Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia CCSJ is a defunct Prince from a defunct  Yugoslavia monarchy

Freeman's second last medal is a White Maltese Cross which is the Knight Order of St Johns  with a red ribbon.  The legitimate Knight Orders of St John always have black ribbons and with permission from the Governor General, Knight Orders from the British based organisation can be worn as a Necklet or bow, not added to Federal medals.

Freeman will be one or the other of the bogus "Knights" listed below. Note the instructions for wearing the White Maltese Cross with red ribbon.

The last medal that Freeman is wearing is a 50th Anniversary of the defunct Yugoslavia Royal households involvement of  their bogus version of the Order of St John.

To exacerbate the situation Freeman is a member of the Board of the Currumbin RSL on the Gold Coast of Queensland.  It is also noted that the President of that RSL is Ron Workman who also appears on our web site for wearing unauthorised medals. See here:

http://www.anzmi.net/index.php/stolen-valour?pid=62&sid=370:Workman

The Gold Coast region is a "hotbed" for frauds, liars and wannabes and part of the reason is that many of them have been RSL Sub Branch executives.  

One would think that a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Army Legal Corp would have the "nous" to work out medals entitlement and protocols.

We have many completed cases where we have received threats from legal firms about people we have correctly exposed.  We live with the expectation of receiving such a threat from Lieutenant Colonel Freeman, however because we know that what we have said is true and correct Freeman will stay firmly lodged on our web site for a very long time,

UPDATE 4 MAY 2016

Ex Army Legal Officer Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) David Freeman has chosen to defend the indefensible.

Here is the full report from the Gold Coast Bulletin:

www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-c...4a8740da5d36f1f2b746

Here are excerpts, of what he said to the Gold Coast Bulletin Newspaper, on 21 April 2016, together with our responses:

We iterate, that the last two medals, worn by Freeman, are "Dress up Junk".

What a load of codswallop the Governor Generals Directive was not introduced in "March this year". It has been around for many years, and the current issue, was updated in Oct 2012. However, in the update there were no variations in policy from previous issues. See here:

www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/...ingForeignAwards.pdf

The two medals are far from legitimate. They are "trash tin", presented by a defunct Yugoslavia monarch, Grand Master HRH Prince Karl Vladimir Karadjordjevic, of Yugoslavia CCSJ. The medals are not, and never will be, approved to be attached to an Australian medals rack. Freeman claims there were no clear protocols at the time. That is pure bovine excreta. As previously stated, the protocols have been in place for many years. The Gold Coast Bulletin trimmed the fake medals from their report.

Here, again, are the two medals attached to Freeman's rack:

We encourage Freeman's legal team to report the matter, to the Queensland Police, detailing that Freeman is wearing medals, that were not conferred upon him, by the Governor General. Perhaps he has committed an offence under the Defence Act, Part VII, section 80B. However, the charges won't stick, because the "tin", he is wearing, were conferred by a defunct Yugoslav Prince and could not, under any circumstances, be defined as "Service Medals". The only service they would have seen, is the pseudo services and ceremonies, conducted by "grown ups" playing Knights and Dames, to a deceased foreign Prince.

He claims that he was directed, to wear the medals, by his superiors. No superiors, from the Australian Defence Force, would give such a direction. In the context, of wearing the medals on the Military Uniform of a Lieutenant Colonel, one can assume the mentioned "Superior" is an appropriate member of the Australian Defence Force.

As shown above, he appears to believe that he was given permission, to wear the medal, by a superior, named Colonel George Kearney (Rtd)

Colonel George Kearney (Rtd), is the Queensland Prior of the Yugoslav Order of St John. Kearney, was also an eminent Defence Medical Officer. However, he is not (yet) the Governor General, and cannot confer "tin" medals on his acolytes and minions. Below is a photograph of Prior Chevalier George Kearney AM GCSJ RFD ED, Prior of Queensland.

Photo TBA

Freeman introduces another medals fanangler, R&SL Currumbin, Sub-Branch President, Mr Ron Workman, to support his plea. Workman is a good ally for Freeman, also being a blatant medals cheat.
See here: www.anzmi.net/index.php/cheats-thieves/370-workman. We noticed, on ANZAC Day, this year, that Workman has removed the offending medals.

Despite Freeman's service, as a Legal officer he, apparently, knows three fifths of five eighths of very little, about traditions and protocols, or he chooses to 'enhance' his image, by ignoring those traditions and protocols. His arguments are shallow, inaccurate and without substance.

By reporting this matter to the public, in the Gold Coast Bulletin, Freeman has brought further discredit upon himself. Genuine Australian and New Zealand Veterans, will see him as a Retired Army Legal Officer, who was given his rank, because of his legal qualifications. He does not possess the honour and integrity, that is ingrained into the fibre of a career Officer, who has earned his rank through soldiering.

We would suggest that Freeman shut up and stop making a further fool of himself.

2794442 Maurice Bede French was born on the 22 October, 1946. On the 28 January, 1970, he was conscripted into the Australian Army as a National Serviceman. He served in RAEME (Royal Australian Electrical Mechanical Engineers) for two years from April, 1970 until his discharge in January, 1972, when he joined the CMF for a further two years.

On the 24 December, 1970 he was posted to the Republic of South Vietnam with RAEME, 102 Field Workshop as a welder. He served in country for 10 months until he returned to Australia on the 9 October,1971.r

According to the Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans, Craftsman (Private) Maurice Bede French had one normal tour of Vietnam from 24 December, 1970 to 9 October, 1971. He was stationed at Vung Tau and also spent time with 3 Cavalry Regiment, Nui Dat as a RAEME Boilermaker/welder.
 

However, Craftsman French has embellished his service by relating untruths regarding his operational Vietnam Service. According to French, he was no ordinary craftsman welder in RAEME. He was an Armourer and a highly specialised trained individual whose deeds and skills were unheard of by anyone in the Australian Army in Vietnam or for that matter Australia. Particularly some members of his former unit and colleagues at a Narellan Social Group that he is an active member of.

We have statutory declarations from deponents that French has told them that during his service in Vietnam that -:

 (i) He arrived in Vietnam two days before Christmas 1967.

(ii) He was at the American Base at Khe Sanh just before they closed the base/airport down due to the heavy North Vietnamese artillery bombardments.

(iii) In his first deployment from December 1967 until November 1968, he was attached to a special operational section in RAEME during his time in Vietnam and he was assigned to working with the Americans.

(iv) During this time he and his specially selected colleagues manufactured bullets with porcelain tips with "drops of mercury behind the porcelain", whilst working out of a mobile unit.

(v) The porcelain bullets were manufactured and used because, “they made a bigger hole in you.” and the shrapnel spread to other parts of the body.

(vi) He personally delivered the porcelain bullets to American bases including Khe Sanh, Hue, and other major trouble spots for use by the Americans against the enemy.

(vii) He flew to the Island of Guam from South Vietnam and obtained the ingredients for the porcelain bullets and returned them to Vietnam as personal luggage.

(viii) He witnessed a person shot in the shoulder by one of his porcelain bullets and some of the shrapnel travelled in his body and was located in his liver.

(ix) At the completion of his first tour, he signed on for a further five years.

(x) His second tour was from December, 1970 until October, 1971.

(xi) He was discharged as a Sergeant in 1972.

French has told colleagues that he was first conscripted in the January, 1967 intake, and was at Khe Sanh in late December, 1967, virtually hours after his arrival and just before they closed the Base Airstrip down due to North Vietnamese artillery bombardments.

Well this really is a riveting success story of a covert RAEME Craftsman operative on secret operations that will make good reading in the eventual publication of his personal memoirs.

However, an ANZMI investigation into the above claims has concluded that Craftsman Maurice Bede French has surprisingly stretched the truth somewhat.
A check with his Army records and the Australian War Memorial Vietnam Roll, indicated that French had one tour of Vietnam from 24 December 1970 until 9 October, 1971, almost three years after the Khe Sanh onslaught had finished.

He did arrive a few days before Christmas, but he is out by three years.

He actually arrived on the 24 December 1970 and not 1967 as he claims. He served at Vung Tau and Nui Dat carrying out vital duties for the entire period as a boilermaker and general RAEME necessary requirements. He was discharged as a Craftsman/Private from the Australian Army following completion of his two years National Service and his one tour of Vietnam. He subsequently joined the part time CMF (Citizens Military Forces) as a Sapper/Private in 108 Plant Squadron, RAE.(Royal Australian Engineers) for two years. He discharged as a Sapper.

Porcelain bullets with mercury tips were never manufactured by Australian or any other allied Defence Force personnel in Vietnam. In fact, this would be in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the Geneva Convention. It is also a figment of the imagination of French to gain attention as a “frontline wannabee”.

Try finding “porcelain bullets”, being used by the Military in 1970 or 1971 on the internet. Not there? “Must have been really top secret.” Could you possibly imagine an Australian Private Craftsman soldier engaged in highly secret and illegal activities with American Army personnel manufacturing these so called porcelain/mercury bullets.

Maurice Bede French, National Serviceman, RAEME, is a genuine Veteran of the Vietnam War. He has embellished his service to impress others that he was more than what his records disclose.

He should be satisfied with the fact that he served as a RAEME craftsman in Vietnam and leave the heroics to Sylvester Stallone and his ilk.

If his stories get any bigger, he could end up giving evidence at a War Crimes Commission in Hanoi.