Where to start?
Dennis was sent to us back in December of 2017 by a fellow student that knew him while attending UAB medical school. He said Dennis was wearing an SF Crest and claiming to be a Green Beret, as seen below:
You can see the SF Crest on his lapel
At the end of the picture section, click the red bar for more pictures.
The initial email we received from his fellow student didn't have his name in the subject matter so we asked him to resend the email and put Dennis Winn as the subject. He agreed. In the meantime, we removed his first email and the second email never arrived. Sadly, we were over the storage limit and we were trying to find space so we lost the email and the guy's contact info. The follow-up email never arrived.
We decided to reach out to Dennis and see where his head was at. We told him of the first email and that we were going to do an article on him. He sent us two emails. The first you see below where he says he never claimed to be a Green Beret:
He says he never claimed to be a Green Beret and he wears it to honor his fallen friends.
He followed that one up by threatening a lawsuit if we call him a fake, so we won't call him that.
Dennis Winn says he's going to sue us if we call him a fake so we won't call him a fake. He also labels himself a "Public Figure"
That actually allows a little more leeway although we won't take advantage of him claiming he's a public figure.
Those types of emails really don't slow us from upholding the honor of the Regiment. However, the lack of any real solid proof seemed hard to find and we hit a roadblock.
While doing the initial investigation, we come across a few places where he claimed to have been a physician. That was sent to a Green Beret that has close ties to UAB and it seems they must have addressed it with Dennis Winn as we saw him change his Job description from physician to future physician.
Job description before and after UAB was alerted.
With the initial email being lost, we thought this might be a bridge too far since he actually sent an email stating he never claimed to be a Green Beret, thus admitting he wasn't one. When we received an email that he was no longer at UAB (picture #23), we decided to circle around a second time.
With few leads to go on, we decided to simply reach out to 100% of those that either liked or commented on any of Dennis Winn's social media. The only thing we said is "Can you take a call about Dennis Winn"? That seemed to be the answer as we received several responses that it would be ok to call. Some people said over the phone that they were afraid of him. They told us what they heard him claim yet didn't want to send an email and possibly having Dennis find out, so we can't include what they said.
Here you see us reaching out to all Dennis Winns friends.
This only shows that we tried everybody. It doesn't show who responded or emailed.
That will NOT be made public.
Of those that did take a call and listen to what we were told vs what he said vs his records, a larger number than expected wanted to send us an email. Some wanted their name shared while most were very leery of their name possibly getting back to Dennis. We assured them we blacken names over.
As you see in Pictures 5 through 11 and again in 11a through 11g (we keep having people come forward and will add as they come in in the 11 section to keep all others in order), a good number of those close to Dennis have sent emails contradicting his email saying he NEVER claimed to be a Green Beret. As this is a no-judgment zone, we won't try and decide who's telling the truth. Dennis Winn saying he never claimed to be a Green Beret, although we have several pictures with him in a uniform with an SF Tab, Ranger Tab, and the ever so rare Sniper Tab (LOL), or the people that emailed us. That's for you to decide.
There are also pictures of him in two different GB's. One with a 1st SFG flash and a second with a 5th SFG Flash, but we make no judgments. We report, you decide.
The yellow Patch on his beret on the left is a 1st SFG "Flash"
The Patch on his beret on the right is a 5th SFG "Flash"
We also see him wearing the SF crest in a few pictures. He said it was in honor of those he served with. Military records show he NEVER served in a Special Forces unit. Again, not judging, just pointing out what we were sent. We report, you decide.
Again Dennis Winn says it's all to honor those he served with. Records show he NEVER served in a Special Forces unit. Why not wear the unit crest of the unit you actually served in if you're doing it to honor those you served with?
We aren't going to call Dennis Winn a fake or fraud. What we will do is show you pictures of the uniform he wears, pictures of not one but two different green berets from 2 different groups (1st and 5th), pictures of him wearing the SF crest on both his suit and medical coat, along with multiple emails and PM's from people very close to Dennis Winn and allow you to make your own decision. We report, you decide.
It looks like Dennis did indeed aspire to be a Green Beret. He attempted to self enroll in the 18D Special Operations Medical SGT Sustainment Course in 2003 and was denied. Wanting to be one of us, does NOT make you one of us, or allow you to pretend to be.
ATRRS (The Army Training Requirements and Resources System is a system part of the United States Army that keeps a record of student participation) showing he tried to enroll in the 18D Special Operations Medical SGT Sustainment Course in 2002 and was denied.
People have heard him claim to be a Green Beret. This is said by a number of people in emails. False, military records do not support this claim and Dennis said he never said it. You need to decide whether to believe Dennis or the eight people that took the time out of their day to send an email. We won't count the phone calls that said the same thing but were leery of coming forward.
People have heard him claim to be Special Forces. False, same as claiming to be a Green Beret, and military records do not support this claim. Dennis said he never said it. You need to decide whether to believe Dennis or the eight people that took the time out of their day to send an email. We won't count the phone calls that said the same thing but were leery of coming forward.
People have heard him claim to be a Ranger. False, Dennis never addressed as we never asked him about this. More than one person has said this, it's worn as a tab yet military records do not support this claim. Dennis was never in a Ranger unit and never attempted Ranger school. We never saw this in print and are only reporting what those close to him have said. We are not judging whether he is a go or no-go. You need to decide who to believe.2 or 3 emails say he's made those claims and military records say he never attempted Ranger school.
People have heard him claim to Sniper. False, we never asked Dennis to confirm or deny he was a Sniper. What we can say is he isn't a Sniper according to his military records. You need to decide who to believe. Those saying they heard Dennis say that, or military records. If Dennis was a Sniper and he needs help correcting his records, he can email us.
People have heard him claim to have hurt his knees jumping from a Helicopter. False, Military records do not show him as completing the Basic Airborne Course. If he exited from a helicopter on the ground and hurt both knees at that time... that can't be determined.
People have heard him claim to have come under "Heavy fire" while overseas during which his Sergeant badly injured and lost both his legs, with Dennis saving his life. False, Absolutely false. Dennis Winn was NEVER in combat. He was in Kuwait for about 5 months in 2003. He was NEVER under heavy fire with his Sergeant losing his legs and Dennis saving his life. If this were true, He'd have the Combat Medical Badge.
People have heard him claim to have PTSD from a mission that the Government won't acknowledge because "they weren't supposed to be there", thus the VA won't approve his PTSD claim. False, Absolutely false. 1000% false. Dennis Winn was never in combat. He was NEVER on a mission the Government won't acknowledge. He doesn't have PTSD from that mission that does exist. We checked with the VA and they did indeed deny his PTSD claim. Dennis was in Kuwait for about 5 months in 2003. If he was in Combat, he'd have a Combat Medical Badge.
Medic. True, military records would support this claim.
In closing, we aren't calling Dennis a fake Green Beret. We only share what others say. Dennis denies he said that, yet many beg to differ. You are the ones that need to read the emails and decide. Did Dennis Winn claim to be an Airborne Ranger, Green Beret Sniper, and Delta? We won't make that determination. You read the emails, look at the picture and decide on your own.
#DennisWinn, #DennisKWinn, #DennisKristianWinn