Today we present Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret. This was originally done with another website that has since shut down, this losing our article. We are trying to go back and repost all our old work that they carried before we became a stand-alone site. He claimed to be a Sniper in Special Forces and a Ranger. He wasn’t just claiming to be any Sniper, Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret is claiming to be one of the “U.S. Army’s Top Snipers”. He also claims to have earned a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and the Army Occupation Medal. He has used these claims to receive free items in excess of $1,000 while sporting badges and tabs that he did not earn.
If you've had an encounter with Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret, email us: contact@guardiansofthegreenberet.com
He defrauded a K9 training club, out of free training with his false claims. Someone noticed the photos when the K9 club posted them to their Facebook page and reached out. Once we knew he was lying, we contacted the club owner, who was shocked to learn of this as he was providing Mark free training because of his service. Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret also said he was the third most highly decorated Veteran in Spokane!
Click on the red bar at the bottom of the picture section to see more pictures and records.
The photo below is the one that set off all kinds of red flags once it was posted by Protection K9. They thought they were helping out a Hero in need, he turned out to be nothing but a fraud.
So, on his ACU Jacket he is sporting the following:
- Special Forces Tab: Not Earned
- Special Operations Command Arrowhead and Airborne Tab (Shoulder Sleeve insignia): Not Earned
- Ranger Tab: Not Earned
- 1SG Rank: Not Earned
- Special Forces Crossed Arrows: Not Earned
- Combat Infantryman’s Badge with two stars: He didn't earn 1, much less 3
- Freefall Parachutist Badge: Not Earned
- Parachutist Badge: Not Earned
- Air Assault Badge: Not Earned
- Parachute Rigger Badge: Not Earned
- 3rd Ranger Battalion Scroll: Not Earned
- Special Forces Halo Wings: Not Earned, Prototype wings, never Authorized
Below is the Facebook post where he claimed he had the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, and an Army Occupation Medal. Protection K9 posted that they were honored to be able to train Mark and his K9. This company trusted him because he was a Soldier, and Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret took advantage of that trust and used it to his advantage, the whole time the owner thought he was helping a highly decorated combat Vet.
Well, we all know the criteria for a Silver Star and the Purple Heart, and this is the criteria for the Army Occupation Medal, which he would also not be authorized as he did not serve in West Berlin before the cut-off date of 2 October 1990. As for the other areas, he is not old enough to have served during WWII as most other eligibility dates ran out around 1955.
To be awarded the Army of Occupation Medal, a service member was required to have performed at least thirty consecutive days of military duty within a designated geographical area of military occupation. The Army of Occupation Medal was presented with a campaign clasp, denoting either European or Asian service, depending on the region in which occupation service had been performed. Campaign clasps were worn on the full-sized medal only with no corresponding device when wearing the Army of Occupation Medal as a ribbon on a military uniform.
In addition to the German clasp, for those service members who performed 92 consecutive days of military duty during the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949, the Berlin Airlift Device is authorized as a device to the Army of Occupation Medal.
Germany Clasp
- Germany (May 9, 1945 to May 5, 1955)
- Austria (May 9, 1945 to July 27, 1955)
- Italy (May 9, 1945 to September 15, 1947)
- West Berlin (May 9, 1945 to October 2, 1990)
Japan Clasp
- Japan (September 3, 1945 to April 27, 1952)
- Korea (September 3, 1945 to June 29, 1949)
Below is a snapshot taken from a Blogspot that Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret created pretending to be a reporter, reporting on himself and his retirement as “One of the US Army’s Top Snipers”.
We saw on his LinkedIn that he claims his records are classified and only assessable by order "Nr: 18X4B 11B40".
How do these guys make this stuff up?
We sent for the records of Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret and he actually did serve. He joined the Washington Army National Guard on 15 September 1982 and served through 14 December 1991, and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant, not the rank of First Sergeant which he is sporting in the photos.
His actual awards are as follows and can be seen in Pictures 14 and 15:
- Army Service Ribbon
- Army Commendation Medal W/1 Oak Leaf Cluster
- Army Achievement Medal
- Army Good Conduct Medal -Which he received for the short stint he did as AGR(Active Guard and Reserve)
- Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal W/1 Oak Leaf Cluster
- Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
- Sharpshooter Badge W/Machine Gun Bar
- Expert Badge W/Auto Rifle and Pistol Bar
- Expert Infantryman Badge
Why not be proud of what you did? Most people don't even serve.
So as you can see, he is not authorized to wear any of the badges he is sporting in the photos. He also never deployed, and never had any overseas assignments. He has not been awarded any Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, and not even one Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He did hold several different MOS’s, including Infantry, but he was never Special Forces and never attended the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) to earn the SF Tab. He also never attended Ranger school, nor was he assigned to any Ranger Battalions.
Once Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret realized we were on to him, he disappeared and never showed back up to Protection K9 to continue his training.
Below you see a text from an email received from the mother of the boy who donated the dog to Mark Hans Smith the fake Green Beret:
I wanted to let you know that it was my 11-year-old son Txxxx who donated the G.S.D. to Mark Smith.
This dog was Txxxx's personal dog, which he raised and trained with his own money and time. This dog represented Txxxx's profit for the year that he earned from doing his part in helping his disabled father in our family business. The dog was his to sell and he chose to donate her to Mark instead of profiting for his labor out of the kindness of his heart.
This man stood in our front yard and shook Txxxx's hand, man to man, knowing that this was Txxxx's sacrifice. We would greatly appreciate it if Txxxx could be mentioned in your article. As I write this, Txxxx is unaware of Mark’s deception. We will be using your article to help explain it to him at an appropriate time, as this shows thorough evidence.
Thank you
Stealing from a business is one thing, but lying to a kid and stealing from him is about as low as you can get!
Mark Hans Smith, you'll now be added to Guardiansofthegreenberet.com hall of zeroes forever.
#MarkHSmith, #MarkHansSmith