Stolen Valour - Warning: Player impersonating Canadian Forces Officer
 

I attended C3SK's "OPERATION DEAD BY DAWN" in Belleville on the 30th of June. Aside from being one of the best events I have ever attended, unfortunately something very disturbing went down.

One of the players there was dressed in full CADPAT combats, and while there is nothing wrong with that, what they were trying to pull was unacceptable. Noticing they were dressed with a matching nametag, flag and officer's epaulet, but not knowing what to think of the "designer" beard sported by the individual, I asked them if they were in the Forces, to which I got an affirmative reply. I then inquired what Unit, and I was told "I'm in QYRANG", which is short for the Queen's York Rangers.

I left it at that not wanting to dig anymore - I was there to play airsoft, not police potential posers.... I did bring it up with the game host and between him, a number of staff here on ASC and a helpful Sgt @ the QYRANG Orderly Room, I have confirmed that this person is NOT a serving member of the Queen's York Rangers. Additionally, there is no one by that name in the Canadian Forces, period after a search of our internal email system.

So this is a polite reminder to all players that while it is perfectly fine to get dude'd up in an impression of a soldier from a specific Unit, it is completely crossing the line to start claiming that you ARE that soldier, especially when your appearance brings discredit to the uniform as this individual's did.

For reference, it is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada to impersonate a member of the Canadian Forces;

Unlawful use of military uniforms or certificates

419. Every one who without lawful authority, the proof of which lies on him,
(a) wears a uniform of the Canadian Forces or any other naval, army or air force or a uniform that is so similar to the uniform of any of those forces that it is likely to be mistaken therefor,
(b) wears a distinctive mark relating to wounds received or service performed in war, or a military medal, ribbon, badge, chevron or any decoration or order that is awarded for war services, or any imitation thereof, or any mark or device or thing that is likely to be mistaken for any such mark, medal, ribbon, badge, chevron, decoration or order,
(c) has in his possession a certificate of discharge, certificate of release, statement of service or identity card from the Canadian Forces or any other naval, army or air force that has not been issued to and does not belong to him, or
(d) has in his possession a commission or warrant or a certificate of discharge, certificate of release, statement of service or identity card, issued to an officer or a person in or who has been in the Canadian Forces or any other naval, army or air force, that contains any alteration that is not verified by the initials of the officer who issued it, or by the initials of an officer thereto lawfully authorized,
is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
R.S., c. C-34, s. 377.


So I am putting this out there as an official heads up to Game Hosts, field owners, and players in the Ontario region; the person by the name of "Richard Boelens" who goes by the handle "DarkAngel" here on ASC is NOT a member of the Canadian Forces, is NOT an officer in the Queen's York Rangers, and does NOT represent the CF in any fashion.

http://i.imgur.com/kJfko.jpg
Richard Boelens: NOT an Officer in the Canadian Forces

So in summary, remember that Airsoft is a sport, not too serious, let's keep it light. If you have PRIOR service in the CF that's great, but it's not the same as being a CURRENTLY serving member. If you are a fireman or police officer, that's awesome and hats off to you, but you are not in the CF etc etc etc... Let's all have respect for our serving Canadian Forces members playing alongside us and ensure that the dignity of service remains untarnished.

Thank you for the heads up as to what went down at the event. Richard is a member of our team (though he has been inactive for some time) and I have never heard he state that he had served, reserve or otherwise. I will look into this from our end.

SHA DO

Wow. Just wow. Can we confirm if he's not at least prior service? Didn't he remember the awesome tar and feather job we gave to Mr. Planters?

THE DarkAngel, as in this person: airsoftcanada.com/member.php?u=12746
As in the age verifier?

Very strange.

Thank you for bringing this to every ones attention Kokanee. You're a very well respected member of the community. Good on you and your peers for taking the initiative here to investigate and get this information out in the open. Although I have already been brought up to speed on the details, re-reading them here still makes my stomach turn. It's quite frustrating to see such a level of disrespect being displayed by an individual whom has existed in our community for quite some time.

Richard, what the #($% were you thinking?

@Styrak: yes.

From what I remember he had once said he did co-op I believe?

Dude. WTF man. You know better than that.

Not something you hear everyday about a member with 2500+ posts. I cling to the hope this is just a misunderstanding... Looking forward to comments from the person involved.

This is what is commonly referred to as "trodding on one's P3n1s"

Darkangel's Age Verifier status will be suspended pending the outcome of this.

Wouldn't it be fair to wait until we've heard his side of the story?

If I remember correctly it was with the Queens York Rangers as armoured recee co-op.

I'll give Richard the benefit of the doubt, the question may have went: what unit where you with? Instead of What unit are you in?

The Rank badge issue has been brought up in the past, but it appears to be a rank system for the Ceaser's Ghost that is based off the CF unit.

I'm sticking my neck out for ya Rich, but if you seriously where trying to pass yourself as an officer for Queen's york Rangers then seriously wtf?

Richard is a good person and has a long upstanding reputation here on ASC. I really do hope that this was all just a misunderstanding. He's been on here long enough that there is no tolerance on this stuff.

I'm looking forward in hearing what he has to say about this.

I want to clarify this very clearly, as no-one has asked me about this during the game or afterwards. If people were mislead, I want to sincerely apologize if anyone has taken offence.

I am NOT an officer of the CF. The Epaulette, while showing rank, has a unit flash of "Spectre CMD" (I can provide pictures of the epaulette in question if need be) Which is short for Spectre Command. Spectre Command, is the overall group that contains our individual sections (Caesar's Ghosts, Face Eaters, Wraiths and Rhinos). I sure as hell don't have the physical fitness that I used to to be able to maintain a role in the CF (Insert laugh here).

My involvement in the forces was very limited. Unpaid Highschool Co-op for 2 years almost a decade ago (And of those 2, I spent most of it waiting in line). I have not been in the service outside of that timeframe outside of that unpaid co-op.
I am not a current serving member, and I want to be clear that I was NEVER a serving Officer. I had applied to the Signals as an officer 7 years back, but the operating hours conflicted with my schooling and I was unable to continue.

Chris (C3SK) and Marcie (SniperChic) and a few other organizers asked me about this in the past (ie. Last year's zombie game) And I had explained truthfully that I was not an officer, and that this was a team epaulette. The matter was dropped there and no-one expressed any continued problems regarding this. To Anyone that had asked me, I have stated always clearly, that I am not an officer, nor am I a current serving member. Many Airsofters can and will vouch for that, as I have been asked many times in regards to it. Out of respect for our CF, I WILL NOT WEAR an epaulette with a real unit flash. I will NOT wear wings or armour patches I have not earned, I will NOT wear medals (As I have not earned any). Everything I was was in mutual agreement for "acceptable" throughout conversations on ASC for non-serving airsofters.

I have tremendous respect for our serving members, both current and past and I do not wish to step on any toes. I play airsoft as a hobby and it should be just that. Fun for everyone. No-one should come to these games feeling offended, so I want to sincerely apologize if the intent was mistook for something other than flattery.

@Kokanee I have never lied to anyone who has asked me. I made it very clear and open that I am not an officer, nor a current serving member. I sincerely apologize to you (as a serving member) if that is the implication that came across, as that was not the intent.

I hope that clears the air a bit. I do not hold/bear a grudge to anyone in regards to this issue, and my respect for kokanee and others remains very high. I just wish I was asked about this first in person to give a chance to explain as no-one had even mentioned or brought this issue to my attention. This includes mods/admins/players. I only found out about this thread as several people shot me txt msgs.

A note to the people who tried to IM me. As my AVer status was revoked, my inbox is severely over capacity and I cannot respond to or receive new PM's. I am unable to clear out 1800+ messages as they are written records of transactions on ASC.

Richard,

Kokanee challenged you directly at the game, and you provided him a specific reply regarding your service with Queen's York Rangers. That is pretty specific, it is also how this all came about in the first place.

Furthermore, did you or did you not volunteer information as to your involvement with a DOMOP involving Toronto being completely snowed in back in November 2000? This is also very specific, which I find rather peculiar ... however considering your age, wouldn't you have been age 14 at the time of that OP? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe anyone can serve (even domestic ops) in the CF at the age of 14... even under some sort of Highschool Co-op placement.

I shovelled snow during a snowstorm. It was not the "Lastman Snowstorm".

I had said to Kokanee "At least it was not the Lastman Snowstorm, some hero I am."
It was meant as a joke.

I was not aware I was being challenged by Kokanee. I did my co-op in '02, not 2000. I did not ever state a month.

@C3sk, you asked me these questions last zombie game (2011), I'm surprised you don't remember asking me. Ken (Kingsix), Evan (Gato) were both present at the time when you asked.

All Seriousness aside, I have a beard (I sure as hell ain't a lumberjack commando), I'm severely out of shape (I've gained a crap-load of weight over the last 5 years). What could I possibly gain out of pretending to be an officer? Who would believe me lol?

Revised.

so.. what you are saying is Kokanee is a Liar ? is that it?

Richard, you know I do respect you, but now that I think about it more, I do recall you telling me about you serving in the Forces previously and that you were now discharged from service when you first age verified myself at the Tim Hortons years ago. It's been awhile, but I do remember (although a bit cloudy) that you said something about your military ID.

I don't mean to call you out, but perhaps you'd care to explain what we were talking about that night?

Let's stick to the current issue mmmken. I'd like to request that unless anyone has something relevant or evidence to contribute, let's keep the opinions out to keep this from being a witch hunt.

@Janus I don't mind if people ask questions. I have nothing to hide, and I freely state again that I am NOT a serving member, Nor was I EVER an officer.

@Brian I don't know what he heard in the midst of running from zombies. Kokanee is a good guy. I have no reason to believe that Kokanee would purposefully say anything that he did not himself truly believe.
Regardless of such, In his mind, he thinks I have wronged, and I don't blame him for wanting to bring this issue to light. I do however sincerely hope that he understands now that I in no way intended to mislead him or take from the service he gives to this country. If that was the impression I left with him, then I again sincerely apologize.

@mmken I asked everyone who I verified to bring in a government Photo ID. The acceptable forms of Photo ID are (as stated with the verifier requirements). (Drivers License, Birth Certificate or Military ID)

Since I ask all people for a photograph of the ID for the people I am verifying (In case of issues developed in the community), I required a picture of that ID.
Feb 02, 2011
That is the standard copy/paste response I send to all that asked me for verification.
Anyone/Everyone whom I've verified can vouch for that, and I have records of all whom I've verified. (which is why I have 1800+ pm's stored in my inbox)

The discussion you are referring to was regarding my personal concerns about you wearing a dress uniform complete with beret to eateries. As it was making myself and a few other individuals uncomfortable. However I do believe this was resolved.

I will wait for Kokanee to chime in here again, as he will have complete details from your discussion with him that night.

*sigh*

This is obviously going to come down to "he said - he said"... I've put it all out there, I really don't know what more I can say on the matter.

Other than that the QYRANG are taking this seriously and are investigating.

Just a side note, Wolfpack has and continues to ban this individual from our Muskoka Field, for an intentional attempt to injure another player in a safe zone which led to an entire team laeving and NEVER returning to any of our games. He cost me a lot of money. In my pm's and interactions with him, he CONTINUALLY lied, forgot what he wrote in one PM and then lied in the next, contradicting himself repeatedly. There were at least a dozen witnesses to our incident. EVERY player except his teamate saw his actions and agreed with a banning. He is bad new, has been bad new and continue to do so. We posted up the pm's on our website, but, unfortunately they no longer remain. When I put the information public, there was a general banning from most fields.

I 100% believe he lied to Kokanee, and put my name behind him. The thing that I cannot understand is Koke is a well known CF member who has done more than is expected, Injuries received in our defence of our Country in Afghanistan, and I will offer him my respect, friendship and honour as long as my heart beats, what does not make sense to me is how he would be so foolish to tell another CF he was too. DA spends sooo much time on these boards he had to have known Koke was a soldier.

Wasn't what I posted relevant? I do recall Richard mentioning that he was serving/served/related to the Forces in some capacity, but since this was so far back - I'm not sure what exactly was said.

Thanks for responding, Richard. I may have worded my question poorly. When I mentioned "Military ID", I didn't mean you checking new members, but I vaguely remember you talking about your Military ID along with mentioning that you had some sort of tie to the Forces in some capacity. Do you have a Military ID?

IMP's were obtained from Army Issue the day before.
There was a cadpat top + bottom, beret had the Spectre Command flash on it. All Spectre Command members wear it during games and all Spectre Command members during Rhino and Zombies wore the same beret + Flash. It is part of our team uniform. Please Consult with Sha Do on this, as he will vouch for it.

@mmmken - Do you have a Military ID - I do NOT have Military ID

IMP's are convenient on the field. They require no water (for the most part) and they aren't MRE's which are rumoured to contain hormone changing chemicals. If given the opportunity, I would never eat IMP's as my choice of culinary diet. Mountain house makes far better dehydrated food, but they unfortunately require boiling water on hand. I assure you, the IMP's were purely for convenience, not a love for the culinary experience.

Theres a reason I dragged along an entire Tent full of food, stoves, eggs, fresh vegetables etc for Rhino. I wasn't about to eat IMPs unless I had to.

[QUOTE=Janus;1676512]Let's stick to the current issue mmmken. I'd like to request that unless anyone has something relevant or evidence to contribute, let's keep the opinions out to keep this from being a witch hunt.[/QUOTE


This is very relevant, and a continuing problem.

How many proven strikes do you proposr Janus, when DA has a history of attempting to injure, that and safety violations. Thats not including taking the Glory he does not deserve.

I suspect that a question was posed, an answer was provided, and because of wording choices, a (mis)interpretation was taken.

E.g., "What unit did you serve with?" versus "What unit do you serve with?"
Kokanee may have said something to the effect of the latter that Darkangel misheard as the former.

I remember six things from the conversation when you first verified me, and although the specifics are blurred, I am sure that they were talked about that night. In fact, I can recall the table we were seated at, where you were seated and where I was, and numerous things very clearly.

Amongst these six things are the following (in chronological order):

1. I offered you coffee, and you declined.
2. Don't piss off the people on ASC. You made this point very important and it has been embedded in my head because of you.
3. Airsoft safety. You went into a very drawn out speech about proper gun handling, and how not to be a dumbass. I thank you for this.
4. I had an AEG, and you tried to persaude me into getting into the world of GBB/R's. I was worried about the regular maintainance required with GBB/R's and you told me that there weren't many problems.
5. You told me that you were previously affliated with the Forces (not sure exactly the specifics) and that you now work for an IT company.
6. You mentioned something about a Military ID nearing the end of the conversation, but this is extremely clouded for some reason.

The above allowed me to respect you much more easier, in addition to the way you acted and how professional you were that night. Having that said, I think I'm satisfied if you say you weren't/aren't in the Forces, and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt because of my bad memory and your reputation.

I was with Koke when he first talked to c3sk about this issue with Richard, which was not more than an hour after Koke's conversation with Richard.

The conversation went along the line of, "This game is awesome, there's even a Captain here in full work uniform...", and both c3sk and I looked at each other and said, "What?".

After confirming he was talking about Richard... We asked him what Richard had said.

"Well he said he was with Queens North York Rangers".

That's a very specific piece of information to just give out when meeting someone for the first time.

---

As an aside. When we were checking in player's gear for the zombie game, which we were marking with masking tape and a player name, Richard asked me if his service number would be adequate. He then showed me the side of his CADPAT duffle, which had a coyote sheet with a bunch of info on it.

Now, I know Richard was not active CF, (though I didn't know about prior service, if any); so I told him he gets the masking tape like everyone else.

This conversation didn't stick out until later in the night when Koke, c3sk and myself were trying to figure wtf was going on.

alright, i never really post on the boards and i probably wont even read the replies later nor do i have any interest in reading these 2 pages beside the original post and daggers. but i do attend games and will say this. I have played with Dark Angel at a lot of games, i have heard him ream people out about safety and other stuff, i have NEVER seen him try and hurt any individual or go out of his way to be unsafe or unsportsmanlike at a game. I in the past have spoken with him before when we met years ago and when we hung out during an age verification event, and in general outside of airsoft. He has always said that his Canadian Forces Experience was HIGH SCHOOL CO-OP and i can vouch that his epaulettes are some spectre command bs and are not real. He has never in my knowledge or earshot claimed to be a captain or officer or whatever it is that you think he said he was. i have nothing against koke nor will i say that koke is lying. i don't know him well enough for either but he does have alot of respect on the boards. as far as dagger is concerned what happened 6 years ago or so i don't know, nor do i care but whats old is old, don't re hash. and i specifically remember last year at the zombie game when i was with king six, gato and another quest i brought to the field, c3sk came up and asked if he was cf, or rather if he was ever a officer in the cf and he said no. if you want to message me for something specific text or call me if you have my number, if not pm me. otherwise im pretty much done.

Here is the deal.

I have been informed that Richard Boelens will be hunting down his paperwork to support claims of having Co-Op placement with the CF.

If unable to produce said documentation, as Kokanee has stated.. Queen's York Rangers are investigating the issue, and will hopefully produce something to help clear things up. With any luck this is just one big huge misunderstanding which can be put to bed.






We all want this sorted out. If there is a previous issue with Richard Boelens, it can be handled elsewhere, anything beyond the topic at hand is out of scope. Until supporting evidence is produced from either party, I will be locking this thread.