WOODSTOCK, Ga. - A Cobb County man who spent years pretending to be a Navy SEAL finally came face-to-face with the truth. And the FOX 5 I-Team.
Bob McDaniel runs a business teaching self-defense classes in metro Atlanta. However, his real skill appears to be thriller fiction writing, the kind that might put Jack Ryan to shame.
At various times, McDaniel claimed he flew Marine Corps combat missions in Vietnam, fought with and taught the Army's elite Delta Force and served for more than 20 years as a Navy SEAL, the unit considered the tip of the spear for any sensitive military mission.
But according to the military, none of that is true. And as you'll see, those lies are not harmless.
“It’s like I just met an admiral and like was super-pumped about it," remembered Reagan Hughes, a North Forsyth High School freshman who was introduced to McDaniel in a Woodstock restaurant last month during a celebration of the Navy's birthday. McDaniel was wearing the uniform of a Navy rear admiral, with a chest full of medals. Reagan said McDaniel offered to help him get into the Naval Academy.
McDaniel is 71. The military told us “there’s no record of him being in the Navy," just six years in the Marine Corps Reserve starting in 1967 and ending as an E-5 Sergeant Radio Telegraph Operator. According to what the military sent us, McDaniel spent no time in Vietnam.
But that’s not what people are told who pay for his self-defense classes.
Their company is called Security Against Forced Encounters, or SAFE. They charge up to $30 a head for self-defense classes held around metro Atlanta. After class, they sell mini-flashlights and bamboo weapons.
McDaniel may warn women how to avoid being attacked, but the real challenge here is keeping track of all of McDaniel's dramatic adventures.
“I’ve been to Syria with Delta (Force)," he told our undercover producer who attended one of his classes. "There for an operation. We had to extract two people and we had to go after two other targets. I’m still a SEAL. I’ve been through 20-odd years.”
The FOX 5 I-Team waited until November 10 -- the birthday of the Marine Corps -- to see whether McDaniel would show again at that same Woodstock restaurant, the Semper Fi Bar and Grill.
He did, this time wearing a Marine Corps t-shirt rather than a Navy admiral's uniform.
I walked up to get his thoughts on such an important day.
We tried to show him his real military record. Instead, McDaniel sounded full retreat and headed for his car.
Semper Fi Bar and Grille co-owner Ralph Roeger said over the years customers impressed with his stories had offered to pick up McDaniel’s check. He said last month was the first time McDaniel wore a uniform.
Arlene Johnson refused to look at McDaniel's military record when we tried to show her after he drove away. She walked out of the restaurant while talking to McDaniel on her cellphone.
A few days later, McDaniel returned a call from the FOX 5 I-Team and admitted his military claims were a lie.
Our investigation started with a tip from a Maryland man named Don Shipley. He’s a retired Navy SEAL who started a second career outing thousands of people who fake their military credentials. Coming up tomorrow night - Shipley said he finds more fakes in Georgia than any other state in the country.
And we’re there when Shipley introduced himself to Bob McDaniel.
FULL STORY: www.fox5atlanta.com/news/semp...