BACKGROUND
Michael Joseph Reagan comes to us from Trafalgar, Indiana but also lists addressses in California. Sometimes his first name has the alternate spelling of “Micheal.” Reagan is 38 years old as of August 2019.
There was talk on the internet of an inspirational video that featured Michael Reagan…
It was determined that it was video put out by their church. In this video, Michael and his wife talk about his challenges which were brought about by “untreated PTSD.”
The above video was clipped and redacted from its original version. If you would like to see the video in its entirety, you can view it at:
Church: https://eclife.org/page/1244?Item=1288 (55:30)
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZT-W3k9ug8&fbclid=IwAR0ovVqH8pas1Fi46hn-fmhGIHabkVFFtnZFPFcRPEvVnlnbBRKr999anmA (55:30)
In the above video, Reagan’s wife said:
“He enlisted in 1998”
“He did the war thing – saw some terrible things.”
“… after getting himself in trouble because of untreated PTSD.”
Someone reached out to Michael and asked him some questions…
In addition, Michael Reagan’s wife was contacted and asked to expand upon some things she said in the video…
So, from her statements it sounds like Michael Reagan was boots on the ground in both Afghanstan and Iraq.
Then, there are the posts about the PTSD…
Some people that knew Michael Reagan contacted Military Phony and asked for an investigation into the matter since they had doubts about his stories.
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ACTIONS CONDUCTED BY MILITARY PHONIES
Michael Joseph Reagan’s official military records were ordered from the Department of the Navy via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We looked through Navy cruise books to establish and confirm time lines of military service and contacted the senior enlisted that Michael Reagan served under. We also reached out to Michael Reagan and his wife to get their side of the story.
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FOIA RESULTS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MANPOWER DATA CENTER (SCRA)
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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY (DoN)
This last page is just a formality. Once someone completes active duty they are transferred to the non-drilling Navy Reserve to finish out obligated reserve time. When that time is up, a letter is generated such as the one above.
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US NAVY CRUISE BOOKS
Other than boot camp and in-rate training, the bulk of Michael Reagan’s enlistment was served with VAQ-139. This is an Electronic Attack Squadron made up of aircraft that specialize in electronic warfare. Currently, they are home stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington.
They often are attached with ships and in fact were attached to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) during most of the time that Michael Reagan was in the unit. Michael Reagan was found within several cruise books for the USS Abraham Lincoln – thus accounting for his military service timeline.
Sources for US Navy Cruise Books
The two USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) cruise books mentioned here can be found several places in the public domain/internet, some book scans being higher quality than others and some requiring a paid subscription to access the books:
Navy Department Library, Ancestry, Fold3, e-yearbook.com, etc.
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Persian Gulf Cruise Book 2000-01
https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cvn72-00/409.htm
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) WestPac Cruise Book 2002-03
https://www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cvn72-02/350.htm
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SENIOR ENLISTED
The Senior Enlisted from Michael Reagan’s command, VAQ-139, was contacted in an effort to verify some of his claims…
NOTE: “Acting CMC” means the Acting (standing in for) Command Master Chief, who is the highest enlisted rating in a unit and oversees all enlisted as the senior enlisted advisor to that unit.
We could have contacted more people from Reagan’s unit but since we talked to the Senior Enlisted man, there did not seem any need to.
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DISCUSSION and SUMMARY
Michael Joseph Reagan has no record of formal military training in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and would not have been used to defuse improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Reagan had no assignments with a Marine Unit over his career as he had claimed.
Besides that, there is no such unit as 5-1 – which would imply 5th Battalion / 1st Marines. First Marines are based out of Camp Pendleton, CA. Marine units only go to three (3) Battalions, except for Parris Island which has a 4th Battalion – for all females.
The Navy views their training as an expensive investment, so they don’t have a tendency to change people’s ratings without a commitment from the individual to sign up for more service time as a condition of the training.
According to his DD-214, Michael was an Aviation Structural Mechanic and at one time held the rank of AM3 (Third Class Petty Officer – E-4), but was discharged as an AMAN (Airman – E-3). This means he was reduced in rank, which most all the time happens for disciplinary reasons.
The earlier Navy cruise book lists him as an AMSAN – AVIATION STRUCTURAL MECHANIC (STRUCTURAL) AIRMAN (E-3).
The later cruise book lists him as a AM3 – AVIATION METALSMITH PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS (E-4).
His final discharge DD-214 lists him as a AMAN – AVIATION STRUCTURAL MECHANIC AIRMAN (E-3).
Not sure if there was a typo in the cruise books or the ratings were so close that Reagan crossed over to strike for an rate opening.
There is no listing of a Purple Heart in his records, let alone two. Had he been shot as a result of enemy fire as was claimed, he would have been awarded a Purple Heart for each separate incident.
There is no award of the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) in Michael Reagan’s official military records. If Reagan was a combat veteran, even on a ship, he would have this award. Often the ship itself is awarded combat medals if it has taken on direct enemy fire.
There were no incidents aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during the time that Michael Reagan was aboard in which all members of his unit were killed except for him.
Although Reagan may have been diagnosed with PTSD, it is difficult to believe it would be related to getting shot twice or being the last surviving member of his unit since there is a claim that his entire unit was killed over time.
The claims that Michael Reagan is making are not supported by his official military records.
STOLEN VALOR
If the claims by Michael Reagan were used to leverage work, military or civilian promotions, or anything else of value, Reagan may be in violation of Stolen Valor laws. State laws may also apply.
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PHOTOS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/micheal.reagan.1 (deleted 8/18/19)
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