Disgrace: Pastor Made Believe He was Navy SEAL, Included Aspects of Seagal Movie, GI Jane in Stories

It seems like people want credit for being heroes-- even when they are far from it. Now that Osama bin Laden has met his end at the hands of Navy SEALs, there are many that want to jump on the bandwagon.

One case is a pastor from Pennsylvania, Jim Moats, who has been telling his congregation for five years that he was a Navy SEAL in Vietnam:

Apparently at least part was based on Steven Seagal's 1992 film Under Seige:

Among other things, Moats said he was subjected to waterboarding when he trained at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach in 1971 and was assigned dishwashing duty for his bad attitude. "I had almost no discipline. I was as wild as they came. That was my nemesis," he told the paper. "They weren't looking for a guy who brags to everyone he is a SEAL. They wanted somebody who was ready but had an inner confidence and didn't have a braggadocio attitude."

He also lifted part of his story from the 1990s movie GI Jane:

And what about Reverend Moats's claims that he had been hit by instructors?
That too was taken from a Hollywood film about SEALs - G.I. Jane - in which Moore plays the fictional role of the first woman who survives the crack team's gruelling training regime, Mr Shipley said.

Moats appeared to be apologetic as he confessed his crime:

Moats fessed up to his whopper, and admitted he bought the Trident medal at a military surplus store. "I never was in a class, I never served as an actual SEAL. It was my dream. ... I don't even know if I would have met the qualifications. I never knew what the qualifications were," he told the Patriot-News. Moats did serve in the Navy from 1970-74, but did not fight in Vietnam.

Terrible.

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