Oh snap!
Discovery Channel’s “Dual Survival” reality star Joseph Teti, a former Army and Marine Corps special operator, has been disavowed by the Special Forces Association and stripped of his membership with the group.
“He is no longer a member and cannot rejoin,” retired Army Col. Jack Tobin, president of the association, told Military Times.
The association’s National Board made the decision after some two dozen current and former Special Forces soldiers came forward with allegations of misconduct against Teti. In the group’s 50-year history, only 10 members have gotten the boot.
Although Tobin declined to discuss the specifics of Teti’s removal, the group’s bylaws allow for membership to be revoked for lying about their Special Forces credentials or any “actions, deeds, or behavior by a member which brings discredit, humiliation, or embarrassment upon the Association.”
Teti and Discovery Channel did not respond to several requests for comment.
Teti, however, was clearly proud of his membership with the group. Until recently, it was the first entry listed under “professional affiliations” in the biography section of his personal website.
Teti has been at the center of a growing storm over his military and combat duty claims since joining Dual Survival last year. He replaced David Canterbury, another Army veteran on the popular survival show, after allegations surfaced that Canterbury lied about sniper and airborne qualifications.
Teti has faced far more controversy, however, including allegations that he misrepresents himself as a “combat veteran” despite never serving in combat while in the military.
In an April interview with Military Times, Teti defended his claims to combat experience, saying he served as a contractor in a highly classified special operations unit.
Teti said he served in Force Recon as a Marine and later served as an enlisted Green Beret in the Army National Guard, leaving military service shortly after the 9/11 attacks to pursue work as a private contractor.
“Never have I said that I served in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said at the time. “I want to clear the record right now. I was in a government counterterrorism unit doing direct action missions right alongside Tier 1 assets.”
He insisted the government unit in which he served was so secret that he was barred from even discussing it. “Don’t even guess about it because that will get you in big trouble. Don’t even take liberties at guessing because you’re actually crossing a legal line right there. ... I am not at liberty to discuss — ethically, legally, morally — who I worked for,” he said.
Special Forces Association members are applauding the move to take Teti off the group’s rolls.
“He’s an embarrassment to the Regiment, because of the falsehoods, lies and embellishments he’s used in association with his Special Forces qualifications,” says retired Army Sgt. Maj. George Davenport, a “life member” of the organization.
Among Teti’s lies, says Davenport, are claims that he was a graduate of the Special Forces Combat Diver and Special Forces Sniper courses.
“I personally checked with the Special Forces schools and he did not go to those courses. There is no record of him attending,” says Davenport, founder of the “Special Forces Poser Patrol” Facebook page, which added Teti to the group’s “Wall of Shame” Sept. 30 in the wake of the SFA’s decision.
19 Feb ’12
KVR said
will be interesting to see if he gets the boot
How could they call him a fake? Didn't they see him make the terrain models on Dual Survival? Didn't they see him take down that boar with extreme prejudice?? That guy is LEGIT!!!
Good riddance!!! I'm sure right now Cody Lundin has a BIG grin.
3 Jun ’12
less then 60 seconds into his first episode, you could see this coming. Guys that have done the thing generally don't start every sentence with a preamble about how badass they are.
He has made a fool of himself on national TV and alienated himself from just about every community that he identifies himself with.
*insert matt serra*
it begins
Major sponsor drops 'Dual Survival' star; Teti fires back at critics
Discovery Channel officials have gone dark, maintaining radio silence over the fate of Joseph Teti, even as support for the “Dual Survival” reality show co-star continues to erode.
Cabela’s hunting and sporting goods chain, one of Teti’s main sponsors, cut ties with him over the weekend.
Since joining “Dual Survival” last year, Teti had become the centerpiece for Cabela’s special events. As recently as Sept. 16, he was booked by the chain for the grand opening of a store in Oregon.
The move comes in the wake of the Special Forces Association publicly disavowing Teti last week and amid a growing chorus of detractors calling on Discovery to fire him. The association’s leaders decided to strip Teti of his membership after some two dozen current and former Special Forces soldiers came forward with allegations of misconduct against Teti.
“In light of the Special Forces Association’s revocation of Joe Teti’s membership, Cabela’s has ended its association with Teti,” the chain said in a brief statement on its Facebook page.
The “Special Forces Poser Patrol” added Teti to its “Wall of Shame” around the same time.
“So Discovery, are the Pink Slips being handed out asap?” reads one of many of comments calling for Teti’s ouster on the “Dual Survival” Facebook page and other online outlets.
Discovery officials, however, aren’t saying anything. Repeated calls, emails and texts from Military Times also have gone unanswered.
And now Casio, another Teti sponsor, is considering breaking ties as well.
“It’s under review,” says David Johnson, vice president of Casio’s timepiece division. “We are aware of the stuff that’s come out. The timing is unfortunate because we just started this relationship with the guy.”
The watchmaker signed Teti in August to help promote its new line of Pro Trek watches.
“We’re gathering as much information as we can, and we’ll make a decision in the very near future,” Johnson tells Military Times.
Meanwhile, Teti is firing back at his critics.
In a long statement posted on his official “Dual Survival” Facebook page, Teti responded to claims that he had falsified or inflated his military résumé.
“I take my service to our country very seriously and I challenge anyone to produce substantiated evidence that I am a Stolen Valor candidate,” Teti writes.
According to the biography on his personal website, Teti “is a former Force Recon Marine, Army Special Forces ‘Green Beret,’ and a former operator in a highly classified government counter-terrorist unit.”
Teti has been the focus of criticism since joining “Dual Survival” last year. He replaced David Canterbury, another Army veteran, who was fired from the show after allegations surfaced that he had lied about some of his military qualifications.
While Canterbury later apologized to his fans, Teti is offering no signs of surrender.
Critics say Teti has claimed sniper and combat diver qualifications he never earned, while also calling himself a “combat veteran” even though he never served in a combat zone while in the military.
“I have never commented nor have I posted in any media information pertaining to medals I have or don’t have, or service that I did or did not perform. I do call myself a combat veteran, which I am, and this has been used by some to discredit me and make it appear I am a person of Stolen Valor,” he wrote.
Teti also downplayed the Special Forces Association’s decision to revoke his membership, writing that the group “is not part of or connected to the U.S. Army Special Forces.”
“My membership expired with this organization and I have recently been informed that I am ineligible to renew,” he writes
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