Florida National Guardsman lied about being a SEAL

Soldier washed out of BUD/S but wore Trident

By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Aug 9, 2010 12:44:00 EDT

Second Lt. Douglas Sofranko has spent the last year impressing his fellow soldiers in the Florida Army National Guard with stories of his days as a Navy SEAL, while proudly wearing the distinctive Trident insignia on his Army uniform. He even had the SEAL Creed hung on the wall of his office.

The problem is, it was all a lie.

The 33-year-old Army officer and former enlisted sailor, who works at the Ballard Armory in Miami as rear support for the Guard’s 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry, did attend Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in Coronado, Calif., in 1996. But according to Naval Special Warfare Command, he washed out of training. His class graduated without him in February 1997.

“He did not complete training, and he is not authorized to wear the Trident insignia,” said Lt. Cate Wallace, spokeswoman for Naval Special Warfare Command.

Sofranko, who left the Navy in 1999, joined the Pennsylvania National Guard and later received his Army commission Aug. 17, 2009, has lived his SEAL lie for much of the last year, sources with his Army unit said. Recently, unit members became suspicious of his claims and started making inquiries.
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Soldier washed out of BUDS but wore Trident