This is Pipeworks, an Oregon-based game studio headed up by Robert Daly. Apparently, Daly's been saying he was in the Special Forces. But at least one Special Forces website, that's not exactly true. Updated with response from Pipeworks disputing the accusations.
If you've seen Spike TV, you've probably seen Daly on Deadliest Warrior. His studio made Xbox Live Arcade title Deadliest Warrior: Legends.
When Daly appeared on TV, he was often introduced as a former Green Beret. In the official Deadliest Warrior game, he was also listed as a former Beret.
On IGN, Daly represented himself as a former Special Forces member.
"We heard about Robert Daly just like we do all our Special Forces / Green Beret frauds," Jeff Hinton, owner of ProfessionalSoldiers.com, told IndustryGamers. According to Industry Gamers, Hinton is a retired Army Master Sergeant and a former Green Beret.
"Pretending to be a Special Forces soldier lends credibility in certain industries such as security, counterterrorism, weapons instructors, etc. and in Mr. Daly's case the very lucrative entertainment industry," said Hinton. "The real Special Forces soldiers aka the 'Green Berets' take a very dim view when an individual uses our title and our reputation, a reputation we forged in blood, for personal or political gain. In Mr. Daly's case it's quite evident he was using our reputation for financial gain."
Hinton requested Daly's military records through the Freedom of Information Act, discovering that National Personnel Records Center information revealed Daly was an imagery analyst. The United States Army Special Operations Command has no records of him as a Special Forces member.
If true, seeing someone pretend they were Special Forces when they weren't is insulting to those who risked their lives as Green Berets. The Special Forces isn't playtime or something to impress people at dinner parties.
"You and I both know you are a liar, you were never a 'Green Beret' or a member of Special Forces," Hinton wrote on his site.
Update: Foundation 9, Pipeworks' parent company, has responded saying that Mann was indeed a Green Beret, but that he never passed the Special Forces qualification course. Which opens up a whole other can of worms.
Studio Head Military Creds [Industry Gamers]
(Top photo: Pipeworks Software | Facebook)
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