The idea that he was recruited into the controllers program and then put undercover as a mechanic just doesn't sound real. If one is a mechanic in the military, they are a mechanic and your DD214 is the summary of your military career at time of discharge-why would he show a fake DD214 at this point?Interesting....He kinda hints at the "cover" story idea in the interview, but as with most of it, it's vague:
06:31External Quote:
Everything changed for me right around 911, and, I left the Air Force and was sent out to California at that time to begin stablish. And my cover basis for an independent as an independent contractor, so that I could serve what was coming down the line next for me.
Again, it's all very vague. To start with, according to Wikipedia, a "combat controller" in the USAF is a Special Ops person who is trained in a number of Airforce related things, like ATC:
And often team up with other Special Ops guys like the Green Berets or SEALs:External Quote:
Air Force Special Operations Command's Combat Controllers are battlefield airmen assigned to special tactics squadrons. They are trained special operations forces and certified Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers.[2][3][6] The mission of a Combat Controller is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to conduct special reconnaissance, establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control, fire support, command, control, and communications and forward air control. They deploy with air and ground forces in support of direct action, such as counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, and combat search and rescue. Combat Controllers employ all-terrain vehicles, amphibious vehicles, weapons and demolitions in pursuit of their objectives, which may include obstacle destruction.[2][3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Combat_Control_TeamExternal Quote:
Trained in underwater and maritime operations, freefall parachuting, and many other deployment methods, Combat Controllers are often assigned individually or as a team to Army Special Forces, Army Ranger, Navy SEAL, and Delta Force to provide expert airfield seizure, airstrike control, and communications capabilities.[4]
They seem to integrate Air Force Special Ops into other Special Ops teams. What they don't seem to be is helicopter pilots, which is how Coulthart, again vaguely, describes Barber's tenure in the Special Ops unit:
04:43External Quote:
But Jake was no ordinary mechanic. Being recruited into the Air Force's elite combat control unit meant he had a resumé that reads like something out of an action thriller. Helicopter pilot, freefall parachutist, expert marksman, and the recipient of a NATO top secret security clearance.
It sounds like maybe he went the Combat Control route and washed out? Not something to be ashamed of as 90% do:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Combat_Control_TeamExternal Quote:
Combat Controller training, which is nearly two years long, is among the most rigorous in the US military. The CCT pipeline has a wash out rate upwards of 90–95%, mostly due to self-eliminations, injuries sustained during training, and academic failures.
He became a mechanic AFTER going to Combat Controll school, as he now says on X, though he implies he did not wash out, rather he was reassigned as part of his cover story:
View attachment 76355
Not the other way around as Coulthart says. Still not sure when, or maybe IF, he flew helicopters in the Airforce.
The plot thickens!
If anyone watches Don Shipley's channel, he repeats how often the people that he goes after for claiming false histories as Navy Seal's are compensating for some disappointment with themselves in their actual military career.
And the pattern looks much like what we are getting from Jake Barber-they claim to have been in a special forces unit but it was all "black ops" and the records are of course sealed. They claim highly improbable career paths, i.e. from qualified combat controller to secret agent mechanic, and involvement in super secret ops.
Predictably, they never provide evidence for these claims.
Another point that Shipley makes is that washing out from these difficult programs doesn't have to be for physical reasons. Candidates are under close scrutiny during training to ensure that they have a psychological profile that is compatible with the seriousness of the job.
Watching Barber's interview, the kind of hypomanic delusional episode that he describes is symptomatic of some potentially serious mental health issues. Maybe PTSD or something else would explain his odd comportment, but it has to raise serious questions about his mental state.
To me, his claims about his background as a super secret black ops guy disguised as a mechanic for years too closely fit the profile of those type of guys who create imaginary heroic backstories for themselves.