Foundation 9 Responds to Special Forces AccusationsMore updates have come to light concerning the accusations brought to bear against Pipeworks Software studio head Robert Daly, and his claims that he was once a member of the Special Forces. IndustryGamers broke the story yesterday after allegations arose that Daly was inappropriately identifying himself as a member of the Green Berets over multiple forms of media, including Spike TV’s popular Deadliest Warrior.
Foundation 9 has issued a statement in support of Daly, saying that he had provided information that would prove his service in the tight-knit community of the Special Forces. Foundation 9 president David Mann reiterated his support for Daly, saying that “Foundation 9 is very proud of Robert, the leadership he provides his studio, and his service to this country.”
ProfessionalSoldiers.com founder Jeff Hinton, former member of the Special Forces, remains skeptical, along with the other members of PS.com. The website, who works closely with the Special Forces Association and United States Special Forces Command, has made it clear that they believe Daly has used his attachment with the group to profit.
“Professionalsoldiers.com is now in receipt of a set of orders that state Robert Daly was assigned in a support role to a now deactivated Special Forces Group,” said Hinton on his website. “We are currently checking the validly of those orders. That said the orders are clear that Robert Daly was an Intelligence Analyst and not a Special Forces soldier aka a "Green Beret.”
“Robert Daly was NEVER a Green Beret or a Special Forces soldier as all of the internet articles have stated.
“Our statement stands, that Mr. Daly is a fraud.”
In a document provided by Foundation 9, Robert Daly is seen as being attached to Support Co, 3rd Battalion, 12th Special Forces Group, United States Army Reserve. The 12th Special Forces Group is currently deactivated. Those orders were effective July 26, 1991.
“The conversation now seems to be around what a Green Beret is and what Green Beret isn’t,” said Foundation 9 in a statement to IndustryGamers. “There are some who claim that a Green Beret is only a Special Forces soldier who graduates from Q course and who is Operation Deployment Alpha.
“There are others in the military who claim that a Green Beret is a soldier who is part of a Special Forces group and who is allowed to wear the Green Beret in their military service. The facts are that Robert served in Special Forces, wore the Green Beret, and focused on intelligence for Operation Deployment Alpha soldiers.
“The military designated Robert as a Green Beret and Robert has never claimed anything more or less that this fact. Robert never passed the Q course and never claimed to have passed the Q course. I’m confident that if you dig further with additional members of the military you will discover that this is a nuanced debate that has strong camps on either side of the argument. In fact, the military changed the designation in the mid-nineties, which was after Robert’s term of service.”
Members of the armed forces have indeed been weighing in on the matter, noting Daly’s service record. They claim that he did in fact identify himself as a member of the Special Forces.
“We have scoured the internet attempting to find and article where Mr. Daly attempts to "set the record straight concerning the Spike TV "Former Green Beret" statement,” continued Hinton. “No luck.
“Now that we have seen a copy of Mr. Daly's orders we would like to see his DD-214.”
The members of Professional Soldiers have also uncovered a list of schools and active assignments that Daly completed while in the Army, none of which show that he served as a member of the Special Forces. The listings however, only go up to August 20th, 1990.
IndustryGamers has reached the United States Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office for comment on the matter, as well as Daly's DD-214. We will update as we receive more information.
UPDATE: Robert Daly has resigned from his position at Pipeworks, is replaced by Lindsay Gupton.
