Who are these men?

Can you get a picture of these guys? Might help us identify them as ex-military or not.

Good to see another persone from Michigan here.

It would be odd for ex-military guys to be still wearing their uniforms and carrying their back-packs. You don't just get back from duty and get dropped off on the street...lol
You get at least a plane ticket back to where you enlisted at, and the last thing you want to wear when you get discharged is your uniform. That's usualy the first thing that gets dumped. And for a group of them to get discharged at the same time and all want to hang out together in their uniforms and packs is also a head scratcher....

Are they all wearing the same back-packs etc...Or is it a miss-mach of different gear?
Do they have military haircuts? Are they buff, like special ops guys or something?
What kind of footware? Generaly units wear the same kind of boots...

If it is a miss-match I'd guess homeless guys. Maybe just travelling together.

This is interesting, I love a mystery, but we need more info to go on...

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
Can you get a picture of these guys? Might help us identify them as ex-military or not.

Good to see another persone from Michigan here.

If they come back around, I will get a pic. I have the digital camera ready!


Bear, my son went up to him and asked if he would like fresh water. It was over 80 that day so my guess is his water was warm. He declined and said he was okay.

All of the men had exactly the same backpacks and same boots & pants. All green jackets and only one with a camo jacket. One was older, at least mid fifties and the rest young. 4 white, one black. One was tatooed all over the face. The haircuts were different. One shaved bald, One had a ambercrombie cut and the rest were long and scruffy.

We operate a karate school and one of our students works at taco bell. Two of these men came in and one asked if he could get some food fit for a rat.

Someone here mentioned that they might be merconaries (SP)

Hmmmm tattoos on the face, I believe that's a no-no for most military??

But matching boots and stuff sounds like they could be a military unit of some kind, unless they all shopped at the same place. Unlikely if they're just homeless.

The pants? Woodland cammo? Plain green? Same with the back-packs?

Mercenaries is possible, but why would they be there?

Can't wait to see pics....

Originally posted by ANOK
Hmmmm tattoos on the face, I believe that's a no-no for most military??

But matching boots and stuff sounds like they could be a military unit of some kind, unless they all shopped at the same place. Unlikely if they're just homeless.

The tattoos could also be post-service... As for the dressings, there are quite a few surplus stores around the metro Detroit area. Offhand, I can think of two in the Downriver area. So, not really all that unlikely.

Several years ago, I played paintball at a large field near Kitchener, Ontario Canada -- Flag Raiders (an excellent field by the way). The game, a large scenario game, was to begin early, about 7am. So me and my team decided to drive to Kitchener from London the night before. It was our intention to "crash" at a local hotel or motel so we could get a fresh start the next day. Unfortunately, as luck and poor planning would have it, there was some sort of convention in town and there simply were "no vacancies". There wasn't a room to be had anywhere nearby.

Instead of simply returning home, we all decided to simply hang out around Kitchener. You know, hanging out, walking the streets, making "last call" and drinking plenty of coffee at every Tim Horton's we could find. It wasn't a very "prudent" thing to do as we certainly weren't going to get any sleep for the game but, hey, we had fun.

The point of this is that the five of us were dressed in camoflauge uniforms, hardly appropriate attire for anywhere but a paintball field or, perhaps, for a military operation. We certainly did not "fit in" and we did attract quite a few glances from people and passing police cruisers. Luckily we were never stopped or questioned by the police though we did have to explain ourselves to a number of people who passed us on the street. Nevertheless, regardless how curious or out of place we seemed, we did have a legitimate, albeit ridiculous, reason for our appearance.

I have to ask, knowing that paintball is quite a popular sport in SouthWest Michigan, could these "suspicious" men in cammo's possibly been members of a paintball team facing a predicament much like the one that my team and I faced? You know, sometimes things are that simple. Just wondering and offering my take on things.

Originally posted by ANOK
Hmmmm tattoos on the face, I believe that's a no-no for most military??

But matching boots and stuff sounds like they could be a military unit of some kind, unless they all shopped at the same place. Unlikely if they're just homeless.

The pants? Woodland cammo? Plain green? Same with the back-packs?

Mercenaries is possible, but why would they be there?

Can't wait to see pics....

They were plain green pants, and in rough shape. Backpacks were plain green. One had a compass around his neck I was hoping to see them around again today, but haven't so far. There is a truck stop a mile down the road, so maybe they rode in with a trucker. It doesn't make sense to me either that if it were just a group of homeless, why the military style clothing? Could have been a paintball team however they seemed to be traveling together yet individually. They were also pretty rough around the edges and that's why the first guy I saw with matted gray hair I thought to be homeless. There is a harry's army surplus in Dearborn and one in Waterford, so they could have purchased clothing there at the same time. Why wear the jackets and all that gear on a scorching day though?

[edit on 24-7-2006 by ChristyZ]

I don't buy a bunch of homeless men all buying the same gear?
The last thing on a homeless persons mind is matching outfits...LOL

And homeless people are mostly loners anyway. I've been homeless (by choice) and travelled quite a lot myself when I got out the Navy, I never saw anything like this.

I doubt they came in on a truck. Truck drivers rarely, if ever, pick up people, especialy a group of them. I hitch-hiked for yrs in Europe and the US in the 80's and 90's.

And again why would a bunch of ex-military guys, all from the same unit or force hang out together after discharge and all keep their uniforms?
Usually not that many ppl get discharged from a unit at the same time, and want to hang out together on the street after words.

Doesn't make sense.

Could be a paintball team, but why again are they hanging around for days. You go paintball then go home. Did they have paint stains on their uniforms?

Also one being old and one being black, not to be racist or agist, but that's seems kinda unusual also to me. Does the older guy seem to be in charge at all?

But I could be wrong, stranger things have happened. If they are a bunch of homeless, or vets, then it's an interesting story anyway imo. I don't think it's anything sinister, just a little unusual...

Could they not be people who are conducting a traffic census or public census. Usually these people are unemployed and are paid a nice little earner to complete a census ie How many cars use a certain road, How many members of the public use a certain pedestrian crossing. They are paid by a body such as the Highways Agency or something like that. They are usually kitted out in all weather clothing by whichever agency is employing them on a temporary basis.

We have them a lot in the UK usually sitting on deckchairs at the side of the road clicking the hand held counter everytime a car passes.

Being ex military myself i cant see them being serving soldiers as that seems totally out of character for such men

Nah they do that electronicly in the US. I've never seen someone sitting in a chair clicking a counter...

Why would they need huge back packs and matching military gear?

If it wasn't for the face tatoos, I would guess special ops team doing survival training or something.

Are there a lot of wilderness where you live Christy?

Are their accents local?

If you can talk to them individualy, see if they all act the same way. Are they all cagey about answering questions? One might not want to talk but if they all don't, that's suspicious.

Originally posted by ANOK
Nah they do that electronicly in the US. I've never seen someone sitting in a chair clicking a counter...

Why would they need huge back packs and matching military gear?

If it wasn't for the face tatoos, I would guess special ops team doing survival training or something.

Are there a lot of wilderness where you live Christy?

Are their accents local?

If you can talk to them individualy, see if they all act the same way. Are they all cagey about answering questions? One might not want to talk but if they all don't, that's suspicious.

There is a lot of wilderness here, and it puzzles me why one of these guys would hang out all day on the edge of our parking lot rather than going to the park where there is at least shade.

My son said there was not an accent when he offered the guy water but the only think he spoke was "I'm okay" with no expression on his face at all. He said the guy had wierd looking eyes, but I just chalked that up to the imagination of a 16 year old.

Originally posted by ANOK


Could be a paintball team, but why again are they hanging around for days. You go paintball then go home. Did they have paint stains on their uniforms?

Also one being old and one being black, not to be racist or agist, but that's seems kinda unusual also to me. Does the older guy seem to be in charge at all?

But I could be wrong, stranger things have happened. If they are a bunch of homeless, or vets, then it's an interesting story anyway imo. I don't think it's anything sinister, just a little unusual...

No paintball stains although the clothing was dirty and boots were worn. The older guy didn't seem to be in charge. He seemed a little spacy to me and kept walking back and forth on the sidewalk in front of our plaza. Then spoke to one of the others and left. They spoke to each other very little.

I agree with ANOK, the tattoos are very strange, and would rule out active military. Survivalists maybe? Though with a taste for Macca's!

We often use McDonalds as a military RV, as most towns have one, and just before, or just after, a field deployment it is a popular food group. There are usually the smokers who sit outside all day choofing away after being denied their daily nicotine intake for a few days or weeks. Usually you don't wait there all day, but if an exercise finished early, and the redeployment vehicles are behind schedule, you could sometimes be there for quite a while. Always prompted strange looks from the locals, though that was probably more due to the smell than anything else!

I haven't seen any of them here in the past couple of days however two were seen at Taco Bell in the next town over, once again asking for "Food Fit for a Rat" Very strange!

"Food Fit for a Rat" may be their way of asking for food that is being thrown away.

This is what I see here: Old X military guy starts some sort of survivalist or pseudo military group and the four younger guys have joined up with him. I would guess they go from place to place looking for homeless or outcast young men to join the group. He's like the cult leader and they are currently practicing their "thing" on the streets.

Let’s just hope they don't have a "master plan" of sorts.

good observation, but i would not have any clue as to who these folks are?

Originally posted by Zanzibar
Oh come on! Their just soldiers, probably back from their tour and they've got nowhere to go other than the streets. It happens all the time.

Lol...did they just get dropped off in a hummer, still kitted out and covered in war-paint/grass stains/enemy combatant bodily fluid. Do they not even get to have a shower first?? Pah, if thats the way the military treats their rank and file after they return from a tour, I think i'll pass.

Oh and another thing, testosteroned-up grunts hanging about on street corners is surely a recipe for civil disorder.

[edit on 25-7-2006 by KhieuSamphan]

Michigan is known for their militias, maybe that is where these guys came from after practicing, and they very well may be looking for new recruits.

Ahah! Militia, that's a good suggestion, best one so far probably.

But still, why would they need food fit for a rat? Very strange. Don't rats eat anything?

Is it a code or something? Maybe a training thing where they have to find someone, who gives them the correct answer to the question 'do you have food fit for a rat'??

If they are homeless, there is a good chance that they were veterans as well. Next time you see someone homeless on a corner remember this, 1 out of every 3 homeless males you see is a Veteran and served our country. I volunteer a lot and see quite of few homeless still wearing camo.

As someone else mentioned, just walk up and ask about them and see if they need anything, if they are veterans there are places can get help in metropolitan Detroit. U2U me if they want help. I will get them in touch with organizations that can help them out.
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans