Unfortunately, there's a major problem with what's been reported about Nashvillian Chris Garland. Much of it is the stuff of pure urban legend, inexplicably propagated by gullible reporters, Garland says, unwilling to take the fall. To his critics, which include enlisted soldiers and martial artists alike, he is a brash, excitable teller of tall tales. Despite several press accounts to the contrary, Garland put in an unremarkable two-year stint in the Army from 1993-1995 in Fort Riley, Kan., and was honorably discharged as a specialist. He was in high school during the Gulf War and never saw combat in the Balkans—or anywhere else for that matter. He never served in Special Forces. He was no more an Army Ranger than, well, Vin Diesel. The VeriSEAL Group, an independent outfit that tracks false military claims, lists Christopher Garland in its Hall of Shame. And as far as being a master in Hapkido, one of his former martial arts instructors says that while Garland has considerable talent, he throws around that label recklessly.
Garland says that careless reporters have confused his military record and that he's hardly to blame for the series of fabrications that have burnished his reputation. Now, it's true that Garland has worked as a Department of Defense subcontractor and has trained U.S. Special Forces in hand-to-hand combat, which is just one of dozens of things they need to know. What happens, Garland says, is that when he tells that to reporters and shows them photographs of himself with Special Forces units, they mistake that for membership.
"I have never told anyone I was a Navy SEAL, I was a Green Beret or I was a Ranger," he says over coffee one Saturday. "This has taught me a lesson. I need to see what's written about me before it comes out."
None of the press accounts of Garland that the Scene reviewed quotes him directly making a false claim. It just so happens that in almost every story reported about Garland, there are major mistakes and questionable claims, nearly all of which just happened to help promote his business, Executive Martial Arts.
At least two journalists say that Garland misled their publications about his military service. Earlier this year, Hollie Shulick, a writer at All the Rage, a local Gannett weekly aimed at younger readers, profiled Garland and reported that he joined Special Forces at the age of 17, which would be a remarkable achievement considering that most soldiers serve about five years in the military before the highly competitive selection process even commences. An annoyed soldier at Fort Campbell and the VeriSEAL group alerted the paper to its error, and it made a correction on its website. So how did Shulick erroneously report that Garland was a member of Special Forces? All the Rage managing editor Kristen Whittlesey writes in an email that "Chris Garland did tell Hollie Shulick flat-out that he was in Special Forces."
The weekly's website later added that Garland trained Special Forces at the young age of 17. Garland says that when he first enlisted, soldiers in the Special Forces learned that he was skilled in martial arts. He helped instruct them, although he admits he doesn't have the paperwork to prove it.
Steve Waterman, a former Navy first-class diver, who was a part of the VeriSEAL group that helped expose the errant stories on Garland, doubts that he ever trained Special Forces at such a young age. "There's no way. What would he be able to teach them?" he says, bristling at all the false reporting on Garland. "They would laugh at him."
Channel 4 reporter Dennis Ferrier, who wrongly reported that Garland was an Army Ranger, says that he doesn't remember if Garland told him that or if it was his mistake. In any case, Garland says that he doesn't recall if he called Ferrier to correct him after his erroneous report aired.
Yet another journalist who doesn't want to be named says that Garland also misled that writer's publication about his military service. "We just took him on his word. We didn't think anybody would lie about that," the journalist says. "Then we received several letters correcting us about his background."
Then there's a question about an old page on his martial arts website, sent to the Scene by one of Garland's many detractors in the Fort Campbell area. The bio reads that Garland was a Ranger in the U.S. Armed Forces and entered the Special Forces at the age of 18. Again, pure fiction.
Garland wonders if that bio was ever on his website or whether somebody fabricated it. But his current bio reads remarkably similar to that, and adds that he's enrolled in acting classes. "With the ageing (sic) of some of Hollywood's martial arts actors such as Chuck Norris, Steven Segal and Claude Van Dam (sic), Chris is poised to be a future star," it reads.
Some of the items penned about Garland border on pure comedy. In a 2000 newsletter from a martial arts group in Jacksonville, Fla., announcing a Hapkido demonstration by Chris Garland, it adds that he has "two movies that will be released in theaters this year." No, he didn't. (He also told the Scene in 2003 that he was to be in a movie, and we're still waiting for the trailer.) Garland says he doesn't remember what the newsletter wrote about him.
In addition, several sources have told the Scene that Garland identified himself as a former Army Ranger, which is a part of Army Special Operations Forces. Michael Rhoades, who actually is a former Army Ranger, met Chris Garland in Savannah, Ga., during a visit of Korean dignitaries. "He showed us pictures with him in his uniform before he even knew that I was in the Army," Rhoades recalls. "Based on the unit and insignia patches, they just didn't match the unit he claimed to be in."
Rhoades speculates that Garland bought the patches.
Garland denies ever saying he was a former Army Ranger and says that Rhoades, himself a martial arts instructor in Missouri, is jealous of Garland's success. But other sources, including soldiers and civilians, corroborate Rhoades story.
"He told outward lies," says John Renken, who works as a civilian contractor for 5th Special Forces. "He told them that he jumped into Panama." Interestingly, that's something Army Rangers have done.
In addition to his apparent penchant for telling tall tales, Garland has a short fuse, according to several accounts. In 1998 and 1999, three individuals filed police incident reports against Garland. Two women in separate cases both alleged that he shoved them in a rage. Another man said that after an argument at a Waffle House, Garland tried to intimidate him by yelling, "I'm an officer of the law," which would be yet another lie. Garland also allegedly grabbed his pistol and pulled it halfway out of the holster.
There is no record at the Criminal Court Clerk's office of any charges or convictions in these incidents.Garland denied any wrongdoing in all the above incidents. (He also had the ex-boyfriend of one of his female accusers call the Scene and say that she was a drug addict.)
Michael Rhoades, the former Army Ranger and Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido instructor, says that Garland is not well regarded in the martial arts community. Though talented, he has been known to intimidate other martial artists whom he views as a threat.
"It's a shame that Chris Garland's claims, negative attitude and his reprehensible behavior toward others reflects on all martial artists," Rhoades writes in an email. "As far as Chris Garland's technique, I feel he is a good technician and does not need to threaten people or blow things out of proportion. I only want honor to be brought to Jin Jung Kwan and martial arts alike."
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