My my, you certainly do seem to hang out with a lot of bullsh*t artists, don't you? These "friends" have names, or were they just barstool commandoes? One easy way to spot a phony, I've noticed, is he will never be an ex-cook or company clerk, he's always a veteran of the Special Forces, Seals, CIA/SOG, or some super-secret spooky organization that "if he told you the name, he'd have to kill you".
I hope you meet one of the real thing some day. One of the first things you'll notice about them is they don't go into bars bragging about atrocities or trying to impress the drunks with spy stories.