Indian Origin Man Joined US Army Passing Tough Drill: Fact Check

Story:

Nirav Shah. From Gujarati JAIN family joined U S.Army. during last leg of his selection at field exam. During one of the toughest drill training final test.
Salute to his drill

Other Versions

1. US Army, Gujarati passes tough Selection Drill Test.

2. Syed Hameed ul Hasan. From Uttar Pradesh joined U S.Army. during last leg of his selection at field exam. During one of the toughest drill training final test. Salute to his drill

3. (Hindi)
भारतीय मूल के व्यक्ति अमेरिकी सेना में शामिल होने का वीडियो

Nirav Shah. From Gujarati JAIN family joined U https://t.co/WKzMtQCaAY. during last leg of his selection at field exam . During one of the toughest drill training final test.
Salute to his drill ?.@majorgauravarya pic.twitter.com/HVxBYeNcq7
— Chowkidars of India First (@sure99) September 19, 2019

Fact Check:

An interesting video in circulation on social media alleges to show an Indian Origin Man Joined US Army after Passing a Tough Drill test. The video shows a soldier in uniform performing a rifle drill and showing some amazing skills handling the gun. While some versions of the story said the man in the video is Nirav Shah from a Gujarati Jain family, others said he is Syed Hameed ul Hasan from Uttar Pradesh. The video also appeared online claiming to show a comparative strength of American Army vs. Indian Army. No, the claims are not true and the actual facts are explained here.

Not an Indian Who Joined US Army

Although the video is in wide circulation online, the claims about an Indian origin man joining US Army after passing the tough drill are not true. After couple of minutes into the video, you can see a banner in the background showing – National High School Drill Team Championships. It is in fact a Military Drill & Ceremony competition, which takes place every year at Daytona Beach in Florida, United States. Moreover, the name printed on the man’s shirt and video search reveals his name – Alejandro Paulino.

Alejandro Paulino is a professional rifle exhibition driller from America. He shared the video in question on Facebook on 6th May 2019, saying he won the 1st place at the 2019 World Drill Championships. Back in May 2016, YouTube channel of World Drill Championships shared a similar solo rifle drill video of Alejandro Paulino.