how can you see if someone really is in the army?

[Kittysue]

1 - Insist on a Skype video chat ASAP. If he can email you he can Skype you as the computers he uses to email you are all equipped with webcams for soldiers to Skype friends and family back home. Don't believe anyone who says they don't have a webcam, can't Skype you or that they need you to send money for a webcam. Those are all lies. Tell him he has 48 hours to Skype you and if he refuses or has excuses, then he's a scammer and you need to cut off all contact
2 - Do an IP lookup of his emails. The IP address is the physical location of the computer that sent the email http://aruljohn.com/info/howtofindipaddress/ -- If the IP address is NOT where this person claims they are, that's more proof they are a scam
3 - Ask them to email you from their military email address. Don't believe anyone who says they can't use it for security reasons. That's BS. If it's not from @us.army.mil he's NOT in the Army
4 - If he gave you his full name, rank and location and you met online, he's not real. NO real soldier is going to give the information to anyone they only know online. If he were a real soldier the most you would know would be his first name and general location, nothing more