You're right, he obviously made the whole thing up. No former soldier's gonna pull my leg by telling me that he had the justification to "smoke" a person and passed on it.
"Made up?" No, but it's pretty clear he took some liberties in drawing parallels.
Here, I won't mince words. If a unknown person is heavily armed, threatening to kill soldiers, not listening to commands, all while in an area that has 'caused enouch concern for soldiers to be there ("there" being Irag or Afghanistan), the I EXPECT that soldier to smoke that trespassers sorry butt. If he doesn't he not olny a danger to himself but his fellow soldiers, and should be sent back home to push papers, are excluded from the service entirely.