Now waiting for the post declaring that "Bill" is a civilian romance scammer calling from some hovel in South Asia ....
This is some of what the real US Army says of pseudo-soldiers who plague dating sites:
http://www.cid.army.mil/romance_scam.html
"Online Romance Scam Information
Army CID is warning anyone who is involved in online dating to proceed with caution when corresponding with persons claiming to be U.S. Soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan or elsewhere.
Army CID receives hundreds of allegations a month from victims who state they got involved in an online relationship with someone, on a legitimate dating website or other social media website, who claims to be a U.S. Soldier. The "Soldier" then begins asking for money for various false service-related needs such as transportation costs, communication fees, marriage, processing and medical fees. Victims of these online scams have lost tens of thousands of dollars, with a very low possibility of recovery."
May I? Your new beau is a man sitting in an internet cafe in Lagos, Nigeria. Rule #1 in an on line romance: As soon as you are asked for gifts, or money - it's a scam. Every time. You want to meet nice people? Turn the computer off.
Ditto for the even older husband-hunting "Russian Girlfriend" scheme. I would like to adjust your final caution to avoid demonizing honest users of dating sites. But one should ideally be sifting profiles of people they can reasonably meet and verify as genuine, not strangers sitting an ocean apart and falsifying their photos and stats.