Ken Aden; the final nail
JD from Professional Soldiers sent us the final nail for Ken Aden’s coffin. Ken Aden you might remember is/was the Democrat candidate for Congress in Arkansas’ 3rd CD who had a perfectly honorable military career, but felt like he needed to lie and tell his prospective constituents that he was a “Green Beret”. Well, it seems that the Special Warfare Center got tired of all of his BS excuses and accusations that they didn’t know what they were doing, so they rescinded the orders he’s been flashing around with this explanation;
Sir:
Ken Aden attended and was selected during the Special Forces Assessment and Selection, Class 1-08, which ran Oct. 17, 2006 to Nov. 9, 2006. There he was selected for attendance to the Special Forces Qualification Course. He subsequently attended and completed the Warrior Leader Course, Class 5-07 April 26, 2007. Aden entered the SF Medical Sergeant Training June 12, 2007; however, he failed to meet the standards of the course and removed from the course on Oct. 9, 2007 for academic reasons. He completed Survival, Evasion, Resistance and escape training Sept. 16, 2007. He entered the 18B Weapons Sergeant Course, Class 8-07, and was recycled to Class 1-08 for academic reasons. He began Class 1-08 on Oct. 16, 2007 and was relieved from the course April 29, 2008 after failing twice to pass the Light Weapons Exam and Hands-on Mortar Exam.
On June 12, 2008, an erroneous order was issued by the Installation Management Command awarding him the 18B military occupational specialty. After national media attention brought the orders to light, a thorough review of Aden’s records was performed and a subsequent revocation order was issued rescinding the 18B MOS, Order 164-89 on July 3, 2012.
Please see attached order. Note: the blocks are a redaction of Aden’s personally identifiable information.
V/R
Janice Burton
Deputy
Office of Strategic Communications
And a copy of the orders with his PII redacted;
There are now questions being raised about his involvement in his not-for-profit, Citizens4Change, and it seems he was campaigning under an alias while he was in Ohio, not a very good alias, Ken Wade (his middle name), but an alias, nonetheless.
A former Aden supporter emails us;
He basically dropped out of the sky into Dayton, tried to get C4C off the ground, then hit the ‘eject’ button in May 10. Then he starts ‘Residents4Arkansas’ sometime in the fall of ’10.
I am well acquainted personally with Aden. I was a loyal supporter and a [redacted] for his campaign until [a few] months ago when I ran across the alias he used in Dayton. He gave me a lame ass excuse which I didn’t buy for a second. Then, another former staffer and I got together and started comparing notes… by the end of the meeting with him… I knew Aden was a complete fraud.
As a [redacted] Vet, I share your disdain for people of Aden’s ilk. I saw the MOS months ago and thought it rather odd. After the other staffer and I met and compared the stories he had been told and the ones I had been told… we both knew we had made the right decision by resigning. Aden told me that he had completed GB training when I joined the campaign in Oct last year. Virtually everything the guy said was total bullshit.
I tried to alert ‘the powers that be’ here […] months ago, but I was not listened to and told it was ‘nonsense.’ I feel vindicated but at the same time I feel that I and a lot of other people were conned.
Yeah, Arkansas needs to run away from this clown.
ADDED: Notice that the orders making him an 18B were cut after he left the JFKSWC, so he knew they were illegitimate the moment they were cut. Aden also convinced his platoon leader, who happened to be a Sergeant First Class to write him a letter to support his claim that he was an 18B. That Sergeant First Class has since retracted that statement on SOCNET after he discovered that his letter wasn’t being used for legitimate purposes. By the way, his campaign, when they released the letter, told the public that it was written by Aden’s “commanding officer” to give the letter more weight and to fool Aden’s perspective constituents. I thought I should add all of that for some more perspective on the candidate.
Category: Phony soldiers
Don’t you just hate it when the Army delivers with the big stick. And by hate it, I mean love it as long as you aren’t on the recieving end.
Nice shooting, Jonn. I don’t care if it took 5 rounds (articles) – taking him down at 750+ miles is damned impressive.
Well done, amigo.
Ok, I was an 11Charlie. How to you fail with a mortar?
Any bets as to whether or not he tries to double down AGAIN???
Sure he will, NHSparky. He’s going to claim that he’s being “persecuted” because he “dared to speak truth to power” and thus pissed off the “powers that be”. Or, alternatively, he’ll try and claim it was an “honest mistake” on his part.
He definitely seems stupid enough to try one or the other.
Maybe the mortar portion was the first one since it should be easy
Nice work !!
I could see the honest mistake claim (I don’t think he’ll take it, thats too high of a road). He had orders awarding the MOS. He knew it didn’t make sense, so he logiced his way through to an misguided explination. One that made sense in the context of his reasoning.
Think of it as cognitive dissonance resolution. In one thought stream he knows he didn’t complete SF Training (three times it appears) and was never assigned to a team. In the other thought stream he’s got orders granting him the MOS and the Army is never wrong (just ask them).
Knowing that he’s a good guy, he has to resolve that apparent conflict.
I love studying psychology.
@ Hondo, you’ve nailed it. He’ll take one or the other, my bet is on the “persecution”.
And before I forget my manners: thanks for the assist, Ms. Burton. Very well done.
So does this mean he wasn’t an E6/SSG either? Or does the JFKSWC retraction have to list the rank held when the original and mistaken orders were issued?
If he’s not, that’s just icing on the cake.
George: I’m not positive, but I think standard practice is to use the standard name line from the orders being revoked even if a promotion has occurred in the interim.
Per his former Plt Sgt, Aden was a competent infantry NCO. So SSG in somewhat over 10 years total service (active + reserve) would be plausible.
Nuf said lets keel haul the SOB( or let the voters in AR do it if they are sane enough)
How common is it for Army SF trainees to make it as far as Aden did only to fail two completely different specialization courses?
As a voter in the district he is running in and a FORMER supporter, I can tell you that he will NOT be receiving many votes at all. His bid was a long shot before this… now there are better chances of winning the lottery! Better use the last of that campaign cash to buy a few tickets!
Jump School, SFAS, SERE and Warrior Leader Course does NOT make one SF… or a “Green Beret”- his words.
Fuck him.
Game, set, match. Bravo Zulu, Jonn!
Geeze! SGT Kane, did asshat really think he was going to get away whit this once TAH got ahold of him and his bullshi’ite?! (I never studied psychology!) To all involved, thanks for your great work!
#3 Guess he forgot to “bubble up”. What a douche…
Ann: on one of the other Aden threads, I’m pretty sure I remember seeing that it’s fairly common for those who wash out of SF Medic training to be continued in the SF Weapons Sergeant course. The SF Medic Course is among the toughest training programs anywhere. The SF Weapons Sergeant course is also damned difficult. And both are very long – over a year for the former, and as I recall somewhere around 9 months for the latter.
I didn’t attend SFQC, so I can’t assess either course based on personal experience. But based on discussions and serving with a fair number of SF and former SF soldiers over the years, I think the it’s an accurate assessment nonetheless.
“11Charlie. How to you fail with a mortar?”
IIRC, flunking the Gunner’s Exam will do it. Or double bubble trouble.
Ann, IMHO, Hondo has it right.
@14… back in the day, if you failed an SFQC portion you were recycled. Failed again, and you were sent down to Division doing the “duffel bag drag.” Some guys (medic failures) weaseled before they got to the board to reclass as 11BS or 12BS.
After SFAS was introduced… the Army decided that too much money and time was invested in you (if you passed SFAS) and they allowed you to reclass to another 18 MOS if you failed your initial 18 MOS. Aden reclassed from 18D (Medic course failure) to 18B (Weapons) where he flunked out of that. Then he did the duffel bag drag to Division. Aden then woofs shit he is SF… This is called this “Qualification by Flunking.” Qualification by Flunking is “Qualification by Association’s” cousin. I have found over the years that these “associations” are somewhat common in today’s society.
As for flunking the mortar portion… 18B (weapons) is NOT the same standards that are held at Benning. A lot of other things are tossed your way in that course.
As for the (now) 18 Series… failure is an option!
As for Aden… again- fuck him.
okay…help me out, guys. Clarify: Is the Q course is different than that Medic thing at Ft. Sam. I called it a Q course, but there were Rangers and SF doing training there in all things medical. Different?
The “Q course” refers to the Special Forces Qualification Course, or SFQC. The SFQC is the 6 phase course Special Forces candidates must pass in order to become a Green Beret. You can read about the details of the SFQC in the SWCS academic handbook if you’re interested. http://www.soc.mil/swcS/academichandbook.html
The Waffen SS mentality is alive and well among U.S. military veterans in the U.S. as it was in post WWII Germany. This website, and the posters on this website provide convincing evidence of that. You boys that are posting on this website are proof positive why we must keep civilian control of the government in order to maintain a democracy. Since the advent of the all volunteer military, it appears that the majority of the so-called volunteers are right wing authoritarion types. You people are promoting (through your “categories”) the idea that all veterans are right-wing whack jobs. That is a huge disservice to yourselves and the veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam when the draft was in effact. I once read an article that the U.S. military left wardogs behind Vietnam as discarded equipment. The dogs were subsequently eaten by the Vietnamese. What do you think the Republicans are trying to do to you? Look at what happened at Walter Reed Hospital under the Repupublicans. If you boys think it’s smart to tow the conservative line you are suckers. If you boys think fighting for Exxon and Haliburton and Koch Industries is fighting for America and the American dream you are sadly mistaken. I’ll keep up my end of the deal even though I knew better at the time we went into this war of choice. I had no other choice, even as I thought there would be 7,000 killed and eight times that number injured for nothing but George and Dick’s and Rummy’s profit and legacy. Sadly I was right. As an American, I feel sorry for you boys. You were duped, you have been screwed, blued and tatooed. As an American taxpayer, I have an obligation to you to support you with my tax dollars from now until you die. I will keep that obligation. I have no choice. You boys volunteered, so get off your high horses. You’re coming off as a bunch of assholes. Ken Aden is an advocate for you, and a good one. In typical Republican/ conservative/ authoritarian fashion you vote against… Read more »
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I never tire of being called a Nazi by peawit morons who have knee jerk reactions. Ken Aden is a liar and I’m supposed to overlook that so I can watch him go to Congress and have a measure of control over my life. Yeah, that makes complete sense.
Jack Witty: “I never served in the military, but . . . “
That’s all you needed to say, Jackie-boy – you never served. The correct thing to do at that point is put a cork in it vice lecture anyone here about their opinions. You have no standing to lecture those who did serve about jack, Jack.
In particular, you’ve got a lot of nerve coming here to lecture those who served about what they should or should not say. Why? Because those who served defended your right to free speech. And you’ve just taken advantage of that right above to express your ignorance.
No. 25 (Pinko Party-Line very old hat):
NOT witty.
Oh, by the way — little boy
(but not THAT brave) — you will discover, soon enough,
what MEN WITH MINDS OF THEIR OWN — can perform .
(I won’t live old enough — to read it’s remaining antique LIES.)
“I never served in the military, but up until now I always admired those that did. These days I don’t. Let the swiftboaters and the dumbasses eat cake.”
From one civilian to another: STFU. You didn’t walk it, you don’t get to talk it.
And “draft-dodging Mitt Romney”? Really? Clinton, Reid, Bloomberg, Biden………
Shall we continue?
jack witty, you never served…but you are going to call me names and make baseless accusations? You have lost any credibility you might have had, had you come here as a visitor. The United States Army has branded ken aden, no he doesn’t deserve the respect of capitalization, a LIAR, THAT deserves capitalization! You are exactly who John Stuart Mill was talking about. Look it up then look yourself in the mirror. If you’re an honest man, and we all know you’re not, you’ll come back and apologize. I won’t hold my breath. You, bitch, are as low as your fuck buddy ken aden.
@#25, “If you boys think fighting for Exxon and Haliburton and Koch Industries is fighting for America and the American dream you are sadly mistaken”. I know, you’d prefer that everyone was fighting for Solyndra, Government Motors and Soros, right? How about $26/gal biodiesel? Does that tickle your fancy? Oh, but nice going on catching up with the current line about Koch Industries and the Koch Brothers, Halliburton and Exxon were getting to be so passe.
Tell us, Jackie, is Ken Aden a liar or not? Just yes or no, don’t qualify your answer, if you’ve got the balls to answer.
Hondo,
It is you that have a lot of nerve coming on here saying that I don’t have the right to speak. You took an oath to our Constitution, which includes the First Amendnent. I exercised my rightb to the First Amendment. If you are breally a military veteran (which may or may not be true), you violated your oathe to uphohold the constitution.
At least I have the nerve to use my real name. More than most of you tough socalled “military types” do.
You people really disgust me. People like you may or may not be heroes.
But one thing is for sure, you will have your hand out as long as you live. ou will be saying:
“I served, you owe me!”
Now isn’t that the truth of it, Hondo?
Hey mother fucker, Jack Witty, I’m not afraid to use my real name. You can find me on yahoo, aim, professionalsoldiers.com, AND Facebook. Come have a chat dickwad.
I may have sworn an oath to uphold the constitution and protect it from enemies foreign and domestic, but that does not mean i have to put up with your hippy bullshit. Ken Aden is a goddamn liar. You are a goddamn fairy bitch. Go suck Aden’s dick and get over your homo self.
And Hondo is the real deal.
WOW!!! I ‘clicked’ on “Jack Witty”, which was blue indicating it was a link, and I got a WARNING BOX saying it was a “phishing” link! Hmmm, I wonder what that means about ‘jackoff twitty”?!
Jackoff, I have no problem using my real name. I am Philip D. Quintana, Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. I served as an 1833, Amphibious Assault Vehicle Crewman. I was a crewman, crew chief and section leader with Charlie company, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Reinforced, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. I endured the 13 weeks at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego which can only be described as physical and mental abuse that was recruit training in the 1970s. All my information is available in a FOIA request. What did you do? Oh wait…NOTHING.
Now, what gives you the right to berate any veteran, other than the rights WE’VE given you? I will never claim to be better than any American citizen because of my service, except for maybe soldier, sailors or airmen. I WILL claim to be better than you, all of us veterans are. You will accept the freedoms we provide YOU, yet you will berate us for holding our own opinions and expressing our own points of view. The freedoms we have earned by our service.
Sorry about the typos. I need to slow down.
You boys are so right-wing that this is getting hilarious. How long have they been dumbing you boys down?
Boys, there is a difference between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy (which includes the Marine Corp) and the Republican Party, the Tea Party and the Ku Klux Klan.
When will you boys get it?
It is fun to make fun of you guys. I’ll tell some friends.
You have the right to speak, but you had come here in hope of people who have/are serving to listen to your “expert” opinion about the military when you never served?
Exactly how did that play out in your head? Did you really think that we would not laugh at you for being dumb?
Mr Witty,
We go after anyone who fabricates or embellishes their military resume, regardless of political affiliation. Stick around this site a little longer. I’m currently looking into a conservative tea-party politician who may have trumped his military background. I don’t care about liberal vs. conservative; I care about fact vs. fiction. It’s obvious you don’t understand why we take this issue so personally. Probably because you never served.
Ok, Jack…please explain to us how Ken Aden did NOT lie about being a Green Beret. That’s the subject of this particular blog entry. Just drop all your nonsensical smoke-screen bullshit rambling, and address the subject that put him on our radar scopes in the first place.
Oh, and please account for the fact that his lie was so egregious that the Army felt it necessary to call out Aden. And also explain why he should be considered a viable candidate for Congressional office despite the fact that he lied about something as basic as his military service.
John Lawson
CWO-4, US Marine Corps (Ret)
Yat Yas, when were you at 3rd Tracks? I was H&S and A Companies March 1983 – April 1984 before heading to 1st Tracks. I worked in the comm shop. I have a few amusing stories while at 3rd Tracks. If you make it to the DC area, i’ll have a cold beer waiting for you. keep on tracking.
I love it when right-wing athoritarion types go on the attack against me. It becomes so damned easy for me to draw inferences to the Nazi regime of Hitler and the Facist regime of Mussolini to the Republican Party of today.
You pricks want to go there? I WOULD LOVE TOO.
You boys are vall a bunch of conservatives aren’t you? I’m thev only progressive here, right? Come out and fight dickheads. If you have the nerve too.
Jack, I hate to disappoint your baseless delusions but I only have lady parts, am an LGBT person, and am liberal as hell. Yet after five years as a Marine, and a good bit of time following this blog I have yet to run into any Nazis or bigots (the exception being those such as yourself.) Whenever there have been political disagreements between myself and other commenter I’ve only been treated cordially. Certainly they’ve displayed more tact and integrity than you appear capable of.
I respect advocates that don’t lie. I didn’t do anything special during my enlistment, and I don’t try to spin it otherwise. Ken Aden lost all credibility among veterans the moment he felt he had to lie about his service. Those who write for TAH have gone after every single phony they’ve ever had knowledge of no matter what their political affiliation has been. I don’t want an ‘advocate’ who is incapable of honesty or admitting their mistakes.
No. 38 (for example) —
IT — apologizes, in and among, name-calling “attacks” !!
Combination IMPLIED FLATTERY/VICIOUS SLUR.
Something does not integrate here.
(All I need to know.)
To: the “it” critter:
My name is BRETT ANDERSON .
Ann,
If you are LGBT, or you are a woman, how is it possible that you can support Steve Womack? Are you really legitimate? I doubt it. If you are, you are voting against your own self interests.
As for Steve Womack, look up his voting record. For that matter, look up the GOP voting record of the last ten years.
When it comes down to it the GOP is a facist party.
Sinclaire Lewis said it best when he said “When facism comes to America it will be draped in the American flag and carrying a cross.”
Isn’t that a good description of the Republican Party as we know it today?
And don’t most on this blog carry the cross and wrap themselves in the Ameriican flag?
The assholes on this website were fighting for nazism and they didn’t even know it. That’s how smart you boys are.
Well Hondo,
Where is your smart ass now?
The Classic One Hundred Years Old False Alternative:
Nazi “vs.” Commie — Which one do you accept ??
Hint: Each (or “both” — if you prefer) calls itself “Socialist.”