About That Proverbial “Bag of Ass” . . .
Most regular TAH readers probably remember this guy – based on his rather hosed-up uniform, our proverbial “bag of ass”:
NPRC found his records. Here’s the unredacted photo.
His name is Kenneth Ray Braden. Here’s the FOIA reply concerning his official military records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in Saint Louis, MO.
Turns out the guy did actually serve. He was in the TN ARNG; he was a tank crewman and MP.
Braden did in fact deploy to Iraq. He did see action and receive a CAB. Braden was combat wounded and received the Purple Heart. He did receive a personal decoration (an ARCOM), presumably as an EOT award for his tour in Iraq – along with the NDSM, the GWOTEM, the GWOTSM, the AFRM w/”M”-device, and the ASR.
Braden’s records also state he has the “Army Overseas Training Ribbon”. That’s obviously an error – there is no such award – but I think that’s a typo for something else. That entry could be referring to the “Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon”, or ARCOTR – a Reserve-Component-specific, ribbon-only award. Per AR 600-8-22, para 5-3, that would require Braden to have done an AT (or a period of ADT) outside the US (operational deployments do not qualify). That’s possible, but IMO unlikely. However, that entry could also refer refer to the OSR; if so, that’s legit. Braden should rate an OSR for his tour in Iraq per current Army policy. My guess is that the entry in question is supposed to refer to the OSR.
OK, that’s the good news. He in fact served. Now, the bad news.
Per NPRC, Braden has no Silver Star and no BSM w/OLC. He has no ICM. He has no MFO Medal. And he has no CIB. He appears to be wearing all of those in the photos above. (Author’s note: as pointed out in the comments, the top inboard ribbon may well be the NDSM. I’ll give Braden the benefit of the doubt on that one, assume it is in fact the NDSM, and that my aging eyes had drifted out of calibration when I identified it originally as the MFO Medal.)
In short, he’s indeed MSU (Making S#!t Up).
To me, this is the type of stolen valor case that’s just frustrating as hell. Braden served in combat, and apparently served in combat honorably and well. He received an ARCOM for a tour in the “sandbox” as a very junior soldier (less than 2 years total duty at end of tour). He saw action, was wounded, and received the Purple Heart.
In short: his service while on active duty was honorable, competent, and worthy of praise. What he actually did is pretty damn impressive. He had no good reason to lie about it.
But, like someone else we know (hello, Dallas!), that just wasn’t good enough for him. Braden just had to take a trip down Route MSU and turn himself into some kind of “Great American Hero” – a hero his records say he really wasn’t.
That’s sad. Just freaking sad.
Can’t say I’m shocked, though. Turns out there are some other pictures out in Internet-land that appear to provide second-source confirmation of the guy’s identity.
Unfortunately, they’re mugshots. And there are more than one of them.
That’s even sadder.
Category: Phony soldiers
I’d be damned proud of earning what he did earn… hell I am happy with my own meager rack of awards. I will never, ever understand the need to “MSU” (Love that new acronym)
These are the ones that make me very sad. So many lost opportunities.
Oh, sure, the military has a healthy share of misfits, liars, and thieves simply because we reflect the society we serve. But many of those discover a new way of living from their military experiences.
You blew it, Kenneth. Big time.
I’d be willing to bet this kid would be a lot more contrite than Mr. Wittgenfeld. At least he’s caught at it young, the habits can be broken and shamed away now, and he can celebrate what he did done do vs.what he didn’t done do.
The yellow cord makes me sad, like he jumped ship from the noble Tennessee Guard and joined the Tweety Bird Brigade.
That is VERY sad.
We’re all given the same chances at birth. It’s what we do with them that makes people remember us.
I have news for him and all the others who inflate their bios: ribbons and medals don’t make anyone a hero or a better person.
TURD!!
The young man would have been acknowedged as a “hero” without his embellishments. Why make stuff up when you have that type of record?
This is an example of one of those guys who probably needs a lot of help from the veteran community. The Tennessee guys were the pre-mob NTC rotation before my unit for Iraq. They had a tough time of it when they got there (I remember seeing their causality updates every night at the BUB). He was an MP, so at one time he had a clean record and no substance abuse issues. Something obviously went very wrong for him to end up homeless, in jail, and parading around in that clown uniform. Something happened somewhere along the line. If it is service related, someone needs to reach out to him. But, if he just decided that the world owed him something that he wasn’t getting because he’s a combat wounded vet so he decided that theft was the answer, then screw him.
@7 Hard to say what made him turn, but like you I would hope that someone would drag his ass on in for some rehab time at the VA. Whatever the cause of his downhill slide, he is elligible to be treated at the VA…. but he has to want to get treatment too for it to work.
Sometimes you gotta hit bottom before you acknowledge you need help.
And some people even then won’t admit they need it. Here’s hoping he gets a boot up his ass and then gets healthy.
Let’s not be too quick to pass judgement on this guy.
Look at his service record.
Look at that uniform, with what appear to be ridiculous mistakes no trained Military Policeman (which he was) would ever make.
Look at his police record, including the notation, “homeless”, and the charges of running away from police during a relatively minor confrontation.
I’m wondering if his Purple Heart has something to do with affecting his mind?
Did he receive a traumatic brain injury, and/or is he adversely affected by side effects of prescription medication?
The need to feel important, over rides your common sense.
Nice observations Bobo,
I agree that this sucks, here’s hoping he has some real friends in the TN guard who can get him where he needs to go and put him back on the path to righteousness…
@10, could be he is just a fuck up too. We just do not know. I see guys like this every single day of the week, and each one has their own particular “excuse” for why they do what they do.
His dealings with the law go back to 2008 at least. What the cause of it is, who knows but I know plenty of guys with PTS and even TBI who do not go out habitually breaking the law because of it. Sure TBI does cause personality shifts in some. I am not willing to assign him any breaks without knowing a whole lot more.
Other than catching the PTS while deployed, something tells me his chances of some sort of recovery are good – particularly since he’s still relatively young. Considering he’s a combat wounded vet, I’d think he’d get veteran’s hiring preference somewhere, but now that he has the beginnings of a rather extensive criminal background, he probably fucked up that chance too.
NHSparky @9 is right. He needs a boot up his ass and help to get straitened out.
He’s no kid. The arrest records list his age as 31. That’s damn sure old enough to know better.
I agree with those of you who think something is awry here. Clearly, it is. Criminality doesn’t begin in one’s mid or late 20s. There are exceptions but this guy, to me, isn’t one. He clearly needs some help. I hope he gets it. His record is enviable. I’ll not jump on this one. Something is amiss.
For a second, I thought I was reading about Sgt Hack – another MSU entry on your blog.
I see this a lot.
Everybody avoids being in the IN at all costs. Cant handle the stress, rigor and associated BS. Wanna cook or type or some shit.
Then when we come back, everybody did “Infantry stuff” when deployed because everyone now respects the IN (awards, schools, brotherhood, scarab badges, etc).
Fuck these guys.
I’m on my tablet so it is hard to tell, but I don’t see a MFO ribbon. I have two of them and it is orange and white.
Wrong turn, Clyde. And getting wronger all the time.
He should be damn proud of the stuff he did earn. Hopefully he gets fixed now, rather than when he’s 50 and the fake awards have multiplied.
By the way, Hondo, I have the ARCOTR from doing an AT with the Brits in ’95. It’s not that uncommon in the Guard, as we have exchange programs with the Brits, Croations, Norwegians and Germans.
Tank crewman; MP; Iraq deployment; CIB; Purple Heart all legit. He needs more folded hands than middle fingers.
Twist: top row, inboard, partially covered by the lapel. My take is it’s either the DSM or the MFO Medal. Color on the outer stripe seems more orange than red, so I’m going with MFO Medal vice DSM. There doesn’t seem to be a TN ARNG ribbon which looks like that.
Dave Thul: while it’s not that uncommon, it’s my experience that it’s also not really all that common, either. That’s especially true for junior guys in units “away from the flagpole” and not near Canada (some units in the NE go to Canada periodically to train).
Braden may rate the ARCOTR, but I’m guessing that entry was a typo and is supposed to read “Army Overseas Service Ribbon” vice “Army Overseas Training Ribbon”. Under current policy he’d rate the OSR for an Iraq deployment in 2004-2005.
Twist – I had a hard time finding MFO ribbons at Guard training site clothing sales. I don’t know if that’s a common experience.
We’re starting to see a lot of these kinds of kids in our Veterans Court programs. It’s a shame that it takes a felony or certain class of misdemeanor to get them access to a VA liaison that can grease the wheels and speed access to services. If that’s what it takes, sometimes it comes in the form of a diversion or expungement program. All of them lie about their service at some point or another, but ultimately they have to provide their DD214s, and we have access to them for the program.
Hondo, the top precedence ribbon looks like a NDSM to me. Just my opinion. Since all the other crap is so out of order, why not put it on top? He served honorably I imagine and was wounded with a Purple Heart and CAB. Why was that not enough for him. I am sure he has seen enough BSMs and SSs to know they don’t go on the bottom. Just don’t understand this type of poser above all others.
Sparks: you may well be right. I’ll give Braden the benefit of the doubt for that one. I’ve modified the article accordingly.
Eyes must have drifted out of calibration on that one. (smile)
— break —
rb325th: I can’t take credit for coming up with MSU (Making S#!t Up) – I first heard that one from the guy I was replacing when I deployed in 2007-2008. However, as far as I know “Route MSU” and the phrase “take a trip down Route MSU” (and some variants) are mine. Feel free to use as appropriate and desired. (smile)
His tour ended a couple of months before the rest of us in the 278th Cav came home, so I wonder if his injuries got him sent home. Anyway-I know a guy who was in that MP company in Lenoir City so I may call him and see what he can tell me. He also should rate an ICM.
Eff’ed up like a football bat.
68W58: doubtful on the ICM unless he gives up the GWOTEM. Army policy on tours in Iraq that “split” the effective date of the ICM (30 Apr 2005) with 30 days on either side is one or the other – but NOT both.
I’m guessing the time in Kuwait was pre-deployment RSO&I, plus theater-specific pre-deployment training. That doesn’t count for the GWOTEM if the unit later deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan.
However, if he or his unit had a mission in Kuwait for 30 days or longer prior to deploying to Iraq and that mission was other than training and/or RSO&I in preparation to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan, he could rate both. If his time in Kuwait was all prep for deployment to Iraq and he subsequently deployed to Iraq, no.
https://www.hrc.army.mil/TAGD/Global%20War%20on%20Terrorism%20Expeditionary%20Medal%20GWOTEM%20and%20Global%20War%20on%20Terrorism%20Service%20Medal%20GWOTSM
the words HOMELESS and VETERAN should never ever be used in the same sentance. The kid made shit up. I’m not up on army awards but seems he’d be considered a hero w/o making shit up. However he looks like he’s 12 years old. Don’t think the towel should be thrown in on him. Everyone’s done some DAS (dumb ass shit see i can msu to). Think the veteran community in TN needs to help the kid… time to take care of our owm
Hondo-we spent about three weeks in Kuwait getting ready to go north. I understand that he would have to trade the GWOTEM, but I think everybody else on that deployment just got the (at that time new) ICM, so that seems odd.
Perhaps some wall to wallc oonselling?
Sam: he’s not particularly young – the guy turns 33 this December. He was already 22+ when he enlisted in 2003.
His service in-theater was indeed worthy of commendation, and apparently honorable. It just apparently wasn’t good enough to suit him.
That’s why this kind of case is so damn frustrating for me. The guy served honorably, in combat, and came home with an Army Commendation Medal and a Purple Heart earned in combat (plus a load of other campaign and service medals/ribbons) – all in less than 2 years. But for some reason he still felt he had to embellish his military record to look more like the second coming of Audie Murphy instead of being justifiably proud of what he’d really done.
Maybe he can get his stuff back together. For his sake, I hope he does.
68W58: perhaps his DD214 was processed by a clerk who put down the GWOTEM, since his tour started before the effective date of the ICM. Dunno.
For what it’s worth: I’ve heard some units erroneously awarded both (GWOTEM and a campaign medal) for “split tours” (e.g., a tour that has 30 days before and after 30 Apr 2005 in either Iraq or Afghanistan). However, if that happened it’s contrary to Army policy. Policy is that a “split tour” in Iraq or Afghanistan gets either the GWOTEM or the appropriate campaign medal – but not both. See next to last answer on page 4 of
https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/Active/TAGD/awards/faqs.pdf
Hondo of course it’s frustrating. I didn’t look at his age he just looks young i guess so i assumed he was young. Still he obviously needs some help and is really a vet. Wish some of the vet community near him could help him get back on the right track. I speak only for myself, but if he got his shit together appologized for his lies… I’d be inclined to forgive and forget.
Hard to see in the photo, but looks like he’s wearing SPC rank – so if he was discharged as an E-3 at eight years, he must have lost a stripe somewhere along the way. It just reinforces that he was once a good Soldier who began going downhill even before discharge, and has continued on that path since. I’m with most of the rest of you; I can’t bring myself to be angry at the guy. He has some real problems, and I hope he gets the help he needs.
I didn’t earn a bunch of awards. I got what was required for my time in service, my deployment, and one for a shitstorm that I was part of. You know what? I am proud of what I received, but believe that my honor is greater than any ribbon I could or should have received.
This guy, by what his records state, should have been considered a hero in his own right. However, he had to dick it up by claiming something that was not earned just to make himself look better. That’s just bullshit.
Ribbons don’t mean shit, whether awarded or not. What had the meaning is the experiences behind the ribbons and the actions for which they recognize. Otherwise, they are just pieces of fabric and metal on your jacket, without meaning or history.
One of his counts is “theft of property.” If he’s not careful, we’ll be reading about him in one of our ” —day Feel Good” stories. He’ll be the one DRT.
@36: Yeah that.
Sam: most here would forgive, provided the individual (1) actually apologized; (2) made amends if they screwed anyone over financially or otherwise; and, most importantly, (3) stayed “clean” afterwards.
Forget is a different story, though. It’s that last part (staying “clean”) that seems to be the hardest for most stolen valor types. Many stolen valor guys/gals turn out to be serial prevaricators and criminals who move from victim to new victim as soon as they’re “busted”. Search the site for “Bryan Austin” for one example. Search for “Danny Crane” for another. Or for “Bill Brockbrader” for a third. There are many more.
And, like Braden, stolen valor often is only the most highly visible part of their asshattery. Often there’s serious criminal activity of other types as well. Braden and the three others I named above are perfect examples of that. God only knows how many more like them are out there.
Forgive? If they’re sincere, make amends, and straighten up – yes. But history shows the “forget” part isn’t such a good idea, at least for a while.
Who in God’s name helped him put that rack together? Virtually everything is in the incorrect order. His earned awards as well as the made up shit. Wow! At least consult BUILDARACK.com!
This clown is off the hook.
PH, ARCOM for service and this BS?
And he does not look stoned.
Really?
Typical NG BS.
When your around your peers 24/7 they house this BS up.
See my prior comments.
I stand beside them.
And a YELLOW Cord??????
Yeah. Right.
Typical POGUE wanna-bee Nasty Girl loser. Could have just stuck with what he had earned, but had to pretend he was something more and now he’s nothing but a lying sack of shit. To hell with him and his “honorable” service.
Considering John does not have a CIB according to his FIOA I am going to say John Lilyea does not have a CIB I would consider that sicko John Lilyea a sicko and a poser. John why do you not write about yourself? I see no CIB like you claim on your FIOA. Let me guess some super secret mission in Panama?
Who pissed in your Wheaties Meat Spin-
I have some extra strength Vagisil if you need. Sounds like you have an axe to grind.
Boy, this little shithead Meatspin gets around a lot, doesn’t he, Dirtdart?
Meat spin?
Awesomesauce!
Literally.
In the “two-hole”.
It would appear that “Meatspin” has a case of the “Otchy”.
Serious itching in the two-hole.
some wise salty bastard I know, would tell ol’ Meatspin, – be silent you cock smuggling dick bandit of Satan. untwist your panties and dust off your vag.
lol… you guys are a riot. leave it to the brothern to make me die laughing. Besides Green you owe me a cup of joe, I snorted it over my keyboard.
Actually, more like “Meatspun”.
One and done.
Single-shot, Two-Hole Ranger.
Queefalisious this clown is.