Wayne Henry Hayden; NBC NCO pretender
Scotty had to bring me around to this one. Wayne Henry Hayden joined the Army in 1973 and got out in 1977 and there was a reenlistment in there somewhere. He served at Fort MacClellan, in Korea & Germany, and Fort Ord, CA. Wayne claims that they jerked him out of Basic Combat Training after a few weeks and sent him to MacClellan. That he never graduated BCT. He claims that when he got to Korea, they didn’t have any slots for his specialty (64C – truck driver) so they made him an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) NCO where he worked with hazardous chemical and they gave him faulty protective equipment, so now, he’s pissed that the VA won’t give him $$$.$$. OK, so at first we had the FOIA which doesn’t help to contradict his side of the story;
Scotty had a 2-1 which also didn’t contradict his story. It started out while Hayden was in Korea, completely skipping over Basic Training and Fort MacClellan. So Scotty went back for another bite at the apple and the NPRC dug up another 2-1;
He actually spent four months in basic training, probably a recycle. Then he took some additional leave that wasn’t authorized (AWOL) on his way to MacClellan – I would have gone AWOL at MacClellan, too. It was home to WAC Basic training at the time – several hundred teenaged female basic trainees. He needed a waiver for his AWOL bad time in order to reenlist later on. Yeah, we have that paperwork, too. But then we get to Korea – I noticed that he’s assigned as a truckdriver, not an NBC NCO, in fact there’s no record of him taking any NBC training (actually, the Army called it CBR – Chemical, Biological, Radiological – in those days). In fact there’s no record of him being assigned as anything besides a truck driver;
That’s probably why the VA won’t help him out – he tried to tell them lies about his exposure to chemicals. he should have stuck to the MacClellan thing instead. I guess that little post in Alabama caused a lot of people to get cancer. It used to be home to the Chemical Corps.
But I wanted to get this guy because of the picture of him above. He looks like the poster child for the E-4 mafia and I hated those guys. But he pissed off Scotty by getting some clown named John DeMayo at Freedom Outpost to write a sympathetic article about him without checking on Hayden’s creds. Then he got upset when folks started calling Hayden out on his story;
A blog “Military Phonies Poser Disposer,” operated by a group of former soldiers—many of them well-trained killers—takes on the understandable task of outing those who pretend to be decorated members of our US military. I support legitimate efforts to expose violations of the Stolen Valor Act. However, this group, who proudly call themselves “Hunters” have taken this effort to a deadly level and will not listen to reason. Their blog documents (and celebrates) the deaths of those they pursue. They have clearly left the reservation.
Recently, after publishing an article on Wayne Hayden and the victims of the Ft. McClellan disaster, the content was attacked by several men claiming Wayne Hayden was a liar, embellished his service history, never handled nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and was never stationed at Ft. McClellan. The comments below the article, made by John Cook aka Jack Lord, Chris Sanders and Tim Gardner (all admittedly connected to the Military Poser blog) publicly attacked Hayden’s character and reputation.
Yeah, we’re all well-trained killers over here, dumbass. Even those of us who were photographers. Obviously, Mr DeMayo isn’t familiar with the Stolen Valor issue and felt the need to disparage a number of veterans in defense of one. While I sympathize with Mr. Hayden’s medical condition, the VA claims system is clogged with folks who make shit up, and the legitimately impaired veterans can’t seem to break through. I don’t remember any of these folks filing their claims when it was only a few hundred bucks, but now that comp is in the thousands, every Tom, Dick and Harry wants a piece of the pie.
No, Hayden isn’t claiming that he was a Ranger or a SEAL, but to accuse the Army of making him sick because of faulty equipment for doing a job he didn’t really ever do is just as bad when you consider that the time the VA is spending discrediting his tales is keeping another vet from getting his due. But, also, journalists who want to call themselves that, need to do their due diligence on veterans’ background and when the experts tell them they’re wrong, they need to acquiesce to our expertise instead of swinging at us blindly.
Yeah, I’m hoping to get on DeMayo’s shit list a little bit.
Category: Phony soldiers
“He looks like the poster child for the E-4 mafia and I hated those guys.”
Hey!! I resemble that comment!! Not the long hair hippy freak in the picture, but the E-4 mafia part. Not all of us E-4 mafia types looked like Joe Blow the rag man! If he would have showed up in my unit with hair like that, Top woulda taken it off with a sheep shears, himself.
Not sure how the Arm did it but CBR was not a collateral duty and defintiely not an E4 billet. Good way for the Old Man to get a good kick in the Nuts by Higher is have some E4 no load as CBR NCO. Lots of the young troops may forget, but CBR was big time then because of Korea and the Ruskies.
That hair is the way we rolled in the 70’s, at least in ADA.
I spent a year as NBC NCO in the ROK in 1980 and the worst chemical I was exposed to was CS. No sickness, but think I became immune to it after playing with the powder version downrange and running gas chambers. Fun times.
Not sure when the switch from NBC to CBRN was made, I seem to recall it being NBC when I went to the school at Camp Casey.
That’s a regulation Air Force haircut he’s sporting. All of the AF personnel at the base next to Campbell looked like that in that era. As for his listed MOS and his actual day-to-day work, there is–and I know this firsthand–sometimes a vast difference between the two. I’m not there on this one, at least as yet.
Times might be different but I seriously doubt any CBR/NBC troops in the 1970s were subjected to live agents. He makes it sound like he was made to run through SARIN gas with a hankerchief over his nose.
That being said his being ill is a tragedy. Something could have gave him cooties while he was in, but he needs to rethink what it was.
I remember this and some of the fallout from it via Scotty and other aquaintances on facebook. There was this thing about him claiming to be a helicopter pilot as well. Saw the screenshots of that again today on that guy DeMayo’s facebook where he was going after these guys.
I was never onboard with him being called a poser, until I saw the screen shots of him claiming to have been a helicopter pilot. As to his illness, he very well could have been exposed down there at McLellan but making up stories about how is probably hurting him big time. On a 2-1 they put down your assignments which may not always match your MOS. His assignments as pointed out all say he was assigned as a Truck Driver. Who knows, someone may have been lazy too… but that is not like going from one 11 Series MOS to another. Completely different MOS and the school for the bug juice folks was pretty intense.
Small thing – the only undershirt authorized with a pickle suit was white, not black. Sideburns no lower than your earhole, hair couldn’t touch your ears.
Can’t say about the actual time on post – our TO&E in Germany (1983) was odd – company sized platoons organized into battalions based on work shifts. We had “official” NBC NCOs at battalion level but 2-week course graduates at the ‘platoon’ level who got the ‘C’ trailer on their MOS – I was one so my secondary MOS was 98C3C. Only live agent anyone ever saw was CS, and that rarely – none of the senior NCOs even hasd war stories about live agents or serious stuff like blister or blood agents.
Only other thing I can think of is that McClellan was outside Anniston, which at one time was called “The Most Polluted City in America” due to all the POCBs Monsanto etc. had dumped in the ’40s and ’50s. Pretty long stretch to attribute a disability to that, though.
I probably handled more hazardous materials than he did, and I was supply. Heck, I had a soldier with a broken compass that had tritium in it. Ohs nos, I was exposed to radioactive materials, I should try to get more money from the VA… This ass-clown is just trying to milk the system.
OK folks – help me out here.
Eligibility for the AFEM in Korea ended on 30 Jun 1974. This guy departed CONUS for Korea on 28 Jun 1974.
AR 600-8-22, para 2-12, specifies that he needs 30 days continuous/60 days noncontinuous service (or the entire operation, if shorter) in the designated area to qualify. How does this guy rate the AFEM?
@3: The powder version is horrible. At JRTC I became a “casualty” and got put in a FLA with 2 guys that were covered in it then the bastards closed the door.
Does this mean I might get some freebies just because I went to Infantry AIT at Fort McClellan in 1967? Not only was it home to the Comical Corps it was home to the Women’s Army Corps when we still had one.
I remember the E-4 Mafia in Germany in 1985-87. Hair parted in the middle, menthol cigarettes, grape soda and a passport so they could take weekend trips to Amsterdam without putting in a DA 31.
@9: It could be a simple mistake on the part of a bored PAC clerk. Maybe the NCOIC had a memo somewhere – or maybe just “verbal guidance” – that everybody who was in X battalion between YY date and ZZ date gets an AFEM. Stuff like that happens all the time, and back in the 70’s when recruiting was tough, I would imagine it happened even more than it does now. Here’s an example of that that happened to me: As you may (or may not) know, the Good Conduct Medal (GCM) is normally awarded for 3 years of active enlisted service. However, it can also be awarded to a mobilized enlisted reservist who is mobilized for more than 1 year under Title 10. But there’s a catch: This rule only applies to the first award of the GCM, it does not apply to subsequent awards. Also, the GCM (duh) is for enlisted personnel only. So my NG unit (from the WYARNG) was mobilized in January of 2004 for OIF. We were deployed to Kuwait from January through December, REFRAD’d (Relased from Active Duty) in mid December. Since most of the people in the unit took their 2 weeks of mid-tour leave, their terminal leave took them up to the end of the year, just short of the 1 year time period for being activated. Except that myself, two other NCOs and one officer (a 1LT) did not take mid-tour, so by the time you added up the terminal leave we had earned, we were about two weeks over the 1 year, and the PAC clerks in State HQ automatically cut GCM orders for all four of us. Of course, very quickly they realized that a 1LT doesn’t rate a GCM no matter how good his conduct is. Then they realized that while the other two NCOs had never been on AD and thus warranted a GCM, I already had 3 GCMs from my 10 years of active duty, so they had to rescind my orders as well. Anyway, my point with this is to simply show that while… Read more »
I’ve researched this issue to include the history of the Chemical Corps. According to the US Army the Chemical Corps was in a state of virtual reality from the early 70’s till around 1977. The actual school was not even at McClellan at this time and Officers could not select it until it was reopened to them in 1976. The entire field was closed to recruitment and advancement during this time. Again this is from the US Army Chemical Corps History.
There’s no way he could have been involved in CBR/NBC and risen to E-5/SP5 during the time he was in based on that information. Yeah he could have been the unit CBR guy but we all know what that entails and I’ve stated this before to the “author” of that article. The fact is that DeMayo ran with the “sensational” rather than checking to make sure he had a solid source for his story. He’d do well at MSNBC as they obviously don’t research much of what they pass off as news either.
This Scott dude does nice work.
Just saw Jonn’s post at that site. Stirring the pot real nice sir.
Martinjmpr: kinda exactly the point I was making, very obliquely.
I’m not convinced the guy rates an AFEM. And it may not be on his DD214, either. It’s possible the records tech at NPRC looked at his records, saw he was in Korea in 1974, and assumed he rated the AFEM for said Korean service vice checking dates and doing the actual calculation of how long he was in-country during the eligibility period.
It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen something on a NPRC FOIA reply that wasn’t on the individual’s original DD214. I’ve actually seen a case where the individual’s DD214 did not contain a VSM – but the NPRC FOIA reply about the individual did. In that case, it was legit; the guy snuck in just under the wire to rate the VSM. But it had been omitted from his DD214 when he was discharged.
If I had to guess, I think we have the opposite here, either during his discharge processing or at NPRC. But I could well be wrong.
Didn’t know that I was making every ones’s mind up here. 90% of the time, I don’t even comment on the blogs after they’ve been made. I’m normally into the next case file researching the history of what the perp is claiming in comparison to what is on file. Unlike a certain journalist, I dot all my I’s & cross all my T’s. That way I don’t make an ass of myself such as he has by posting false information. I’ve been sending Jonn Blogs of Shame for almost 3 years now. Not once have I ever had to ask him to retract a blog and post an apology. This exposure isn’t near as severe as most that have been posted. But the evidence is there & it clearly shows where the Motor T boy is lying. not only did he claim chemical exposure ( Which could be possible ) He also claimed it happened at Ft Ord too. But then he wanted to claim exposure to NBC agents from faulty equipment in Korea . And this agent was in attry. shells.It was time to put the boots on, He was telling a tall one. Plus that wasn’t good enough. He wanted to claim to be a Helicopter pilot too.Bottom line . Wayne Hayden is busted for embellishing,John DeMayo did an article on him before he research him. And he trying to kick dirt over the major furbar he created by discrediting those that exposed Hayden.
@12 Airborne
I was in the AF; but I do remember a buddy of mine telling me his First Sergeant had a checklist for potential weed smokers. Among the items on the list were hair parted in the middle and drinking grape soda. I thought is was a joke but, I guess, he was serious.
This is a plug-ugly mess. I stopped by DeMayo’s place and read dozens and dozens of comments. He’s out of his league and frustrating those with both military experience and expertise in poser exposure. So now, DeMayo has gotten his ego in his own way and is dwarfing the fellow he sought to save. It really is ugly stuff and has been ongoing for quite a while. I’ll pass.
@19: It’s a hold-over from the draft era, I believe.
Parting hair in the middle: Obviously, most people with long hair part it in the middle as it is easier to manage that way. So for a GI to part his hair in the middle is to show that he still thinks and acts like he’s got long hair, i.e. hippie dope smoker.
Kool Cigarettes: I believe this is more of a racial issue. IIRC Kool cigarettes were the preferred brand of black GIs, and so a white GI who smoked Kool cigarettes was, again, being a “nonconformist” which in that rigid old 1SG’s mind, = hippie dope smoker.
The grape koolaid (I always heard it as grape nehi) I think was a joke. Pretty sure the “Grape Nehi” cliche came out of the TV series “M*A*S*H” where it was Radar O’Reilly’s favorite drink.
By the time I got to Germany in the mid-late 80’s, it was pretty much a joke, I don’t think anybody really took it seriously except maybe some crusty old 1SG or CSM sitting on a promotion board.
“parting hair in the middle”
Good lord I had a Sgt Major that would damn near have his kidneys shoot out his asshole if he saw a Marine with his hair parted in the middle.
In his mind it was like taking a shit on the King James Bible and wiping your ass with old Glory.
Aside from his blatant lies, how could you hate the E-4 mafia. Whenever an nco needed something for a command inspection that was missing-call the E-4 mafia. I enjoyed my time as an E-4 and was kinda sad when i got my stripes. No more shamming and now/then responsible for every dicked up joe in my team that no amount of corrective training could cure.
I could understand his photo showing bangs and sideburns a little bit if he was a draftee. Here’s a guy who joined the Army, Went AWOL, got a waiver so he could re-up. Then he has a photo shoot some time along the line. He looks like a friggin skate board dude.
Oh, by the way, I was a draftee. In saying that I would never disrespect myself or the uniform with a goofy rebel without a cause photo like that.
The Chemical Corps Regimental Association (http://www.ccrassn.org/) would be a good contact as well on this, aside from history there are a lot of folks part of it with long histories and memories that could add to this. The live agent chamber was not even around back then and has all ready been pointed out the NBC field was dead at the time. If you were going to claim something this insane why not go with one of the storage depots or Dugway. Then again that would be too easy to disprove. Easy as pie if true get some of the folks you worked with to vouch for you. All of us stay in touch or reconnect with old buddies and I have been contacted by old friend that were hurt and asking for statements to give the VA to about the incident. This is one of the more outlandish ones for sure and an odd one for sure.
“He looks like the poster child for the E-4 mafia and I hated those guys.” HAHAHA…wait a sec..I was an E-4..
These jack wagons are all over the place. I’ve never heard of a group outing posers who then proceeded to “take it to a deadly level” which I take to mean a hit team. Maybe they are The A Team!
I certainly wish that every person in our military is a “well-trained killer” it would make wars a little easier to fight and isn’t that what the military is supposed to be comprised of in between the numerous international meals on wheels and rescue ops?
You know, reporters with no common sense really urk me. When someone spouts ” I was yanked out of BCT to..” your giant shit o meter should redline. There were no slots for truck drivers? Did everyone suddenly start walking around or was that about the time the jet-packs were starting to be issued to the troops? No truck driver slots = immediate NCO juggling CBR with no training what so ever?
Sweet Jesus.
@13: You make a good point. I got a GCM but I couldn’t tell you what the quals for it were in the regulations to save my sole and never asked either. This would be different from a Purple Heart or Silver Star of which I have 17 of each. Oh, sorry just channeling. 😉
Yet another example of some dipstick reviving a long-dormant story; now everyone is talking about it again. Good work, Mr. DeMayo!
DeMayo appears to believe that the following is legally actionable:
1. I have obtained X’s service records through a FOIA request.
2. X claims things about his service that are not reflected in his officially-obtained service records.
3. Therefore, in my opinion, X is embellishing his service.
DeMayo appears to be as competent a lawyer as he is a journalist.
As soon as I mentioned that TSO is my lawyer, DeMayo blocked TSO from the discussion. Can’t have any experts in the discussion, ya know.
@28.
GCM = Three years of partial sobriety and punctuality!
@31. That’s funny. I don’t know who reads DeMayo’s stuff but I’d guess he never saw and will never again see as many hits as he had the past couple of days. I won’t be back there. He’s full of himself and is not a reasonable fellow. I’m guessing that he initially meant well but the whole tone and tenor of his little crusade is not going to win him support. It certainly didn’t win mine and I was quite open to alternative explanations regarding Hayden. Now, I just don’t give a shit.
TSO , you tagged that journalist correctly with the fact that he is a a petulant baby.
Timeline check. His statement about refusing MOS change and then receiving a rank change does not match his military records. According to his military records he was promoted in Colorado, not Korea (like he says).
States “I then went to the NCO Academy in Korea, after which I was promoted to SGT. I left Korea and was sent to Fort Carson CO and was assigned to 6/32 Armor Unit….I refused and my rank was changed from E-5 SGT to E-5 SPC.”
SECTION VII, block 35 shows:
741211 assigned to 595th Maint BN-Korea
750827 enroute to Conus
751119 assigned to HHC 6/32 Armor, Ft. Carson, CO
Promotion history shows:
SP4 740610
SGT 760519 (lined out)
SP5 760513
His whoppers reminds me of this book.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bearenstein+bears+tell+the+truth&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=72708A138418244ECA98983E289048016C59C82E&selectedIndex=0
Wayne is my oldest brother and I think it would be safe to say that we are not friendly toward each other. With that said, I have to tell you that not once have I ever heard him claim valor in war or medals never earned. I believe your group serves a great purpose going after posers claiming to be Special Forces, war heros, or Medal of Honor recipients. I think it is beneath you to go after every vet who may embellish the truth some to get better treatment from the VA. If your purpose has become to destroy every soldier, airman, marine, and sailor who has ever stretched the truth, then you have created a monumental task for yourself. Good luck with that.
Tony,
So in your eyes somebody who lies to get VA Benefits should not be held accountable? Thats a “good” lie in your eyes?
Sorry buddy, but the VA bilkers are worse than the assholes who tell tale-tales in a bar once in a while.
You know why? Because there are thousands of vets both young and old, from Vietnam era to Afganistan who have bonafide service related conditions who are forced to wait 18-30 months for claims to go through.
A part of the reason is that there are jackwagons like you brother pulling shit out their ass and making fake ass claims that have to be investigated.
I for one am getting sick of guys who did a few years service, got out, pickled their livers, smoked like chimnies, ate like pigs or worked in a job that produced hazardous waste trying to say all their health problems stemmed from 2-4 years in the military.
The 35-40 years after his discharge was probably what fucked your brother up, not his time in. The VA is meant to help Veterans who have bonafide service conditions, not to be a cash cow or piggy bank for guys about to retire who suddenly realize they didnt prepare fo it.
Tony: I believe there’s a term for “lying to get Federal benefits.”
If I’m correct, that term is “fraud”. And the taxpayers get stuck with the bill for that.
Yes, that IS something worth exposing. It’s also criminal.
I was a draftee and was awarded the GCM just before I seperated from active duty, a few days short of two years.
Was it rescinded after I left?
Am I a poser 😉
Negative. See para 4-5c of AR 600-8-22. First award of GCM is authorized for between 1 and 3 years active enlisted service for those drafted/serving on short enlistments or who were called to active duty from the Reserve Components, provided the service was honorable and didn’t have disqualifying misconduct. Second and subsequent awards of the AGCM require 3 years qualifying service.
We seemed to have slipped off the top gogle search on this guy. Anyone know what’s up.with him lately?