US Army Deserter Found Nearly Two Decades Later in Indiana
An American man who deserted the U.S. Army nearly two decades ago has turned up working as a dishwasher at an Italian restaurant in Indiana, police say.
Robert Eugene Brodbeck’s cover was blown late last week after voluntarily walking into the Clinton Police Department and talking to officers due to a scuffle he had with a co-worker the day after Christmas.
“He worked jobs in things where he was paid in cash,” Larry Keller, dispatcher and records clerk for the Clinton Police Department, told the Indianapolis Star. “Nothing that ever required a Social Security number. He lived in a low-rent apartment. He walked everywhere and never had a driver’s license. He was really no trouble.”
But during conversations with police, the 46-year-old gave them the name Robert Eugene Bowmen — an alias that returned no matches in their databases.
Brodbeck eventually gave them his real identity after he learned they were preparing to arrest him for providing false information, the Indianapolis Star reported.
A search of Brodbeck’s past uncovered that he is wanted in Texas for dodging police and failing to appear in court — and that he deserted the Army in 2000, it added, although details of that alleged action weren’t immediately available.
Nothing like a career in Low Expectations. WTF is this clown thinking. He will get a lawyer now and the VA will be required to provide complete medical coverage and compensation including back pay because of his PTSD.
Somebody has to do the dishes…we need these people to be left alone.
Source: US Army Deserter Found Nearly Two Decades Later in Indiana, Police Say | Military.com
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Dumbass Bullshit, Professional Development, Shitbags, YGBSM!!
Hey at least he didn’t claim Sekkrit Squirrel status and say his records were sealed or some shit like that?
Thah boi ain’t rite in teh head.
Waiting with bated breath for Congress to act on the “E-Verify Loophole”.
Considering that he enlisted or volunteered, since there was no draft, his desecration is all that much more disgusting.
Speaking of Bergdahl, been rather quiet lately.
I think he knows there are plenty of people who want to hang him and probably will if they got ever got their hands on him (I even made a suggestion to a female soldier on Facebook stating that his punishment should being flayed, then hung, drawn, quartered, and finally hung out to dry). Although maybe not being thrown in prison turned out to be more of a curse than anything else. He has no where to hide plus he knows he is hated and on top of all that he only has himself to blame for it. He made his bed, he can sleep in it.
Bergdahl will have to spend the rest of his life perpetually looking over his shoulder knowing that the Family, Friends and Buddies of those KIA and WIA while out looking for him are out there as well as many others who wish him harm.
I’m thinking this POS got stood up in front of the CO….then he went AWOL and spent 18-19 years on skid row to avoid 30 days of extra duty…
what a sooooper genius.
An outstanding pillar of his community, I’m sure.
Disgusting dirtbag POS. Sentence his ass to oblowme’s protective detail, unpaid. Barry seemed to like deserters and traitors. Him and Bowe could swap war stories and double date that other POS manning.
BHWHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!!
The author knows nothing about VA benefits. This turkey will receive a less than honorable discharge and be ineligible for compensation or VA medical care. If you write an article without knowing your facts, then you show your audience you are not credible.
Speaking of not knowing your facts, here are a few for you to contemplate:
The VA has been caught giving out benefits to ineligible fakers on many occasions. Exposing it is one of the things that drives this community of veterans.
Anecdotal to be sure, but some of us have come to believe that the VA would rather deny legitimate claimants and distribute benefits to the ineligible than the opposite. Yeah, that is probably wildly inaccurate, but based upon the number of fakers getting VA bennies, it’s easy to see why we would think so.
Before you speak for “your audience,” you might want to take some time to discover just who is in “your audience.”
Let me google that for you, poindexter.
https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/character_of_discharge.asp
General Discharge = Shitbag.
“Ineligible for compensation or VA medical care” does not necessarily mean who won’t get it anyway. The VA has a pretty poor record for not sniffing out fraudulent claims. Ask Wilted Willy. He’ll explain it in detail.
The VA has handed out almost 750K to my pos brother no matter how many times I have asked them to investigate his phony PTSD crap! They will just hand out money to any shitbag that asks for it!!
Close, but no cigar.
The statutory requirement for VA benefits is that a an individual have service characterized as “other than dishonorable“. Only a DD or (for officer personnel) dismissal meets the criteria of service that is considered “dishonorable”. A BCD does not, though if imposed by a GCM I understand it generaly also results in loss of VA benefits for a different reason (GCM conviction).
Per the VA itself, an OTH or BCD is not an absolute bar to recepit of VA benefits – to include medical care. Such cases can be evaluated individually by the VA and a decision made to allow or disallow benefits on a case-by-case basis. If a the VA’s decision is to allow benefits, the individual gets them.
https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/character_of_discharge.asp
There are, however, certain other actions that result in a statutory bar to receipt of VA benefits. Conviction of desertion is one of them; ditto AWOL over 180 days leading to a less than honorable discharge. So if the Army does the correct thing here and actually tries him for desertion and gets a conviction (or gets a conviction on the lesser included offense of AWOL > 180 days), the US taxpayer wins and this guy gets what he deserves: nada.
https://www.knowva.ebenefits.va.gov/system/templates/selfservice/va_ssnew/help/customer/locale/en-US/portal/554400000001018/content/554400000014217/M21-1,-Part-III,-Subpart-v,-Chapter-1,-Section-B—Statutory-Bars-to-Benefits-and-Character-of-Discharge-(COD)#2
Even in the case of a statutory bar, the VA can allow benefits if it determes the vet was “insane” at the time of the offense.
If you’re gonna throw darts, amigo, you probably want to have your facts straight before picking up the first one.
Damn Stan. You got washed, dried, folded, and put away.
Wait. I almost forgot… Got a guitar?
Ole! Kabong!
Well Ollie, here’s another fine kettle of fish you’ve gotten us into.
“The author knows nothing about VA benefits.”
Apparently neither do you, Stan. You always drop into a site and wave your dick around or is today an exception? How about doing some research before you become the resident expert on all things VA.
BTW, I worked 11 years for the VA. I do know about VA benefits.
At both of the VA facilities I worked, the policy was to err on the side of the veteran. IOW, if it was not possible to determine that a veteran was NOT eligible for care, the facility would treat him, sometimes on a humanitarian basis. I have known some who milked the system for several visits, even being referred to specialists before it was determined he/she was a dirtbag with a DD. In one instance, a guy created a 214 from a downloaded form. He couldn’t be found in the system but was treated for several visits before it was determined he had never served. He was challenged when he arrived for yet another appointment and fessed up. Just an old but true sea story and one any Eligibility Clerk has probably experienced. I’ve seen more than a few who pulled this off. We always erred on the side of the patient. Sometimes we got burned.
I never get to play with the other kids.
Dave: You always break the toys and throw things.
After deserting he was content to do menial jobs for cash and live a low rent poverty lifestyle…
Anyone else considering he’s a sandwich or two short of a picnic on a good day?
The Texas charges are related to eluding the cops for the desertion warrant if I understand correctly and he’s not been popped anywhere else for anything…
Seems like a life wasted to me, no family no real friends, cash only jobs, nothing that lets anyone know who he is or was, even though he is alive his life was of absolutely no consequence to the world.
Well we’ll see what happens next and what price he has to pay for being a dipshit.
He built his life around laying low. Never earned much or did much. In a way he’s already inflicted punishment on himself. Give him a BCD and let him return to his chosen lifestyle.
Only quibbles I have with that CA is (1) the court-martial conviction/plea needs to be to a GCM for the crime of desertion, and (2) I’d argue for a DD vice a BCD. IMO desertion without compelling reason warrants a DD vice a BCD.
But as long as the BCD and court-martial result in a permanent bar to VA benefits, I could live with what you propose. This guy walked out on his committment to the USA; in my book, that means the US owes him nada for his service.
but…but….feelz
Who knows, he may have exceeded his own expectations for himself.
if he faces GCM the typical panels give deserters 185 days incarceration (which generally had already been served in the Bell County lockup).
By operation of law, a 180 day sentence produces the BCD and loss of benefits…at least that is how the judge explained it to us while sitting on GCM panels.
It seems this person may have other charges to face as well. I noticed that those who went AWOL to avoid UCMJ had those charges added to the GCM charge specifications.
Fort Hood placed senior NCO and officers on a panel for a year long term. There were three panels in place and I think my panel sat for 30-35 GCM proceedings. Most of them ran 2-3 days. We had one run two weeks and 4 or 5 run a whole week.
In retrospect, sitting on the panel as a young sergeant major made me a much better leader–it certainly made me aware of how military justice actually operates. It is experience leaders need earlier in their careers, I think.
Bell County if the GCM proceeds at Fort Hood…
Sadly, this is becoming the new version of the American Hero.
If he had taken care of his problems back on 2000, he wouldn’t have had to resort to living under the radar and looking over his shoulder.
Almost 20 years running and hiding… UFB.
How is that even possible from being employed to being able to rent anything without an ID? They gonna get his ass on tax evasion too since he obviously wasn’t paying?
They should, but they won’t. You can’t juice a stone.
He gave the popo a false name…probably had phony ID
Unless you’re being investigated for a clearance or something, many people don’t get checked beyond the superficial.
Locally, we’ve seen doctors practicing on suspended licenses, a teenager masquerading as a PA, a dikk off the street masquerade as a medical resident etc. It’s amazing.
The Federal government may well have him dead-to-rights on failure to file (if that’s even a Federal crime – not sure), but if the guy operated on a cash-only basis proving income tax evasion may be very difficult. Without records, it’s hard to prove someone’s income – and cash-only jobs don’t tend to leave much (if any) of a paper trail. If he avoided banks also, proving how much income he had becomes pretty difficult.
I’m guessing Mason is correct, and the local US Attorney won’t bother with this tool.
I wonder if he voted.
Actually, I don’t.
Just one less vote for Hillary’s triumph with the popular vote, as I doubt he would want to risk trying to register to vote, but then good judgment is not one of his long suits.
He was just a #RESISTer 16 years before it was fashionable. He’s a trailblazer.
A dishwasher? Dare to dream
Definitely a very low bar setting.
Everybody appreciates reasonably clean dishes and there’s no shame in working, because at least you’re working.
Generally speaking though, a male at 46 that hasn’t gone into a career, advanced within that career, increased his KSAs, obtained material wealth and the other evidence of development has serious mental issues.
I think what he has accomplished besides being a deserter is called being a life long pathetic loser.
Of fine china and solid silver utensils… To dream, the impossible dream…
I’ve actually known a few others that were low speed / low drag that worked menial jobs all their lives with no ambitions at all. Most of them had nothing to speak of, nor did they really care one way or the other. I don’t think any of them gave 2 cents thought towards what they would do when the day comes that they can’t work any longer – they never thought that far ahead. They don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, and they seem to be content with that lifestyle.
Nope. Wasn’t having any of Shinseki’s blackberry berets.
It sounds to me like he was very dedicated to being a perpetual slacker.