Green Beret Kenneth Aden Running for congress liar and fraud

[Team Sergeant]

Army Pulls Candidate's Mistakenly-Awarded SF MOS
Jul 04, 2012
Military.com| by Bryant Jordan

The Army has revoked the Special Forces military occupational specialty of an Arkansas political candidate who claimed he served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kenneth Aden, a Democrat running against incumbent Rep. Steve Womack for Arkansas' 3rd District, has said in interviews he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Green Beret, though a DD-214 and other documents he released to substantiate the claim only raised questions.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Special Warfare Training Center at Fort Bragg, N.C., said Aden was dropped from Special Forces training in April 2008 "after failing twice to pass the Light Weapons Exam and Hands-on Mortar Exam."

Nevertheless the center in June 2008 erroneously issued an order awarding him the 18 B MOS – Special Forces Weapons Sergeant – and then failed to catch the mistake. When told last week that the Army called Aden's MOS order a mistake and had revoked it, campaign spokesman Vincent Leibowitz said Aden never received orders pulling the MOS.

That turns out to be true, since the Army only noticed and corrected its mistake after media attention focused on Aden's military background, according to training center spokeswoman Janice Burton.

Retired Special Forces Master Sgt. Jeff "JD" Hinton, who has exposed many phony veterans or troops who embellished their records, says Aden had to know all along that he never was Special Forces.

"He knew, just as we knew, that you don't get the award of the 18-series MOS unless you complete the entire" training program, Hinton said. "Somehow he held onto those orders and wore them like a king's crown."

Aden had already backpedaled on claims that he served as a Green Beret in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying he misspoke. He did deploy and serve a combat tour with the 82nd Airborne Division.

His claims of having been a Green Beret unraveled the same week theSupreme Court struck down a law making it illegal to make false statements about a military record, including claiming unearned medals and decorations.

The high court's ruling has angered many servicemembers, veterans and retirees, but it's too soon to tell whether striking down the law might create a boom in fakers, said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"No one will know until it's covered in the media," he told Military.com.

Hinton received a copy of the revocation orders Tuesday, along with a description of Aden's time in SF training at Bragg; he received them after filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the school.

Center spokeswoman Burton told Hinton in an email he copied to Military.com that Aden completed the SF assessment class that ran from October to November 2006, and was then selected for the Special Forces Qualification Course.

He completed the Warrior Leader Course in April 2007 and then went on to Special Forces Medical Sergeant Training in June; he was pulled from that course in October for failing to meet course academic standards, according to Burton.
continued:

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...3317843&rank=1

[Dusty]

[Dozer523]

"Let's Go!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNQRfBAzSzo

Nice job. Who's next?

[SF_BHT]

Great news TS....

Wonder if he will Man Up and admit he is a Liar and apologize or will he just crawl into a hole like the fake he is and hide.

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by SF_BHT

Great news TS....

Wonder if he will Man Up and admit he is a Liar and apologize or will he just crawl into a hole like the fake he is and hide.

He won't,I'm afraid just like "OH",he'll still might get elected,unless he drops out of the race..........

Big Teddy

[PRB]

Great job...glad the center and schools folks did the right thing without delay

[RB]

and have a very Happy 4th of July!!

Posted front page today at

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2...iles-20120704/

Army erases ‘18B’ in candidate’s files
Special Forces code called error

By Bill Bowden , Amy Schlesing

This article was published today at 4:42 a.m.

Download: New orders for Ken Aden

LITTLE ROCK — The U.S. Army on Tuesday revoked an order that it says was “erroneously” issued in 2008 that 3rd Congressional District candidate Ken Aden has been using as proof in his claim that he is a Green Beret.

Aden, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent Steve Womack, has remained adamant in recent weeks that he is Special Forces-qualified, despite documents uncovered through the federal Freedom of Information Act showing the contrary.

His claim is based on a June 12, 2008, document in his military file that was issued in error that designated him as having the specialty of “Special Forces Weapons Sergeant,” denoted as 18B on military records.

The John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Bragg, N.C., which trains all Special Forces troops, confirmed last week that Aden never completed his training after washing out three times from 2006 to 2008.

Tuesday’s revocation order was necessary to correct Aden’s military record and remove any reference to Special Forces, said Maj. Rebecca Lykins, public-affairs chief at the Special Warfare Center.

While Aden has continuously claimed to be a Special Forces weapons sergeant, Janice Burton, deputy chief of public affairs at the Special Warfare Center, wrote in response to a Freedom of Information Act request Tuesday that Aden failed the Light Weapons Exam and the Hands-on Mortar Exam and was relieved from the course April 29, 2008.

Aden said last week that he was never assigned to a Special Forces unit because of an injury he received in June that year, adding that he completed all training.

Tuesday’s revocation order comes on the heels of Jake Burris’ resignation as Aden’s campaign director over the weekend.

Burris did not return calls seeking comment. On Tuesday, his Facebook page contained the post, “Fight a liar, light a fire.”

“Jake did not quit,” said Ian Gill, Aden’s campaign office manager. “He chose to step down from his role as director to stay in a advisory capacity. He felt people were upset with his response to certain aspects of the story, and thought it would be in the best interest of everyone.”

The campaign is currently looking for someone to fill the position, Gill said.

Aden was not available for comment Tuesday because he was spending the afternoon at home, Gill said. “I don’t want to bother him while he is with his daughter.”

Aden also has not returned calls from state Democratic Party leaders, according to party spokesman Candace Martin. Party officials asked Aden to apologize last week for exaggerating his military record.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first reported last week that Aden had falsely claimed to be a Green Beret after several Freedom of Information Act requests resulted in Army officials looking at his military record and confirming that he was not qualified as a Special Forces soldier.

“Once we looked into his file, we found where he had been relieved from the [Special Forces Qualification] course,” Lykins said.

“Unfortunately, the orders were cut anyway giving him the 18B [specialty on his record] even though he had been removed from the course. So what we had to do was go back and have new orders cut revoking the 18B [status], and we did that today.”

The orders issued on June 12, 2008, which Aden has publicly claimed proves that he is qualified as a Special Forces “Green Beret,” should have never been issued to him, Lykins said. Indeed, they were issued two months after he was kicked out of training for failing three times, records show.

“I can’t really explain how the error occurred or why the orders were [issued in 2008],” Lykins said.

As late as Friday, Aden continued his claim that he was a Green Beret.

In a Thursday news release, he wrote:

“The claims perpetuated by the Democrat-Gazette that my maintaining the 18B designation was somehow a mistake or error are ridiculous. ... I was designated as 18B, which is a special forces designation, and I maintained that designation until I was discharged. For the Democrat-Gazette to claim I was not entitled to that designation or that it was somehow a mistake that I held the designation for so long is both ridiculous and insulting, to myself and other combat veterans who may be considering a run for public office.”

In addition to claiming to be a Green Beret, Aden said in several interviews in November and January that he was deployed to Afghanistan for six months.

According to records received last week from the military’s National Personnel Records Center, Aden deployed to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula with the Arkansas National Guard and deployed twice to Iraq with active-duty Army units.

Aden’s campaign on Friday also issued a “Character Letter” written by Sgt. David Pratt, Aden’s platoon sergeant on his last Iraq deployment in 2009.

The letter, written on official Department of the Army letterhead, spoke of Aden’s abilities during that deployment.

Gill said Pratt contacted the campaign and offered to write the letter.

Pratt retracted that letter over the weekend, asking the campaign to take it down from its website. On Saturday, Pratt posted an apology on an online Green Beret community forum and said he had been misled by Aden about his background.

“Thanks for calling,” Pratt said when contacted Tuesday, “but I don’t want to get involved.”

Front Section, Pages 1 on 07/04/2012

[Team Sergeant]

Democratic congressional candidate Ken Aden liar & fraud

To sum this whole situation up for some of the readers:

Did Ken Aden complete the Special Forces Qualification Course? (No)

Did Aden know he failed the Special Forces Qualification Course (yes)

Did Aden know that because he failed the Special Forces Qualification Course the 18B MOS was invalid (yes)

Did he attempt to use an invalid government document for political gain, (Yes)

Did Ken Aden tell people he served with a Special Forces unit, (yes)

Did Aden know why he failed the Special Forces Qualification Course, (yes)

Was Ken Aden's failure because of a medical drop, (no)

Did Aden tell everyone he failed because of a medical drop (yes)

Did the United States Army Special Warfare Center & School say Aden failed for medical reasons (no)

Did the United States Army Special Warfare Center & School say Ken Aden failed for academic reasons (yes)

Did Aden lie about the reason he failed the Special Forces Qualification Course, (yes)

Did real Green Berets call Ken Aden a liar (yes)

Does Ken Aden have integrity issues (yes)

I'm thinking Ken Aden will not be backed again as a democratic congressional candidate anytime soon. Well, unless he moves to Massachusetts.

TS

[greenberetTFS]

Good post Top,that puts it in perspective and clearly answers all the questions wrapped up for anyone to see...........

Big Teddy

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

Democratic congressional candidate Ken Aden liar & fraud
I'm thinking Ken Aden will not be backed again as a democratic congressional candidate anytime soon. Well, unless he moves to Massachusetts.

TS

Got that shit right.

[Paragrouper]

Link

Several different sources and personnel within the US Army have said that Mr. Aden never graduated Special Forces training, was never a green beret, and that he was mistakenly given the 18B designation on his paperwork. So far the Aden campaign has produced only one fellow soldier who has vouched for Mr. Aden’s Special Forces status and that soldier has since recanted his support claiming he was misled by Mr. Aden. Does the Aden campaign intend to produce anyone who can state that they taught, served with, or graduated from Special Forces training with Mr. Aden?
Another individual Ken served with has submitted a letter to us attesting to Ken's 18B qualifications; we're currently waiting to receive a signed and scanned copy. As you well know, not everyone has easy access to a scanner.
However, due to a variety of inconsistencies with this newest order, both in its contradictions of previous statements made by military personnel and its highly irregular dissemination through the news media rather than the veteran himself, we are going to wait until we are satisfied with the validity of the 3 July 2012 order before we make any release.

Also served up in this interview is a rather imaginative explanation of his non-degree college degree.

[RB]

man, I just LMFAO every time I see this name now. A simple google search for "Ken Aden" will show you all you need to know.

I just don't get why people would embellish an already illustrious career these days. The power of the interweb machine cannot be undone. You will be seen, we will find you, and if you're a poser it ill be ugly. WTF can you be thinking?

Here's a new FB page dedicated to ruining any chance that Ken Aden gets elected [read: ejected] any time soon:

Arkansas veterans are not happy

[CSB]

Great retraction/correction. And from the state that produced Bill Clinton. There is still hope for the Republic.

[Team Sergeant]

Another news article is out today about Ken Aden. Seems the state democrats of Arkansas are distancing themselves from Aden and he's been asked by his own party to withdraw from the race.

Even the Arkansas Democratic Women are calling Aden a liar.

Now Ken Aden's campaign finance records are in question.

Ken Aden, this is what happens when you are stupid enough to falsely use our reputation (the Green Berets) for political gain.

“I’m a former Green Beret,” Aden said. “And I was making $7.75 per hour.”

http://www.couriernews.com/view/full...-with-his-feet

No Ken Aden, you are not or ever were a Green Beret.

Oh and Ken, Pinocchio called, he wants his nose back.

The real Green Berets.......

[RB]

More here from a very humble SFQC no-go that was sent "needs of the Army": (and now has an Arkansas blog - good read!!)

http://esrati.com/blind-faith-and-co...politics/8938/

Blind faith and con men in politics

by David Esrati on July 7, 2012

in Our Broken political system, Turner Effect

A few of the posts on this site have been getting a lot of attention from people in Arkansas lately and the Special Operations community, the ones about the young paratrooper who fell out of the sky into Dayton and immediately set up a “non-profit” – “Citizens 4 Change,” to save us from ourselves. His ties to Dayton were, from memory, because a girlfriend’s family was from here- but, it really didn’t matter, because the guy we knew as Kenneth Wade or Kenneth Wade A, is now the Democratic Congressional candidate in Arkansas district 3- running against a Republican incumbent in a Republican District- and making a royal mess of it.

Personal note- full disclosure: Just like Ken, I went to the Q Course and for personal reasons, I self-selected out 2 days before the completion of Phase 1- I wasn’t sent to the 82nd- but instead was given orders to serve first with Service Company, 5th Special Forces, and then to Service Company, 7th Special Forces- ostensibly until I would go back through the course. I was a radio operator, 05B, with the 1A4 designator for Morse code, and a paratrooper. At that time, radio operators who could master the dots and dashes were in short supply. I was separated from the Army on Temporary Disability Retirement Leave (TDRL) after an injury that was made worse by poor military medical care (The one time I was proud of the Dayton Daily News was when they did the exposé of military medicine and won the Pulitzer- I could have been a case study), came to Dayton to enroll at Wright State under VA chapter 31 benefits. After 18 months, I was re-evaluated medically, deemed fit for service- given options to return to active duty, separate or enter the Reserves- which was the choice I made. I was assigned to the 11th Special Forces (Reserve) in Jamestown- where I was placed on an A-team as the secondary radio operator- still not having completed the Q-course. My last quarter of college, due to the demands of work, school and Reserve duty- I separated from the 11th group and never received other orders. My only permanent party duty was served in an SF unit through my entire military career- I have never worn any other patch. Therefore I’ve always said I served with Special Forces- not in it, and have been through enough training to fully understand and respect the mission and to speak with authority on the subject.

Mr Ken Aden's own personal page at pownetwork.org

http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies1140.htm

Arkansas isn't happy.