HankB

I was Braden's CO when he "resigned for the good of the service" with a bar to reenlistment at Fort Dix in 1967. On the day he was discharged he was picked up at the Fort Dix stockade and escourted to the Transfer Station, under orders from the Chief of Staff at Fort Dix, by my XO who was a 1LT armed with a 45 not two Captains. My XO was with Braden through the out processing and then returned to tell me Braden was gone. Given the sequence of events while Braden was assigned to the Special Processing Detachment, including his very special treatment while in solitary confinment, my XO and I knew there was something very unusual happening but not exactly sure what that was. Braden left Fort Dix that day in his Class A uniform, complete with green beret, all ribbons, master jump wings, and highly spit shined boots with bloused trousers. He looked like a recruiting poster photo.

This is my first post so if I am doing so incorrectly please excuse me. Ted Braden was assigned to my command at Fort Dix about March 1967 when he was returned to the US after being "apprehended" in the Congo. He was Special Forces SFC at the time. His 201 File and Form 20 listed him as having 3 years of college at the University of Toledo and a GT score, roughly IQ, in the 150s. He had prior commissioned service in the USAF. He had several "coded" assignments on his Form 20. He was confined to the post stockade pending disposition of his AWOL charge. The Article 32 Investigating Officer recommended a GCM. The AWOL charge was supported by an Extract Copy of the Morning Report from his unit in Viet Nam. On the day his GCM was to be convened the CG of Fort Dix received a phone call from GEN Harold K Johnson then Army Chief of Staff in which he directed the GCM not be convened for "security reasons". With the assistance of the Assistant SJA at post headquarters we persuaded Braden to resign for the good of the service with a bar to reenlistment. He was escorted to the Transfer Station at Fort Dix by my XO and that was the last I saw of Braden. While in the stockade he had his own cell with a TV and was smoking cigars while all other prisoners were limited to non filter cigarettes. His appearance was immaculate. We had some private conversations that had me wondering who was in control. In 1974 while at Fort Jackson I had a conversation with the Asst IG about this case without mentioning Braden's name. The Asst IG looked at me and said you are talking about Ted Braden. I was dumbfounded. He then told me he had seen Braden in Viet Nam in 1973 and he was then a Sergeant Major. The Asst IG thought Braden had been a CIA plant in the Congo and his position had been compromised so he was "arrested for being AWOL". We documented his travels from Viet Nam to the Congo znd they took him to Australia to Seattle to Miami to Brussels to the Congo. Per the Social Security Death Index Braden was born in 24 Sep 1928 and died in 21 Jun 2007 in Stroudsburg, PA. My recollection was Braden was about 5 feet 8 or 9 and very physically fit.