Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
- Green Beret and former MMA fighter Tim Kennedy says he wrongly implied he received a military award for valor.The revelation highlights tensions in post-9/11 military culture and online influence.The incident underscores elements of the civil-military divide and the scrutiny of veteran influencers.
Tim Kennedy, a Green Beret, former MMA fighter, and a recognizable figure in today's "Vet Bro" influencer culture, revealed this week that he had wrongly implied that he received a military award reserved only for battlefield bravery.
The award in question, a Bronze Star, was instead bestowed for commendable work performance, and not specifically courage during combat, a seemingly minor yet significant distinction for service members.
The revelation has sparked backlash among veterans amid concerns that the damage of such exaggerations potentially goes beyond an overstated military service record. Kennedy has legions of online followers, and his ties to leading political circles have made him an increasingly influential figure.
As veterans increasingly build personal brands on combat credibility, Kennedy's controversy highlights a deeper cultural rift, with tension between the trust society puts in vets, especially elite special operators, and the gray areas of self-promotion.
While outright stolen valor has become much rarer than it once was, embellishments and inflated service claims have become more common in the influencer era, raising questions about accountability, authenticity, and the public's willingness to scrutinize military figures.
Kennedy, a senior Green Beret with the Maryland National Guard, released a statement on social media Tuesday night in which he said that he "unintentionally misstated aspects" of his military service, that he "implied directly or indirectly" that he was awarded a Bronze Star with Valor.
"I never received that honor, and I deeply regret ever suggesting otherwise," he said.
"I will no longer speak about my service in a way that elevates me beyond what I actually did," the statement continued. "From now on, my words will be guided by truth, humility, and respect."
A Bronze Star can be bestowed upon US troops for "merit" during wartime operations, not only battlefield "valor." Such merit could, for example, also be provided to support personnel or combat troops for noteworthy service absent heroics.
Kennedy has previously pushed back against other veterans' pointed criticisms regarding his service record, saying "it's totally hypocritical and intellectually dishonest to be pretending that you're on the moral high ground and then misrepresenting facts, lying, paraphrasing, and then taking things out of context." Kennedy said that such scrutiny of his record likely generated lucrative traffic for podcasts critical of him.
A copy of Kennedy's Bronze Star award citation provided to Business Insider Wednesday morning, weeks after BI submitted a public records request seeking Kennedy's award documents, reflects that the award was bestowed for "unmatched competence and sound judgement" for planning and executing combat operations in Iraq in 2006.
Army officials told BI they could not provide any additional information regarding Kennedy's post.
BI reached out to three companies associated with Kennedy, as well as his emails and social media accounts, seeking comment but did not receive a response. A personal phone number for Kennedy was not immediately available.
"Vet Bro" influence
Kennedy's statement on his service record comes as he has experienced a seemingly meteoric rise within the inner circles of Washington's elite. Over the past few months, he has appeared in the Oval Office and been seen hobnobbing with political leaders, including VA Secretary Dan Driscoll, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel, and other Beltway heavyweights.
He is a top figure in today's "Vet Bro" culture, a post-Global War on Terror network of veterans, predominantly white, male special operators, which emerged around a decade ago. As the wars started to wind down and social media took over, many vets found the platforms to be a profitable way to promote businesses, memoirs, and podcasts.
Some Vet Bros, a term which some veterans find unfair, often see the world through the lens of their experiences in the military and promote things like gun culture, the protective "sheepdog" mentality, and immature or raunchy humor. That sometimes comes with service-related embellishment.
"A big problem right now is that the average veteran doesn't feel heard," said Chris Jachimiec, a veteran suicide prevention consultant and retired Air Force veteran who hopes to see service more normalized to the point where people don't feel compelled to embellish it.
Some veterans are "reluctant to tell their normal story," he said. "It's like, 'Yeah, I fixed aircraft for 20 years.'" It's a mundane but critical job, even if it lacks the appeal of special operations.
SFC Jim Greenhill/US Army National Guard
Such misrepresentations can fuel the widening civil-military divide, the physical and experiential chasm between troops and regular Americans whose understanding of the armed forces is on the decline. Hollywood depictions of military service are often confined to the actions of special operators, ignoring other forms of service. Embellishment from high-profile vets may reinforce unrealistic narratives of service.
Kennedy's proclamations of battlefield heroism have embroiled the online veteran community for months. As wars abroad have wound down, blatant stolen valor, in which someone may fabricate a career or misrepresent their own heroism, as Kennedy indicated he did, is less commonly seen, compared to more common discreet embellishments that would only be easily apparent to a trained eye. But for both, the impact of such misstatements can run deep, leading many veterans to fight them aggressively.
Accountability
"If veterans don't hold veterans accountable, then we absolutely will lose the respect that honestly we've fought really hard to earn," Brent Tucker, a former Army Delta Force soldier and podcast host, told Business Insider. Tucker's podcast has previously come under fire by other vets for criticizing Kennedy's claims.
Ideally, vets, especially special operators, would never need to be questioned, Tucker said. But with thousands, sometimes millions, of followers and money from influencing and entrepreneurship at stake, skepticism is warranted.
Kennedy is affiliated with multiple companies, including one that offersTim Kennedy action figures for $50. Another, "Apogee Strong," appears to be a franchise of homeschooling operations currently caught up in a lawsuit for intellectual property theft.
Attempts to reach the attorney defending Kennedy's school program were unsuccessful.
The instant credibility often afforded to famous vets of the "all-volunteer force" has become a thorny topic, leading to a problematic pedestal and sometimes not-entirely-merited access to levers of influence and power.
US Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill
Relying on military service isn't just routine for influencers, but also for prospective lawmakers running for office, said Katherine Kuzminski, director of studies at the Center for a New American Security. Touting a service record shows voters that a candidate has a service-oriented mindset.
Political news outlet NOTUS investigated the Bronze Star paperwork for Florida Rep. Cory Mills, citing soldiers named in his documents who did not recall him being part of the "extraordinary heroism" that earned him the award. Former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal, and other veteran politicians have also faced other criticisms related to misleading statements.
"It says, like, 'Hey, I know what it means to serve, I have a skill set, I've done something rare, and you should trust me," said Kuzminski, an expert on US military veterans and society. She added that such sentiments often have plenty of truth.
But in an era of dwindling pools of people with any military affiliation, there's often an incorrect assumption among Americans that veterans, perhaps particularly those with numerous social media followers, are qualified for everything. Such assumptions, she said, may include dissuading civilians from questioning vets at all.
"It shouldn't mask the responsibility to dig a level deeper," she said.
