Born in Ohio, Braden first joined the military at the age of 16 in 1944, serving with the 101st Airborne during World War II. Braden would stay in the Army until 1949, rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. In 1954, Braden joined the Air Force with the intention of becoming a pilot, but he resigned later that same year during pre-flight training. He re-enlisted in the Army in 1958 becoming a member of the Army's Sport Parachute Club, known at the time as the Golden Arrows, but later known as the Golden Knights. He eventually became one of the military's leading parachutists, often representing the Army in international skydiving tournaments, and his military records list him as having made 911 jumps. During the 1960s, Braden was a team leader within the MACVSOG, a classified commando unit of Green Berets which conducted unconventional warfare operations during the Vietnam War. He also served as a military skydiving instructor, teaching HALO jumping techniques to members of Project Delta. Braden spent 23 months in Vietnam, conducting classified operations within both North and South Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia.
