REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Kingdom of Norway
CANDIDATE: Kenneth J. Braithwaite
Rear Admiral Kenneth J. Braithwaite has had a distinguished 27-year career in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Navy Reserve, including deployments in combat operations beginning in 1983 as a Midshipman aboard USS Guadalcanal off Beirut, Lebanon and concluding in 2003 as Commanding Officer of Navy Combat Camera in Iraq. He has also been a leader in public policy and business, currently as Group Senior Vice President for Vizient, a leading healthcare strategy and performance improvement company. While in the Navy, Rear Admiral Braithwaite served in myriad positions beginning as a qualified Naval Aviator in Patrol Squadron 17 and finally as the Navy’s Vice Chief of Information at the Pentagon. He also was the Commanding Officer, Joint Public Affairs Expeditionary Support Element (Reserve), Joint Forces Command and deployed to Pakistan as the overall Director of Strategic Communications in support of the American Embassy in Islamabad. Since 2012 he has been a senior mentor for Strategic Communications at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany. His experience as a leader committed to public service, his skills as a strategic communicator and his experience in international affairs all make him well qualified to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway.
Earlier in his career, Rear Admiral Braithwaite was the Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2006 -2008) and Vice President, Government Affairs, Ascension Health, Washington, D.C. (2003-2006). He also worked as the Southeast Pennsylvania Executive Director, and then the State Director for United States Senator Arlen Specter (1997 – 2000). He was a Councilman, Borough of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania from 1993-1996.
Rear Admiral Braithwaite received his B.S degree from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in 1984 and an M.G.A from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1995. He is also a Fellow of the College of Physicians Philadelphia. A highly decorated veteran, Rear Admiral Braithwaite received several personal awards during his career, including the Legion of Merit and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.