Weiser graduate and veteran found a fulfilling career in law enforcement

After graduating high school with the Class of 2008, Kenneth Branstetter enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He started recruit training bootcamp on July 28, 2008, in San Diego.
 After boot camp, Branstetter attended Marine combat training at Camp Pendleton. Once all initial training was completed, Branstetter finally attended job training, which was done in San Angelo, Texas.
 Branstetter’s official job title in the Marine Corps was aircraft rescue and firefighting. He was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He served a tour in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He served in Afghanistan for a little over eight months before returning stateside.
 After the Marines, Branstetter worked at Knife River, which is a construction company for about five years before Branstetter said that he once again found himself having the urge to do something bigger than himself again.
 He took an EMT class and passed the course, but during the process he realized that he was not cut out for the medical field.
 At the same time, the Caldwell Police captain, with whom Branstetter was well acquainted, happened to ask Branstetter when he was going to join.
 He started discussing it kind of as a joke with his wife, Chelsea, but soon felt that fire and desire to want to help people and to gain that sense of brotherhood he had felt in the Marines.
 He applied for a patrol position and after a grueling background check he was hired for patrol and started on Dec. 4, 2018.
 Branstetter worked on patrol for a little under a year, before taking the role of school resource officer at Sage Valley Middle School, in Nampa. Branstetter has been a school resource officer for a little over a year and he is loving the interaction and having the ability to help kids. He also helps coach seventh grade football at Sage Valley. This is part of the effort to help humanize the badge with the youth.
 “Being a coach has given the students another way to approach me and see me out of uniform. It has been a very positive experience,” Branstetter said.
 On Jan. 10, Branstetter was recognized with the Caldwell Police Department’s Medal of Bravery. Branstetter was awarded the medal for his actions during a trench entrapment call on a construction jobsite.
 Branstetter was the first on scene and was able to provide valuable information to the incoming medics which saved a 19-year-old man’s life.
 He was in the trench, which was approximately 20 feet underground, and deemed very unstable. He was alongside the patient for over an hour as the fire department developed a plan to get both Branstetter and the victim safely out and before the patient was put on Lifeflight.
 This was all done with a 2,000-pound excavator bucket hanging by a chain just above their heads. At any point, the bucket could have easily fallen or the trench could have collapsed.
 “I would like to think any Caldwell officer put in my shoes that day would have acted the same way. I work alongside some of the most amazing officers from the chief down,” Branstetter said.
 Branstetter enjoys his job and the ability to help people and engage with the community, even though some of the interactions can be during bad situations. The times he enjoys the most are during the events Caldwell police puts on such as  “Shop with a Cop” for Christmas,  “Coffee with a Cop,” the annual cornhole tournament to raise money for the K-9 program just to name a few. Branstetter hopes to eventually become a detective for the Caldwell Police Department.
 Branstetter shared that he believes growing up in Weiser gave him a push to go out and serve. At the time he was in school, he didn’t know what that meant, however, he always felt the urge to serve the community and this great country.
 He remembers speaking to a state trooper while he was a senior and asked how he could join. The officer advised Branstetter that going into the military was a great way out of high school to learn discipline and being apart of something bigger than oneself.
 “I think the thing to take away from growing up in Weiser is that hometown pride, being proud of where you come from and wanting to make it a better place. The only person that can hold you back is you, nobody else. Be true to yourself, be kind to others, help someone in need, and GO WOLVERINES!!” Branstetter said.