Military veteran: Republican congressman wears war badge – a “slap in the face”

A U.S. Army veteran who investigated Republican Rep. Troy Nehls for stolen valor said Newsweek that the Texas congressman’s actions were “a slap in the face” to the military community.

On Wednesday, Nehls’ office announced that he would no longer wear the pin he has worn since at least 2021, which is awarded to infantrymen or special forces personnel who have served in active combat, known as the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). In recent months, he has faced a wave of criticism from military veterans and even Republicans in the House who questioned his motives and explanations for wearing a badge that he now admits was stripped from him.

On Tuesday evening, Nehls issued a statement described as his “final written comment” on the controversy.

“In 2023, 14 years after my retirement, the Department of the Army suddenly revoked my CIB,” Nehls said. “This will be my last written comment regarding my CIB, which was awarded to me in 2008 by the 101st Airborne Division and is listed in my official military record (DD-214). According to correspondence I have received from the Department of the Army, 142,596 CIBs have been awarded over the past 20 years. Of these, only 47 CIBs have been revoked.

“So let me get this straight: The Department of the Army says the 101st Airborne Division has been 99.968% correct in awarding the CIB over the past two decades?”

He concluded: “Unfortunately for me, as a patriot who stands up for America and as an outspoken member of Congress, the establishment will do anything to discredit me, including taking away my CIB, which was awarded to me over 14 years ago. Nothing more needs to be said.”

Newsweek has contacted Nehls’ office via email and asked for comment.

Investigation into stolen heroism

Anthony Anderson, who heads Guardian of Valor and served 13.5 years before being medically released in 2016, spent six months researching Nehls’ history.

He said Newsweek by telephone that, in his opinion, Nehls’ strategy was to simply stop wearing the badge and let the doubts associated with it “disappear”.

“It makes me angry because he’s a veteran and he’s served in combat,” Anderson said. “He’s been to Afghanistan, he’s been to Iraq. I’m sure he’s seen soldiers injured or killed.”

“This CIB is a very prestigious award; the regulations are very strict to ensure that. For him to brag about it when there are soldiers who receive this award posthumously for their service to this country is a slap in the face to us. It blows my mind.”

Established in 1942 by the U.S. War Department, the CIB is considered prestigious among military personnel because of the qualifications required to receive the award, particularly for infantrymen whose primary mission is to advance toward and destroy an enemy while simultaneously holding ground.

“The congressman’s military records were altered in March 2023 when the CIB was revoked because Nehls served as a civilian officer and not as an infantryman or special forces soldier,” CBS News reported last month.

Anderson said he first became involved with Nehls’ case after several others familiar with his 2008 deployment raised concerns about the badge and his eligibility to wear it. He then met in person with Nehls’ staff, including a chief of staff, to discuss military records and inconsistencies in Nehls’ account of how he received the badge.

But after “explaining the situation in detail” and telling staff that Nehls could simply apologize and forestall the controversy that was also roiling other veterans, Anderson said his office cut off communication.

Now he says others close to Nehls have told him he wants to get the issue resolved before the November elections.

“That’s not honorable,” Anderson said. “He could have just come out and said, ‘Hey, I wore that award and I wasn’t authorized to do that.’ … He served 20 years. Anyone who served in the combat Army for more than a week knows the rules for the badge.”

“Campaign or combat performance alone is not sufficient to award the CIB,” the Army explains.

It is not a political but a moral issue, Anderson added.

“This is a bipartisan issue,” he said. “I have veterans from both sides of the aisle. In the beginning, there were some veterans who said, ‘Maybe it’s a mistake, blah blah.’ But when I started presenting evidence … there was no way he could say it was a mistake because he knew what he was doing. Every other veteran in the country agrees because they know they know.”

When asked if Nehls will back down or let the issue rest, Anderson assumes the latter. And he does not expect there to be an apology from the military community.

“It will always be there,” Anderson said. “It will be a stain on his campaign and his integrity.”