Republican Congressman Wearing War Badge a 'Slap in the Face': Military Vet
Donald Trump Jr. (R) looks on as US Representative Troy Nehls, Republican of Texas, speaks to the press outside of the courthouse during former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, in New York City, on May 21, 2024. Nehls on June 26 announced that he will no longer wear a military badge, one that other veterans have accused of him of "stolen valor."
A U.S. Army veteran who has investigated Republican Representative Troy Nehls for stolen valor told Newsweek that the Texas congressman's actions are "a slap in the face" to the military community.
On Wednesday, Nehls's office announced that he would no longer wear a lapel pin he's donned since at least 2021 that is given to infantrymen or Special Forces who fought in active combat, known as a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). He's faced a wave of criticism in recent months from military vets and even House Republicans who have questioned his motives and explanation for wearing a badge he now admits was rescinded.
On Tuesday evening, Nehls issued a statement described as his "final written comment" on the controversy.
"In 2023, 14 years after my retirement, suddenly, the Department of the Army rescinded my CIB," Nehls said. "This will be my final written comment on my CIB, awarded by the 101st Airborne Division in 2008 and listed on my official military record (DD-214). According to correspondence I 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 Of these, only 47 CIBs have been rescinded.
"So, let me get this straight, the Department of the Army says that the 101st Airborne Division has been 99.968% correct in awarding the CIB over the past two decades?"
He concluded: "Unfortunately for me, as an America First Patriot and an outspoken member of Congress, there are no lengths to which the establishment won't go to discredit me, including my CIB, which I was awarded over 14 years ago. Nothing more needs to be said."
Newsweek reached out to Nehls' office via email for comment.
Investigation into Stolen Valor
Anthony Anderson, who runs Guardian of Valor and served 13.5 years before being medically discharged in 2016, has investigated Nehls' record for over six months.
He told Newsweek via phone on Wednesday that he believes Nehls' strategy is to simply not wear the badge anymore and have the surrounding doubt associated with his wearing it "go away."
"It angers me because he is a veteran and served in combat," Anderson said. "He's been to Afghanistan, he's been to Iraq. I'm sure he's seen soldiers who are injured or killed.
"That CIB is a very prestigious award; the regulations are very strict to keep it that way. To see him flaunting it around when there are soldiers awarded this posthumously for serving this country, it kind of slaps us in the face. It blows my mind."
The CIB, established by the U.S. War Department in 1942, is viewed by military personnel as prestigious due to the requirements that must be met to be awarded with such honor. That specifically relates to infantrymen whose main objective involves moving in on and destroying an enemy while holding terrain.
The congressman's military records were amended in March 2023 when the CIB was revoked due to Nehls serving as a civil affairs officer rather than an infantryman or Special Forces soldier," CBS News reported last month.
Anderson said he first got involved with Nehls' case after several others familiar with his 2008 deployment raised concerns about the badge and whether he was authorized to wear it. He then personally met with Nehls' staffers, including a chief of staff, to discuss military records and disparities in Nehls' account of how he received it.
But after "giving them the A to Z" about the situation and telling staffers that Nehls could just apologize and get ahead of the controversy that was riling up other vets, Anderson said his office cut communication.
Now, he says others in Nehls' orbit have told him he wants the issue to evaporate ahead of November's election.
"It's not honorable," Anderson said. "He could have just come out and said, 'Hey, I wore this award and I wasn't authorized.'... He served 20 years. Anyone who served more than a week in the combat army knows the rules about the badge."
"Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the CIB," the Army states.
It's not a political issue but a moral one, Anderson added.
"This is a nonpartisan issue," he said. "I've got vets from both sides of the aisle. In the beginning, you had some vets saying, 'Maybe it's a mistake, blah blah.' But when I started posting evidence...there was no way that he could say it was a mistake because he knew what he was doing. Every other vet in the country agrees because he knows they know."
Asked whether Nehls would double down or let the issue fade, Anderson expects the latter. And he doesn't see any apology coming to the military community.
"It always will be there," Anderson said. "It will be a stain on his campaign and his integrity."
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