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Dakota Meyer, a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism successful the Afghanistan War but aboriginal became a crisp professional of the Biden medication implicit its chaotic withdrawal from that conflict, is reenlisting successful the subject and volition service successful the Marine Reserves.
In a briefing with reporters connected Thursday earlier his reenlistment ceremony, 36-year-old Meyer said helium is returning to subject work aft 15 years retired of azygous due to the fact that helium felt helium "had much to give." He's besides adjacent to President Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth.
But Meyer said helium would refrain from authorities portion successful uniform.
"The large portion astir being successful the reserves is I'm inactive a national erstwhile I'm not connected orders," helium said. "When I'm connected orders I'll comply evidently with immoderate the modular is."
In little remarks during the ceremony, Hegseth said Meyer's reenlistment is "not communal practice" and the Marine Corps "doesn't bash things similar this lightly," but praised Meyer's "uncommon valor." Hegseth said the reenlistment shows "you're ne'er excessively old, you're ne'er excessively experienced, you've ne'er done excessively overmuch that you can't proceed to contribute."
Originally from Kentucky, Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor, the military's highest honor, by then-President Barack Obama successful 2011 for his heroics successful Afghanistan erstwhile helium charged 5 times successful a Humvee into dense gunfire to rescue comrades nether onslaught by Taliban insurgents.
On Sept. 8, 2009, Meyer was portion of a information squad supporting a patrol moving into a colony successful the Ganjgal Valley. Suddenly, the lights successful a adjacent colony went retired and gunfire erupted. About 50 Taliban insurgents connected mountainsides and successful the colony had ambushed the patrol.
His actions during the six-hour onslaught and firefight saved the lives of 36 people, some Americans and Afghans. He killed astatine slightest 8 Taliban insurgents. Firing from a weapon turret connected apical of a Humvee driven by a chap Marine, helium provided screen for his team, allowing galore to flight apt death.
Meyer described the events successful a 2011 interrogation with CBS News' "60 Minutes," telling analogous David Martin, "I didn't deliberation I was going to die. I knew I was."
Four American soldiers died successful the ambush: 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25, from Virginia Beach, Virginia; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Georgia; Corpsman James Layton, 22, of Riverbank, California; and Edwin Wayne Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old gunnery sergeant from Columbus, Georgia. A 5th man, Army Sgt. Kenneth W. Westbrook, 41, of Shiprock, New Mexico, died aboriginal from his wounds.
After leaving the military, Meyer remained successful the spotlight. In 2016 helium joined erstwhile vice statesmanlike campaigner Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, and they had 2 children. Years later, successful 2019, helium told "60 Minutes" astir his acquisition with a new post-traumatic accent upset treatment.
He's been outspoken astir the jailing of different Marine — Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller — who criticized the Biden medication for the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan successful societal media posts portion successful uniform, which is simply a usurpation of subject conduct.
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