One of the four Army Special Forces soldiers killed in the Oct. 4, 2017 ambush in Niger may potentially be under consideration for the Medal of Honor, according to a new report.
- In a Friday story concerning Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ recent anger over the Pentagon’s ambush investigation, the New York Times notes that U.S. Special Operations Command chief Army Gen. Raymond Thomas, had asked whether Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright “was eligible for the Medal of Honor” among the awards for Operational Detachment Alpha Team 3212 for their bravery in battle.
- Wright, along with Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, and Sgt. La David T. Johnson, was killed when his convoy was ambushed by a large force of ISIS during the October 2017 ambush.
- According to the Times, Wright was killed while trying to rescue a wounded Black, dragging him by his flak jacket to cover before fleeing into the surrounding brush and returning fire in a desperate attempt to rescue his fallen comrades.
- During a May briefing, Task & Purpose’s Jeff Schogol asked U.S. Africa Command chief Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser and new U.S. Army Africa chief Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier if they believed any service members who fought in this incident deserved to be recommended for the Medal of Honor.
- “My finding indicates that there were numerous acts of extraordinary bravery that occurred on that day, and they should be adjudicated as SOCOM deems necessary,” Cloutier responded. “There — there were acts of bravery.”
SEE ALSO: ISIS Ghouls Tried To Steal Fallen Soldiers’ Bodies In Niger. They Failed
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