Liam Conner
During his tenure and in the midst of his inaugural 2020 bid for the Texas 22nd District congressional seat, Republican Rep. Troy Nehls has repeatedly claimed to have received two Bronze Star medals and a combat infantryman’s badge from his time in the US Army serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There is no doubt that Nehls served overseas, saw combat, and was awarded a Bronze Star for his duties there. But military documents obtained by CBS News after a months-long investigation and a review of his service record by the U.S. Army at the Pentagon show that Nehls received one — not two — Bronze Star medals. And his Afghanistan combat infantryman badge was revoked from his service record in 2023 because Nehls served as a civil affairs officer, not as an infantryman or Special Forces soldier.
Contacted several times by CBS News by email and phone, Emily Matthews, Nehls’ press secretary, declined to discuss the matter or provide any explanation for the discrepancies.
“Congressman Nehls does not wear medals he did not receive,” Matthews told CBS News.
Especially within the military, a soldier displaying any medal he has not earned is considered deeply offensive. There has been a history of disgracing public officials in the past, such as when former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald mistakenly claimed he served in the Special Forces or when former Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois mistakenly claimed received the US Navy Intelligence Officer of the Year award.
But Nehls’ case is different – and in many ways more confusing, because his record confirms that he served abroad and that, in fact, he received a notable commendation.
The Bronze Star medal is the U.S. Army’s eighth highest award and dates back to World War II. The military can be awarded the medal for heroic actions in combat or for meritorious performance under what the Army describes as “combat conditions.”
On Thursday, Army veteran Anthony Anderson, who runs Guardian of Valora popular social media site that investigates military service member records, publicly asked Nehls to answer questions about his awards. CBS News previously profiled Anderson and his work.
In his 2020 campaign ad posted on Facebook, Nehls is seen in his Army uniform wearing his military decorations with the top ribbon signifying that he received two Bronze Star medals. The ad states that Nehls “fought terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan” and that he “led troops into battle receiving 2 Bronze Stars.” On his official House of Representatives website, Nehls also lists in his biography as having two Bronze Star medals while his photography shows him wearing the Combat Infantryman Badge lapel pin.
The CBS News investigation found that Nehls’ only Bronze Star medal was awarded to him in September 2004 by now-retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste for his service in Iraq. The award citation obtained by CBS News reads in part: “Captain Nehls trained and mentored nine Iraqi personnel and four coalition soldiers assigned to the Kirkuk Business Center, which became known as the best business center in all of Iraq.”
Among his numerous awards and decorations for other honorable actions in the U.S. military, records show no other information for a second Bronze Star medal. Bryce Dubee, a U.S. Army spokesman at the Pentagon, told CBS News that Nehls has a Bronze Star medal.
In September 2023, veterans on social media began criticizing the Texas congressman after he posted a photography of himself on social media in Washington DC holding handcuffs on response to Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York pulling the fire alarm in a Capitol office building before a last-minute vote in the House to avoid a government shutdown.
In the photo, Nehls is wearing a Combat Infantryman Badge lapel pin, which traces its roots to World War II and is today awarded to Army soldiers in the infantry and Special Forces community engaged in active ground combat.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The Pentagon said Nehls does not have a combat infantryman badge, but rather a combat action badge. US Army regulations distinguish how the two badges are awarded.
With historical exceptions, the Combat Infantry Badge is awarded to soldiers from the Army infantry and Special Forces community engaged in active ground combat. The Combat Action Badge — created in 2005 — is for Army soldiers outside of these areas of duty but who are also “actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy,” according to U.S. Army publications.
In February 2006, Nehls was retroactively awarded the Combat Action Badge for his deployment to Iraq in 2004, according to military records obtained by CBS News.
While Nehls began his military career as an enlisted infantryman in the Wisconsin National Guard in July 1988, by 2004, Nehls was a civil affairs officer with the rank of captain. He ended his military service with the rank of major.
Military records obtained by CBS News show that Nehls received the Combat Infantryman Badge in October 2008 for his actions in Afghanistan seven months earlier in March 2008. This decoration was also listed on official discharge and separation documents from Nehls, known as DD Form 214.
However, Nehls’ military records and the Pentagon confirm that in March 2023, the Texas congressman’s service record was changed, which ultimately revoked his combat infantryman badge. A Pentagon spokesperson explained that the badge was rescinded due to Nehls serving as a civil affairs officer rather than the role of an infantryman or Special Forces soldier.
James LaPorta is a verification producer for CBS News Confirmed. He is a former US Marine infantryman and Afghanistan war veteran.
