Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) wants top Army officials to tell him why a military award pin he has been wearing on his lapel was revoked last year following criticism from some of his GOP colleagues for continuing to wear the designation, accusing the service of a smear campaign.
Nehls — who served 21 years in the Army Reserve and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan — wears a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) on his suit jacket given to him in October 2008. But a CBS News investigation last month discovered the pin was revoked from his military record in March 2023. The designation was removed as he had served as a civil affairs officer while in Afghanistan, and the badge is meant only for infantrymen or Special Forces troops engaged in active ground combat.
In a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Army Human Resources Command, a follow-on to another letter sent in late May, Nehls disagrees with the service pulling the pin and demands answers as to why it happened.
“I further believe this is a concerted effort to discredit my military service and continued service to the American people as a member of Congress,” he wrote. He also urged officials to “get it right” in revising his military records.
Nehls, who was awarded his CIB while serving as a civil affairs officer with the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan in 2008, had three main asks for Army officials: information about who HR spoke to within the 101st about his designation, whether the discrepancy was discussed with division and how many other CIB were revoked during the same missions for which he received the award.
In recent weeks, the Texas Republican has come under fire from other House members for continuing to wear the CIB while on Capitol Hill.
But Nehls told reporters Tuesday that he believes the Army is targeting him for supporting former President Trump.
“What the hell is that discrepancy?” he said. “How many CIBs had been revoked from soldiers, or is it just Troy Nehls, Mr. MAGA guy?”
He has also pushed back on the CBS News findings that only one Bronze Star medal is in his official military records rather than two.
Nehls’s congressional website states that he has earned two Bronze Stars, and he also posted a photo to the social platform X in early May that showed two medals and the paperwork approving the awards in 2004 and 2008.