Troy Nehls ineligible for combat badge

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) does not qualify for a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) that he claims and often wears on his lapel, according to the Army.

Nehls served as an infantryman, an engineer officer and a civil affairs officer in the Wisconsin National Guard from July 1988 to November 2001 and with the Army Reserve from November 2001 to December 2008, according to the Army.

Although he deployed to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, he did not fulfill the requirements for the badge at the time of his deployment abroad.

To qualify for a CIB, a veteran must have, at the time the badge was awarded, served as an infantry soldier or Green Beret and seen active combat, including serving in a unit that is actively coming under hostile fire and engaged in return fire.

At the time the CIB was awarded in 2008, Nehls was serving as a civil affairs officer, according to reporting from CBS News and Guardian of Valor.

The Army said in a statement to The Hill that it reviewed Nehls’s record in 2023 and issued a DD215, or a correction to a DD214 form that certifies a discharge from active duty. The DD215 does not include a CIB.

Nehls has continued to claim the CIB was properly awarded. He sent a letter to U.S. Army Human Resources Command earlier this month saying he disagrees with the revocation.

“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.

The CIB was established in 1943 to specially recognize infantry soldiers who have satisfactorily engaged in ground combat.