During his tenure and in the midst of his first 2020 campaign for Texas’ 22nd Congressional District seat, Republican Rep. Troy Nehls repeatedly claimed to have received two Bronze Star medals and an infantryman’s badge combatant from his time in the US Army serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There is no doubt that Nehls served overseas, engaged in combat and received 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 removed from his service record in 2023 because Nehls served as a civil affairs officer, not as an infantryman or special forces soldier.
Contacted repeatedly 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 that were not awarded to him,” Matthews told CBS News.
Especially within the military, a service member showing off a medal he did not earn is considered deeply offensive. There have been many cases that have disgraced public officials in the past, such as when former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald erroneously claims he had served in Special Forces or when former Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois falsely claimed to have received the US Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year award.
But Nehls’ case is different — and in many ways more confusing, because his record confirms that he served overseas and actually earned notable distinction.
The Bronze Star is the eighth highest honor awarded by the United States military and dates back to World War II. Servicemembers may receive the medal for heroic actions in combat or for meritorious performance in what the military describes as “combat conditions.”
On Thursday, Army veteran Anthony Anderson, who runs Guardian of Valor, a popular social media website that investigates military records, publicly asked Nehls to respond to inquiries about his awards. CBS News has previously featured Anderson and his work.
In his 2020 campaign ad posted on Facebook, Nehls is seen in his military uniform wearing his military decorations, with the top ribbon signifying that he is the recipient of two Bronze Star medals. The ad states that Nehls “fought terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan” and that “he led troops into combat and received 2 Bronze Stars.” On his official House of Representatives website, Nehls also states in his bio that he has two Bronze Star medals while his photo shows him wearing the Combat Infantryman Badge pin.
The CBS News investigation revealed that Nehls’ only Bronze Star medal was awarded to him in September 2004 by Maj. Gen. John Batiste, now retired, for his service in Iraq. The quote 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 premier business center in affairs of all Iraq.”
Among his many awards and decorations for other honorable actions in the U.S. Army, records show no further information for a second Bronze Star medal. Bryce Dubee, a spokesperson for the US military at the Pentagon, told CBS News that Nehls had a Bronze Star medal.
In September 2023, veterans began criticizing the Texas congressman on social media after he posted a photograph of himself on social media in Washington DC, brandishing handcuffs answer to Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York who pulled the fire alarm in a Capitol office building before a last-minute vote in the House to avoid a government shutdown.
Pictured, Nehls wears an Infantry Combatant Badge pin, which traces its roots to World War II and is today awarded to Army Infantry and Special Forces soldiers engaged in active ground combat.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The Pentagon said Nehls did not possess a combat infantryman badge but rather a combat action badge. U.S. Army regulations distinguish between how the two badges are awarded.
With few historical exceptions, the Combat Infantryman Badge is awarded to Soldiers in the Army Infantry and Special Forces community engaged in active ground combat. The Combat Action Badge – established in 2005 – is intended for Army soldiers outside of these fields of employment, but who are “engaged or actively engaged by the enemy,” according to U.S. Army publications .
In February 2006, Nehls retroactively received 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 at the rank of captain. He completed his military service at the rank of major.
Military records obtained by CBS News show Nehls received the Combat Infantryman Badge in October 2008 for his actions in Afghanistan seven months prior, in March 2008. This decoration was also listed on Nehls’ official discharge and separation documents , known as DD Form 214.
However, Nehls’ military records and the Pentagon confirm that in March 2023, the Texas congressman’s service record was altered, ultimately revoking his combat infantryman badge. A Pentagon spokesperson explained that the badge was canceled because Nehls was serving as a civil affairs officer rather than in the role of an infantryman or special forces soldier.
James LaPorta is a verification producer at CBS News Confirmed. He is a former U.S. Marine infantryman and veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
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