Dakota Meyer, a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in the Afghanistan War but later became a sharp critic of the Biden administration over its chaotic withdrawal from that conflict, is reenlisting in the military and will serve in the Marine Reserves.
In a briefing with reporters on Thursday before his reenlistment ceremony, 36-year-old Meyer said he is returning to military service after 15 years out of uniform because he felt he “had more to give.” He’s also close to President Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
But Meyer said he would refrain from politics while in uniform.
“The great part about being in the reserves is I’m still a citizen when I’m not on orders,” he said. “When I’m on orders I’ll comply obviously with whatever the standard is.”
In brief remarks during the ceremony, Hegseth said Meyer’s reenlistment is “not common practice” and the Marine Corps “doesn’t do things like this lightly,” but praised Meyer’s “uncommon valor.” Hegseth said the reenlistment shows “you’re never too old, you’re never too experienced, you’ve never done too much that you can’t continue to contribute.”
Originally from Kentucky, Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest honor, by then-President Barack Obama in 2011 for his heroics in Afghanistan when he charged five times in a Humvee into heavy gunfire to rescue comrades under attack by Taliban insurgents.
President Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 23, from Greensburg, Ky, on Sept. 15, 2011, during a ceremony at the White House.
Charles Dharapak / AP
On Sept. 8, 2009, Meyer was part of a security team supporting a patrol moving into a village in the Ganjgal Valley. Suddenly, the lights in a nearby village went out and gunfire erupted. About 50 Taliban insurgents on mountainsides and in the village had ambushed the patrol.
His actions during the six-hour attack and firefight saved the lives of 36 people, both Americans and Afghans. He killed at least eight Taliban insurgents. Firing from a gun turret on top of a Humvee driven by a fellow Marine, he provided cover for his team, allowing many to escape likely death.
Meyer described the events in a 2011 interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” telling correspondent David Martin, “I didn’t think I was going to die. I knew I was.”
Four American soldiers died in the ambush: 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, 25, from Virginia Beach, Virginia; Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Georgia; Corpsman James Layton, 22, of Riverbank, California; and Edwin Wayne Johnson Jr., a 31-year-old gunnery sergeant from Columbus, Georgia. A fifth man, Army Sgt. Kenneth W. Westbrook, 41, of Shiprock, New Mexico, died later from his wounds.
After leaving the military, Meyer remained in the spotlight. In 2016 he married former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, and they had two children. Years later, in 2019, he told “60 Minutes” about his experience with a new post-traumatic stress disorder treatment.
He’s been outspoken about the jailing of another Marine — Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller — who criticized the Biden administration for the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan in social media posts while in uniform, which is a violation of military conduct.
