In 2014 Sergeant First Class Earl Plumlee, a former Reconnaissance Marine turned-Army Special Forces soldier with the 1st Special Forces Group was decorated with the Silver Star for his actions in Afghanistan when a dozen Taliban insurgents launched an attack on FOB Ghazni which claimed the life of one U.S. service member and wounded many more. Following the incident, a recommendation for the Medal of Honor was approved by the top commander of all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the current JSOC commander, and the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But ultimately the nation’s highest award for combat was denied by then-Army Secretary John McHugh and was pushed down to a Silver Star (the Distinguished Service Cross was also skipped over). Newly sworn Army Secretary Eric Fanning is expected to review the undervalued citation that led to Plumlee single-handedly killing at least five Taliban attackers and saving the lives of hundreds.
Read More about Plumlee, the 2013 attack, and his bravery: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/24/a-green-beret-was-denied-the-medal-of-honor-will-the-new-army-secretary-intervene/
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