U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota Meyer, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, recently reenlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps.
According to a recent U.S. Marine Corps press release, Meyer served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010. The press release noted that Meyer was deployed twice to the Middle East prior to his honorable discharge in 2010.
The Department of Defense reported that Meyer was awarded the Medal of Honor for “acts of extraordinary heroism” during the Battle of Ganjgal in Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009. The department said Meyer “repeatedly entered an ambush zone under heavy enemy fire to rescue wounded comrades and recover the bodies of fallen service members.” As a result of Meyer’s actions, 36 lives were saved during the battle, according to the Department of Defense.
“I believe the Marine Corps is, hands down, the best institution on the planet,” Meyer said in last week’s press release.
The Marine Corps press release explained that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth administered Meyer’s oath of enlistment during a ceremony at the Pentagon last Thursday. According to the press release, the 36-year-old Medal of Honor recipient will re-enter the service as a sergeant and will be an infantryman in the reserves.
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“I think it’s great that leadership from even the highest levels came out to work out with us,” U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Brian Ruiz said. “Hearing that [Sgt. Meyer] is reenlisting is super motivating. He has so much experience and so much to say. It’s great.”
Asked about his decision to reenlist in the Marine Corps, Meyer pointed to a conversation he had with a Marine sergeant at a noncommissioned officer course. The sergeant asked Meyer if he should reenlist in the Marines, prompting the Medal of Honor recipient to say, “Absolutely.” Meyer later asked himself, “How could I ask them to continue to serve and sacrifice without doing it myself?”
During a Friday appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” show, Meyer said, “There’s never been a better time to serve our country than right now.”
Meyer added, “There’s never been a need, like we need right now, of good men and women who are willing to stand up and who are willing defend the beliefs of the American people, of the Constitution, and to protect all of those things against whatever enemy that is willing to try to step up and to try and threaten that.”
