MEDAL OF HONOR

Nicholas Dockery was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Raised by his grandmother, Dockery graduated from St. John’s Military School in Salina, Kansas. After his application to West Point was rejected in 2004, he enlisted as an infantryman in the Indiana Army National Guard and was assigned to the 151st Long Range Surveillance Detachment (Airborne), 38th Infantry Division. He completed Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training for Infantry and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

In 2005, he transferred to the New Mexico Army National Guard and entered the Army ROTC Simultaneous Membership Program while attending the New Mexico Military Institute.

Dockery applied to the U.S. Military Academy for a second time and was accepted. Although he was offered a commission by the New Mexico Army National Guard, he turned it down in favor of attending West Point. He graduated in 2011, earning a Bachelor of Science and was commissioned into the infantry.

Then-2nd Lt. Dockery's first assignment in 2011 was to 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado. Upon completion of his infantry officer training and specialty schooling at Fort Benning, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the summer of 2012.

He served as a platoon leader in Kunar and Kapisa Provinces, among the most dangerous areas of the Afghanistan conflict. During this time, Dockery worked alongside Special Forces teams training and advising host nation forces, which left an indelible impact on him and solidified his desire to one day become a Green Beret. It was during this deployment where Dockery’s selfless actions as a platoon leader earned him a Silver Star that would be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

In 2014, he deployed again to Afghanistan as a company executive officer in Zabul Province, where he oversaw base defense operations. He later assumed duties as the assistant battalion S4 logistics officer and served as a security force advisor to a kandak, an Afghan military battalion sized element, of the 205th Corps during the country's first Afghan-led presidential election.

In 2015, Dockery, now a captain, was selected for and successfully completed the Special Forces Assessment and Selection program. Upon completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course, he was awarded the green beret and the Special Forces Tab and assigned to 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. There, he took command of Operational Detachment Alpha 744, a military free-fall infiltration team.

Dockery was the 2017 recipient of the USMA Alexander R. Nininger Award for Valor at Arms. The award, presented to a recent graduate on active duty who has shown tremendous heroic action in battle, was presented to Dockery for his actions during his 2012 deployment in Afghanistan.

In 2018, ODA 744 deployed in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel and the Resolute Support Mission. During this deployment, Dockery advised the 5th Special Operations Kandak Commandos and the 24N Afghan Special Forces Company, conducting ground force clearing operations across Balkh, Faryab and Jowzjan Provinces. The unit served as the only autonomous and capable ground assault force in the region. During this deployment, Dockery was awarded his second Silver Star for the Battle of Faryab Province — making him the only commissioned Army officer to receive the Silver Star twice since Sept. 11, 2001.

In early 2019, Dockery led a small pilot team to expand training programs and resources in Heredia, Costa Rica, and furthered bilateral operations and training programs with Colombian counterparts in Bogotá.

Later in 2019, he assumed company command of the Group Headquarters and Headquarters Company elements and whose responsibilities expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, managing global group support for hundreds of deployed service members participating in international operations.

In 2020, he received the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, given to the top one percent of company grade officers in the Army and selected through U.S. Special Operations Command.

In 2022, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the commanding general of the 1st Special Forces Command and named the Military Times Foundation Soldier of the Year.

He was selected for promotion to the rank of major in 2023. Dockery was also selected as a General Wayne Downing Scholar in 2023 and received his Master of Public Policy from Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs.

He later held a post-graduate research fellowship with the U.S. Military Academy’s Modern War Institute, writing about the Chinese Communist Party’s use of fentanyl as a form of asymmetric warfare against the United States and Western nations. The piece was subsequently selected by the West Point Press and published as an anthology.

In 2024, Dockery was selected for the highly competitive White House Fellows Program within the Executive Office of the President and was initially assigned to the Director of the Office of Homeland Security at the National Security Council. He was later assigned to the Office of the First Lady’s Joining Forces initiative.

In 2025, he received the Ben Franklin Global Forum Adm. Charles LeMoyne Distinguished Soldier Award and began pursuing his Master of Business Administration at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he is expected to graduate in 2027 with a concentration in quantitative finance.

Dockery’s final assignment was within the Special Operations Command’s Pentagon unit. He retired from active service in May 2026. His military awards include the Medal of Honor, Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit, Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters and Purple Heart with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.

Recognizing the hidden injuries of post-traumatic stress and benefiting from alternative therapies such as art and equine therapy, he founded the Nicholas Dockery Foundation in 2025. The foundation supports local art and equine therapy programs with additional funding for those struggling with mental and emotional health challenges.

2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment

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Then-2nd Lt. Nicholas Dockery distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifle platoon leader with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On the morning of Oct. 2, 2012, Dockery’s platoon left Forward Operating Base Tagab in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan, to provide security for a meeting between U.S. and Afghan leaders. The enemy presence in the area consisted of an estimated 150 Taliban fighters split between two valleys. As the meeting ended, approximately two squads of Taliban fighters emerged from a mosque armed with crew-served weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles.

The Taliban fighters concentrated their fire on several Afghan National Army and National Police units, fixing them in place.

Without regard for his own safety, Dockery dismounted his vehicle and moved through the engagement area under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire to support the Afghan forces. As he directed fire on the enemy, he reestablished communications with his command, who gave him guidance to eliminate the hostile threat. The maze of building structures prevented support from vehicles or aerial assets, forcing Dockery to formulate an audacious plan to enter the village.

As Dockery cleared the way to secure the outer cordon of the village, one team of five U.S. Soldiers came under heavy fire from Taliban fighters to the northeast. The team fought across open terrain and forced the remaining enemy inside a compound. Dockery then maneuvered back across 250 meters of open terrain into the village to seek reinforcements.

Early in the fight, Taliban fighters attacked his forward element, critically wounding one Soldier. The heavy volume of fire divided the team in half and forced three Soldiers into the compound for immediate cover. Once inside, the Soldiers discovered seven Taliban fighters within the compound. Surrounded and outnumbered, the Soldiers radioed for support.

Dockery followed the sound of the gunfire and ran through enemy machine-gun fire, leading reinforcements to the compound. Once inside, he ensured the wounded were stable and orchestrated a plan to clear the enemy from the compound. He led a team in breaching six rooms inside the multilevel compound.

During the assault, Dockery’s team killed one enemy, uncovered bomb-making material and detained an additional two enemies hiding in the last room. As he cleared the south section, his element came under intense fire. The Taliban fighters began tossing fragmentation grenades over the walls.

One grenade landed in front of Dockery and another Soldier. Dockery shoved his fellow comrade behind cover before it exploded, saving the Soldier from wounds or death.

Dockery’s element then came under heavy Taliban machine-gun fire positioned less than 15 feet away. Dockery exposed himself and provided suppressive fire, which allowed another Soldier to neutralize the enemy with a hand grenade. Dockery continued to lead the element forward to flank the enemy. As they breached a barricaded gate, seven enemy fighters ambushed them from 40 feet away. As the enemy attacked with greater ferocity, Dockery directed the fight until a rocket-propelled grenade destroyed their remaining cover.

Disoriented and vomiting as a result of the blast, Dockery made it to cover only to realize two of his Soldiers were missing. Without regard to the ongoing fire or the close proximity of the enemy, Dockery moved back into the alley to search for his missing comrades. He picked one wounded Soldier up and moved him back from the gunfire. He spotted two enemy fighters moving toward the second Soldier, who lay motionless in the middle of an alley.

Dockery sprinted forward, returning fire and killing the enemy. As Dockery picked up the Soldier to bring him to safety, he dislocated his own shoulder. At that point, he realized the Soldier was not breathing. Dockery began administering aid, which saved the Soldier’s life. At the same time, he directed his forward observer to call in an 81-mm mortar fire mission. As the rounds impacted, Dockery shielded the wounded Soldier with his own body.

The U.S. element also attempted to call in rotary-wing assets. However, the high canopy prevented pilots from differentiating friendly from enemy forces. Dockery left the safety of cover and used a grenade launcher to mark the enemy location for Kiowa helicopters to engage with rockets. Seeing two enemy fighters attempting to reenter the building, he shot and neutralized them with the grenade launcher.

Aerial assets continued to have difficulty verifying the location of friendly elements. Dockery ran past an unexploded enemy grenade and climbed onto a roof to mark their location with colored smoke, allowing Kiowa helicopters to identify them. The colored smoke attracted heavy rifle and machine-gun fire from the enemy. With only a 2-foot wall for cover, Dockery held the rooftop for over 30 minutes and fixed the enemy in place.

During the exfiltration, his team again came under heavy fire. Dockery voluntarily stayed behind to provide covering fire, allowing the wounded to move across an open field. As the enemy closed in on their location, he volunteered to stay behind again to ensure the wounded made it safely back to the casualty evacuation point. Moving about the battlefield, he directed the Afghan army soldiers to fire five rocket-propelled grenades at the enemy, halting their final attack.

Dockery did not leave the village until all the wounded were safely in a vehicle. Over the course of four hours, Dockery’s unwavering courage, selflessness and aggressive leadership under extreme enemy fire were instrumental in the confirmed deaths of at least a team-sized element of Taliban fighters. Dockery’s ability to repel multiple enemy attacks was the deciding factor that saved the lives of his fellow American and Afghan soldiers on the ground. His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism, valor, intrepidity and gallantry, and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.