Why this Medal of Honor recipient is reenlisting after not serving for 15 years

In a rare move for the U.S.military, Medal of Honor recipient Sgt.

Dakota Meyer has reenlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve after 15 years out of uniform.Meyer says the decision comes from a deep sense of unfinished duty and a desire to inspire others to serve.“There’s never been a better time to serve our country than right now,” Meyer said Friday on “America’s Newsroom.” “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.”Meyer received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during a deadly 2009 battle in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.

Amid intense gunfire, he repeatedly drove into the combat zone in a Humvee to rescue fellow Marines and Afghans, saving dozens of lives.He was awarded the nation’s highest military honor by President Barack Obama in 2011.On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth administered the oath of enlistment during a ceremony at the Pentagon.

Meyer, now 36, re-enters service with the same rank he held on active duty, sergeant, and will serve as an infantryman in the reserves.“It hasn’t been a single day since I got out 15 years ago that I didn’t wake up and truly want to serve again,” Meyer said.“I didn’t want to do it because of the rank.

I didn’t want to do it for recognition.I just did it because the mission never left me.”Hegseth noted that Meyer didn’t request a public ceremony, but that his return to service deserved to be recognized.“I want the American people.

I want your fellow Marines.I want other service members to look at the example and say … you are never too experienced, you’ve never done too much that you can’t continue to contribute,” Hegseth said. “He’s not just signing up to sign up and be on a recruiting ...