Fact Check: Has Gen. Mark Milley Ever Served in Combat?

Posts claiming he hasn’t are false.

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Gen. Mark Milley speaks to the media after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on January 20, 2023, in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

Photos of Gen. Mark A. Milley circulating online have captions questioning his military record. Multiple social media posts feature an image of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the caption, “Can someone explain to me how a man who never served in combat and never won a war has THIS many medals on his uniform?” 

The claim is false. Milley, who has been chairman of the Joint Chiefs since 2019 (making him the highest ranking U.S. military officer), has served in the U.S. Army for more than 42 years and has an extensive combat record, according to the Army:

He brings with him an extensive background of combat experience having deployed in support of numerous operational assignments including: Multinational Force and Observers Sinai in Egypt, Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

He’s also been deployed to Somalia and Colombia, according to his Department of Defense biography.

The photo on his Department of Defense biography page shows him wearing several medals awarded only to service members who have been engaged in active combat, including the Combat Infantryman Badge (on the top left side of Milley’s uniform). The eligibility requirements for the Combat Infantryman Badge, according to the Code of Federal Regulations, are: being an infantry soldier, being assigned to an infantry unit while it’s engaged in active combat, and participating in that combat.

Also visible on Milley’s uniform is an Army Meritorious Unit Commendation, “awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during a period of military operations against an armed enemy on or after January 1, 1944.” 

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Comments (17)
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  1. GregL

    I am less concerned about his past service record...I am more concerned with his squishiness on Russia's war with Ukraine. The administration has been behind the curve in supplying weapons and refusing some needed systems (F-16s, ATACMS for example). Is Squishy Milley behind this? He seems to have a difficult time defining what "Winning" means in this conflict.

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    Witt Case

    People actually question his record? His record was a huge selling point for a lot of people, just like how we supported McMaster and Mattis for similar reasons.

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  3. James De Furio

    Seeing the plethora of medals on Milley's chest signifying his "support" of "operational assignments" reminds me of the shelves full of "participation trophies" my kids have collected over the years.

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    1. Bstarr

      In what world are "participation trophies" a thing. I have 1 16 year old and a 13 year old who have played an endless amount of team sports and other than some popsicles at age 6 we have never seen participation trophies.

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    Retired Prosecutor

    Anyone who looks at Milley's decorations can see the CIB. (Combat Infantryman's Badge) You don't earn that unless you have "contact" with an enemy.

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    George.Skinner

    Looking at General Milley’s ribbons, and you can come away with a couple of conclusions:

    First, the US military tends to award a lot more ribbons than other militaries (though nothing compared to Communist generals weighted down with rows of sparkly stuff at ceremonial occasions.)

    Second, the US military has been seeing a lot of action over the past few decades. One of the more coherent populist critiques has been that the US fights too many wars - the fact that Milley has seen action a number of times could be evidence to support that. However, rather than make a nuanced point grounded in the facts, they decided they’d rather smear the man with a stupid lie.

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    1. James B. Ronan

      The United States has been generous with decorations and awards since 1905. However, medals are made for an instant resume of service. To quote from Once an Eagle, "...all that a soldier is he wears on his shoulders and above his heart."

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  6. DTruitt

    Actually, Eisenhower had a rather limited experience in combat. In World War Two, he served primarily in administrative and staff roles, not field command. Between the world wars he served mostly in staff positions, including service on staff for Gen. MacArthur. In World War One he served stateside in a training command.

    In his role as supreme commander allied forces in Europe he saw no direct combat action but was engaged mainly in planning and coordination of the allied forces. He was known primarily as a “politician” amongst senior military leaders.

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    1. J_D_H

      Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Eisenhower ever served in combat. He sought to serve in combat during World War I and at the start of World War II, but the Army had other plans for him. This was fortunate because Eisenhower was a fantastic general and was a blessing for allied forces during World War II.

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        Manleys

        He never served in combat an was almost not commissioned after graduation for a knee injury he got playing football at West Point.

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  7. Kgfroehle

    I'm not a MAGA arguing that he's not deserving of them, but simply noting his "support" in various operations, then quoting the official requirements for the medals, does not prove that he actually merited them.

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    1. Steve Barton

      The CIB has not been degraded by passing them out willy-nilly. At times in the past that has seemed to be the case for some medals of valor. You can trust that a guy wearing a CIB has been in the shit.

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      1. Kgfroehle

        Fair enough. I know next to nothing about how they are parceled out. I was merely commenting on the "logic" of the claims, if you will.

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        1. Steve Barton

          Anyway, three-quarters of those rows are service ribbons which are given for either being in the military during a specific conflict period or being in the conflict theater during the conflict period. There were not as many of those in the past.

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          1. Steve Barton

            Having written something without looking, I can now tell you that the bottom 4 rows, 12 ribbons, are the service ribbons. Some of those come with a matching service medal. The top 4 rows, 8 ribbons, represent his awards or medals (for achievement, commendation, meritorious service, distinguished service and more). He has 4 Bronze Stars (one ribbon with 3 oak leaf clusters) which are awarded for valor (if there is a V device but not here) or meritorious service in a combat zone. All the best!

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  8. Hikingguy

    Crazed MAGAs lie like most of us breathe. All the time. Unconsciously. Behold yet one more of a gazillion examples.

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      Wilhelm

      Does mindless reposting constitute a lie?

      It's certainly irresponsible. It's unquestionably lazy. But it's not a deliberate telling of something untrue. It's just a self-own -- what an odd term, that -- that many never know has happened.

      This is not a defense, BTW. Just an observation.

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