Statement from Sean Parnell, chair of the Afghanistan withdrawal special review panel

The United States Marine Corps has upgraded the valor awards for Marines of Company G, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, who stood at Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021, following a recommendation from the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel and at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

A review determined several original awards had been inappropriately downgraded, and the decorations were raised to levels officials said more accurately reflect the extreme risk the Marines knowingly accepted and the lives they saved under direct enemy fire. Officials described the Marines as positioned in the direct blast zone with minimal cover, fully aware of an imminent suicide attack, yet holding their ground to keep evacuation operations running. Their actions were described as heroic, and the upgrades were characterized as correcting an injustice.

Under Secretary of War for Personnel & Readiness Anthony Tata and Senior Advisor Stu Scheller were credited with driving the effort to completion, with officials saying Scheller personally shepherded the process to ensure the Marines received due recognition.

Officials said the outcome illustrates the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel’s mission to examine the full record, identify where the system failed warfighters, and ensure accountability and fairness. They added that the Department of War, under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, is committed to ensuring valor is not diminished by bureaucratic or administrative shortcomings.

A message directed to the Marines of Company G and every service member who stood at Abbey Gate emphasized that their actions were seen, their sacrifice properly measured, and their valor now properly recognized. Officials said the panel will continue its broader work to ensure lessons from 2021 are learned and to avoid placing warfighters in positions where their courage is not fully honored, adding that they owe the American people, the families of the fallen, and every service member who served in Afghanistan the truth and the corrections that truth demands.