Ty Carter Ty Michael Carter ( born January 1980 ) is a United States Army staff sergeant and recipient of the Medal of Honor , the United States of America ' s highest military honor , for his actions at the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan . Carter and Army Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry are the only Medal of Honor recipients in any branch of service still on active duty . Personal life . Carter was born in Spokane , Wash . , on January 25 , 1980 and moved to California ’ s Bay Area in 1981 . In 1991 , his family moved back to Spokane , where he graduated from North Central High School in 1998 . He later settled in Antioch , California . Military career . Carter enlisted in the U . S . Marine Corps October 13 , 1998 , and attended the Marine Corps Combat Engineer School . He later served in Okinawa , Japan , as an intelligence clerk . Carter showed promise in weapons ’ marksmanship and was sent to Primary Marksmanship Instructor School in 1999 . He served two short training deployments ; one to San Clemente Island , Calif . , and the other to Egypt , for Operation Bright Star . Carter was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on Oct . 12 , 2002 . After his enlistment , Carter enrolled in college and studied biology at Los Medanos Community College in California where he met and began dating April Ait in early 2004 . April soon became pregnant and they were married shortly thereafter . After the birth of their daughter Madison , some time traveling the United States , and subsequent divorce , Carter opted to join the U . S . Army . Carter enlisted in the U . S . Army in January 2008 as a cavalry scout and received training at Fort Knox , Kentucky . From May 2009 to May 2010 , he was deployed to Afghanistan with Bravo Troop , 3rd Squadron , 61st Cavalry Regiment , 4th Brigade Combat Team , 4th Infantry Division . In October 2010 , Carter was assigned as a Stryker gunner with the 8th Squadron , 1st Cavalry Regiment , 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team , 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis - McChord , Washington . He was deployed to Afghanistan a second time in October 2012 and was thereafter stationed at Joint Base Lewis - McChord with the 7th Infantry Division . Carter works to destigmatize posttraumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) , a condition from which he has suffered . Medal of Honor action . While on his first deployment in Afghanistan , Carter was stationed at Combat Outpost ( COP ) Keating in Kamdesh District , Nuristan Province . On October 3 , 2009 , the outpost came under heavy attack and Carter , then a specialist , distinguished himself in what came to be known as the Battle of Kamdesh . According to the detailed Official Narrative from the U . S . Army , more than 300 enemy fighters attacked COP Keating from surrounding high ground before 6 a . m . Under intense fire , Carter carried ammunition 100m across open ground from near his barracks to a Humvee at the south Battle Position , soon returning across the same distance to retrieve machine gun oil and more ammunition , and traverse that distance a third time to thus resupply the Battle Position . Though wounded within the first half hour of battle , Carter provided accurate fire under intense pressure to drive back enemy that had infiltrated the camp perimeter . He then crawled under continuing fire to another vehicle , and retrieved needed weapons and ammunition to bring back to the Battle Position . Carter crossed 30m of open space to provide life - extending first aid to a wounded soldier , exposed to enemy fire , then carrying him back across the 30m to the Humvee . As the battle progressed , Carter ran toward the tactical operations center ( TOC ) to coordinate reconnaissance and to obtain medical care for the wounded soldier , but , encountering the body of a fallen sergeant , found and retrieved a radio and returned to the Humvee . Carter found a litter , and with a comrade carried the wounded soldier 100m across the original distance to an aid station ; it was then about noon . The battle extended through nightfall when reinforcements could safely land by helicopter , by which time almost two - thirds of the 53 Coalition soldiers had been killed ( 8 ) or wounded ( > 25 ) . President Barack Obama awarded Carter with the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony on August 26 , 2013 . The following day , Carter was inducted into the Pentagon Hall of Heroes . Awards and decorations . During his military career , Carter received a number of decorations . Carter is authorized to wear two service stripe s , three Overseas Service Bar s , as well as the Combat Service Identification Badge for the 4th Infantry Division and the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 61st Cavalry Regiment . He also holds the Expert Infantryman Badge and one Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal . Carter ' s military decorations include the following awards :