Army honors 8 Fort Stewart soldiers for response to August 2025 shooting

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WTOC)— The Army honored eight Fort Stewart soldiers Thursday for acts of heroism, selflessness and quick thinking after a soldier shot five people on base on Aug. 6, 2025. Fortunately, no one died in the shooting.

Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Christopher LaNeve presented the awards. According to the Army., Sgt. Aaron Turner and Sgt. Michael Boron received the Soldier’s Medal. Six other soldiers received the Meritorious Service Medal.

Acting secretary speaks at ceremony

Telle said the strength of the Army comes from its soldiers.

“Our greatest strength as an Army has never been our tanks or our helicopters or our missiles,” Telle said. “The strength of our Army is the heart and the discipline and the character of our soldiers, all of you.”

Telle said the strength of the Army also comes from the families who support the soldiers and from the American people.

“Thank you for showing our nation what it truly means to be a dog-faced soldier,” Telle said.

What happened Aug. 6, 2025

According to the Army, soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division responded to an active shooter in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area at Fort Stewart on Aug. 6, 2025. At about 10:50 a.m., an armed soldier opened fire outside and inside a 703rd Brigade Support Battalion facility, the Army said.

Five people were wounded: four soldiers and one civilian, according to the Army. Soldiers at the scene tackled, disarmed and restrained the shooter before military police arrived.

Other soldiers moved personnel into protected spaces, helped wounded teammates reach safety and provided emergency care, according to the Army. Combat medics established an emergency triage point. The installation implemented a lockdown, and injured personnel were transported to medical facilities.

The Army said the actions of the soldiers helped prevent additional casualties.

Soldier’s Medal and Meritorious Service Medal

The Soldier’s Medal is awarded for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy, according to the Army. Turner and Boron were recognized for confronting and physically restraining the shooter, the Army said.

Turner received a Meritorious Service Medal on Aug. 7, 2025, for his actions during the shooting, according to the Army. The Soldier’s Medal presented Thursday is an upgrade of that award.

The Meritorious Service Medal recipients were Capt. Shailesh Nakarmi, 1st Lt. Kendarious Nixon, Sgt. 1st Class Luis Garza, Staff Sgt. Jalen Davis, Staff Sgt. Raudy Javier and Spc. Gavin Brebnor.

The Army said they were recognized for actions that included shielding soldiers from danger, assisting the wounded and providing emergency medical treatment.

The Army said the six recipients served in logistics, transportation, medical and ammunition specialties. They are a separate group from the August 2025 presentation, the Army said.

Orders read at ceremony

Orders read at the ceremony cited the Meritorious Service Medal recipients for “exceptional and meritorious heroic actions while responding to an active shooter incident and life-threatening emergency on 6 August 2025.”

According to the orders, Nakarmi secured soldiers within his office, then left the protected area to locate 1st Sgt. Jeter and provide life-saving assistance. Nixon barricaded soldiers within an office, then rendered aid while assisting in the evacuation of Jeter and Staff Sgt. Friends.

The orders said Garza placed himself between Jeter and the shooter, shielding a fellow soldier and sustaining a gunshot wound to the chest himself. Garza barricaded the door and forced the shooter out.

The orders said Javier was the first soldier to locate Friends and immediately began rendering aid, continuing care until additional assistance arrived.

Brebnor immediately rendered aid to Friends and assisted in providing critical care to other wounded soldiers.

Battalion commander describes ceremony

Lt. Col. Carlos Sanford, commander of the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion said “Today is a special day. I think it’s over a year that this has happened. And this provides closure for these soldiers and 703rd BSB. Today really gives us a chance to reflect and honor everything they did that day and thank them for what they did on that tragic day that happened.”

Sanford said he could speak only for his battalion about whether the ceremony had brought unity.

“This is absolutely a good thing,” Sanford said. “It has brought us together as we’ve been reflecting over this incident for the past year.”

Sanford thanked the 3rd Infantry Division leadership and the community for their support.

“It’s a continual process. I mean, healing takes a long time,” Sanford said.

Soldiers describe their actions

Davis said he and others were alerted that there was an active shooter. He said he helped as many people as he could get out of the supply support activity where they work and move them to safety.

“Once I realized there was still more personnel inside of the building, I ran back over there with Sergeant [Boron], and he tackled the shooter,” Davis said. “And then I got the clip, and Sergeant Turner held the weapon until the MPs came.”

Davis described his thinking during the shooting.

“The adrenaline was very high. I was just thinking about the soldiers and the NCOs that needed to be brought to safety. It was just second nature, just trying to help everyone,” Davis said.

Davis said the event brought soldiers closer.

“It was a tragic event, but I think in the end it brought us all closer together,” Davis said.

Most soldiers would say any soldier would have stepped in to do what they did in August 2025.

Boron said he ran after the shooter and helped restrain him.

“I ran after the shooter, unaware that he had already shot people, and then helped restrain him,” Boron said.

Asked about his emotions at the time, Boron said, “Fear.” Asked about the day now, he said, “Glad that nobody got killed.”

Turner said he worked with Boron to disarm the shooter. Turner said he then checked on the victims and gave the battalion commander a situation report.

Turner said his focus during the incident was his training.

“It’s an honor, especially for that medal alone. It ends up representing the personnel affected, but at the same time, technically the highest non-combat award, like the Medal of Honor. So it’s definitely a privilege,” Turner said.

Rep. Carter statement

Rep. Buddy Carter issued a statement about the ceremony.

“On one of Fort Stewart’s darkest days, America witnessed heroism our soldiers embody every day in service to our nation at home and abroad. These men and women weren’t thinking about medals or recognition. They were thinking about the person standing next to them. And because of their courage, five wounded soldiers went home to their families,” Carter said. “One of the greatest honors of my life is representing the thousands of service members and military families who call Southeast Georgia home. They’re our neighbors, our friends, and the backbone of our communities. I will forever be grateful to every single member of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make to protect this great nation.”

Shooter convicted

The Army identified the shooter as Quornelius S. Radford. He was convicted at court-martial on June 18, 2026, and sentenced on June 23, 2026, to six consecutive life sentences with eligibility for parole, among other punishments, according to the Army.

Army leaders and the 3rd Infantry Division said they are honored to recognize the soldiers who stepped in when others needed them most, protecting one another.