Ty Carter
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Ty Michael Carter (born January 25, 1980) is a retired
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
staff sergeant and a
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
recipient. He was awarded the United States Armed Forces' highest military honor for his actions during the 2009
Battle of Kamdesh The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the War in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghani ...
in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. Carter left active duty in September 2014.


Military career

left, Carter in 2010 Carter enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
October 13, 1998, and attended the Marine Corps Combat Engineer School. He later served in
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
, 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 San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administer ...
, California, and the other to Egypt, for
Operation Bright Star Exercise Bright Star is a series of biennial combined and joint military exercises led by the United States and Egypt. The exercises began in 1980, rooted in the 1977 Camp David Accords. After its signing, the United States Armed Forces and th ...
. Carter was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on 12 October 2002. After his enlistment, Carter enrolled in college and studied biology at Los Medanos Community College in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
where he met and began dating April Ait in early 2004. Ait 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
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. Carter enlisted in the United States Army in January 2008 as a
cavalry scout Cavalry Scout is the job title of someone who has achieved the military occupational specialty of 19D Armored Reconnaissance Specialist in the Combat Arms branch of the United States Army. As with all enlisted soldiers in the United States Caval ...
and received training at
Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...
, 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 The Stryker is a family of Eight-wheel drive, eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in L ...
gunner with the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at
Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
, Washington. He was deployed to Afghanistan a second time in October 2012 and was thereafter stationed at
Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
with the 7th Infantry Division. Carter works to destigmatize
posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
(PTSD), which he prefers to be called "PTS", as he does not believe it should be termed a disorder. Carter has suffered from this condition. He left active duty in September 2014.


Medal of Honor action

While on his first deployment in Afghanistan, Carter was stationed at Combat Outpost (COP) Keating in
Kamdesh District Kamdesh District (Kamdeish District, , ) is a district of Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan,Nuristan Province Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Pashto: ; Katë: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a ...
. On October 3, 2009, the outpost came under heavy attack and Carter, then a
specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...
, distinguished himself in what came to be known as the
Battle of Kamdesh The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the War in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghani ...
. According to the detailed Official Narrative from the United States Army, more than 300 enemy fighters attacked COP Keating from surrounding high ground before 6 a.m. Under intense fire, Carter carried ammunition 100 meters across open ground from near his barracks to a
Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of Military light utility vehicle, light, four-wheel drive Military vehicle#Military trucks, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It ...
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 30 meters of open space to provide life-extending first aid to a wounded soldier, exposed to enemy fire, then carrying him back across the 30 meters 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 Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
, and with a comrade carried the wounded soldier 100 meters 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 Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
presented Carter the Medal of Honor in a
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
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 stripes, three
Overseas Service Bar An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overse ...
s, as well as the Combat Service Identification Badge for the 4th Infantry Division and the
Distinctive Unit Insignia A distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is a metallic Heraldry, heraldic badge or device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit. DUIs may also be called "distinctive insignia" (D ...
of the 61st Cavalry Regiment. Carter's military decorations include the following awards:


Medal of Honor citation


Personal life

Carter was born in
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
, Washington, on January 25, 1980, to Mark and Paula Carter, 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 Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...
until he enlisted in the US Marine Corps. Carter married April Ait in 2004 and divorced in 2008, having one daughter, Madison (born 2005). He later married Shannon Derby in 2009 and divorced in 2015, having one daughter, Sehara (born January 2013). Carter is also the stepfather of Jayden Young, Shannon's son from a previous relationship. Carter dated Jennifer "Jenna" Adeo from 2016 until 2018. Carter and Adeo have one daughter, Eve (born April 2017). On July 13, 2000, his older brother, Seth Allen Carter (May 11, 1978 – July 13, 2000), was shot in the chest and killed by a drunk person, who was playing with a shotgun during a party in Spokane, Washington.


In popular culture

The film '' The Outpost'', released on July 3, 2020, and based on the book ''The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor'' by
Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show ''The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program ''State of ...
, follows the series of events on the US military outpost
Combat Outpost Keating Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. It was originally constructed to be a Provincial Reconstruction Team, called PRT Kamdesh, but due to extremely high levels of fighting in the area ...
in the lead up to the
Battle of Kamdesh The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the War in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghani ...
on October 3, 2009. In the film, Carter is portrayed by
Caleb Landry Jones Caleb Landry Jones (born December 7, 1989) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles as Banshee in '' X-Men: First Class'', Jeremy Armitage in ''Get Out'', and Red Welby in ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri''. His accolades ...
;
Scott Eastwood Scott Eastwood (born Scott Clinton Reeves; March 21, 1986) is an American actor and producer. The son of actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, he has starred in several of his father's films, including '' Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), '' Gran Tori ...
portrays
Clinton Romesha Clinton LaVor Romesha (; born August 17, 1981) is a retired United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009 during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan. Born ...
. Carter is featured in ''Medal of Honor'' Season 1, Episode 8''.''


See also

* List of post-Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients


References


External links

* Medal of Hono
"Official Narrative"
U.S. Army (detailed description of action) * Medal of Hono

26 August 2013
Speech after being awarded the Medal of Honor
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Ty 1980 births United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Living people People from Antioch, California Military personnel from Spokane, Washington United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Marines War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) recipients of the Medal of Honor Military personnel from Washington (state) Military personnel from California