Soldier of the Year 2022 – Maj. Nicholas Dockery

Maj. Nicholas Dockery is nothing short of a rock star. The former infantry officer received the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award in 2020, an honor reserved for the service’s top company-grade officers. Dockery also received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his work to help foster children. But that isn’t anything compared to the two Purple Heart medals, and two of his other awards bear “C” devices that denote they were received for performance under combat conditions. According to Defense Department records, Dockery is the sole Army officer and one of only two U.S. officers to receive two Silver Stars for gallantry in the post-9/11 era. Dockery received the West Point Association of Graduates’ Alexander Nininger Award for Valor at Arms in 2017, as well.

All this made him the Military Times Foundation choice for 2022 Soldier of the Year.