JUNE 24, 2025 — Two U.S. Army Soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Robert “Bobby” A. Haran and Staff Sgt. John C. Pinnock, both assigned to 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), were awarded the Soldier’s Medal during a ceremony on Fort Carson, May 28, 2025. Both “Originals,” as members of 10th Group are known, demonstrated uncommon valor in separate harrowing situations, ultimately preserving lives.
Col. Justin Hufnagel, commander of 10th SFG(A), presided over the ceremony, while Maj. Gen. Lawrence Ferguson, commanding general of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), delivered remarks and presented the prestigious awards.
Before presenting the medals, both Ferguson and Hufnagel addressed the assembled crowd.
“When America looks at our formations, we want them to see the best of themselves,” Ferguson said. “That is what we got here today, and that is why we are here.”
The Soldier’s Medal, established by an Act of Congress on July 2, 1925, is the nation’s highest peacetime award for heroism not involving direct contact with an enemy. It recognizes distinguished individual acts of heroism on behalf of fellow soldiers or civilians.
“We have the opportunity to honor two phenomenal NCOs whose actions exemplify the highest values of this group and Special Forces Command,” Hufnagel said. “Less than 300 people in the active force are wearing the Soldier’s Medal today, and we’re proud to include two Originals to their ranks.”
Every Soldier’s Medal tells a unique story of courage in the face of unforeseen danger. Far from traditional battlefields, these prestigious awards recognize individual acts of heroism where service members demonstrate extraordinary bravery, often putting their own lives at risk.
On December 14, 2023, Staff Sgt. Pinnock was on a family cruise vacation with a Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in Labadee, Haiti. As he walked on the pier with his brother, he noticed 77-year-old Michael White, from Orlando, Florida, driving a mobility scooter dangerously close to the edge of the dock.
“I thought this man would correct his course,” Pinnock said. “But before I could say anything, I realized the man was driving off of the pier.”
The scooter plunged about 10 feet into the gap between the ship and the pier. Without hesitation, Pinnock ran to White, touching his shoulder just as he fell, then quickly jumped into the narrow space. Pinnock immediately reached around White’s neck and under his left arm, treading water with him.
“I had this sense despair and complete hopelessness,” White said. “And suddenly Connor popped up beside me, grabbed me and said, ‘Hello sir, this is Sgt. Pinnock from the United States Army; I’ve got you.’”
Cruise ship employees and Pinnock’s brother quickly reacted, extending help from the pier before throwing an innertube down to them. Pinnock held onto both White and the innertube. When attempts to pull them up by rope proved difficult due to White’s injuries, Pinnock instructed them to stop. An additional innertube, without a rope, was then thrown down.
As Pinnock tried to place an innertube over White’s head, White revealed his shoulder was broken, making arm maneuverability impossible. Pinnock’s brother and the employees on the pier then directed them to swim a short distance to a nearby buoy with a chain running into the water. However, upon reaching it, Pinnock realized the chain offered no means of exit.
“Connor shouted, ‘This ain’t working, this ain’t working,'” White said. “Connor is strong; he could have swum the entire length of this ship without a problem, but I could tell he was getting tired, but he refused to leave me.”
A jet ski operator and a rescue swimmer with a floating buoy soon arrived. The rescue swimmer and Pinnock worked together to turn White onto his back and onto the rescue mat. Pinnock then pushed White further onto the mat to ensure he remained in a stable position.
After securing White, the jet ski operator instructed Pinnock to get off the personal watercraft, likely due to concerns about the combined weight. Pinnock re-entered the water beneath the pier, where the rescue swimmer assisted him in swimming out from under the structure. The rescue swimmer asked Pinnock if White was a family member.
“No,” Pinnock replied. “I just tried to help him.”
On May 6, 2023, Sgt. 1st Class Haran and a teammate from the Special Operations Mountain Warfare Training Center, Advanced Skills Company, reached the 14,023-foot summit of Wilson Peak near Telluride, Colorado. During their ski descent, his teammate attempted a kick turn to reverse direction, but his lead ski hit a rock, ejecting him from his binding and causing him to fall uncontrollably over 2,000 vertical feet.
Haran made the critical decision to descend the mountain’s steepest and most hazardous part on foot rather than attempting to ski it, which would have been slower and much riskier. Just before Haran reached a narrow, gully-like channel known as a couloir, his teammate contacted him via a two-way radio, confirming he was injured but conscious and in a relatively safe location.
Placing himself in significant peril and disregarding his safety, Haran used mountaineering crampons — spiked attachments on his boots — and an ice axe to maintain a grip on the near-vertical face. He moved methodically to avoid triggering an avalanche. Because he was now alone and had to cover 2,200 vertical feet as quickly as possible, using a rope for protection during the descent was not an option. Similarly, attempting to ski the planned route solo through the couloir carried an extreme risk of releasing additional avalanches or rockfall onto his teammate’s still-unknown position.
As he descended, Haran retrieved both of his teammate’s skis and poles, planning to use them as a makeshift litter if his teammate couldn’t walk. Upon reaching his teammate, Haran began assessing him for cold weather injuries and trauma.
“When Bobby reached his teammate he immediately assessed that his teammate had sustained life-threatening injuries,” said Haran’s noncommissioned officer in charge. “His teammate had a broken sternum, broken hip, broken shoulder, a tibia, a fibula, he had internal bleeding, he had a torn aorta in his heart, a torn lower intestine, and to top that off, he was in the first stages of hypothermia.”
Given the severe nature of his teammate’s injuries and the unknown extent of his internal wounds, Haran immediately activated his emergency satellite device to initiate a casualty evacuation. He directly communicated with the San Miguel Search and Rescue team leader, who confirmed a helicopter evacuation was possible. Haran then carefully moved his injured teammate several hundred feet further down to a flat area suitable for a helicopter landing zone.
The rescue helicopter arrived in approximately two hours. After initial assessments, the SAR team decided to airlift the injured teammate to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. Once the casualty was safely evacuated, Haran skied the remainder of the mountain back to the trailhead.
“Bobby, without a doubt, is the only individual that comes to mind that could have performed the way he did that day,” Haran’s NCOIC concluded. “Because of all his training, perseverance, and wherewithal, it resulted in him saving his teammate’s life.”
Both Staff Sgt. Pinnock and Sgt. 1st Class Haran exemplify the highest ideals of the U.S. Army, demonstrating extraordinary courage and unwavering commitment to the safety of others, whether in the line of duty or as private citizens. Their actions serve as powerful reminders of the selfless service ingrained in every Soldier.
By Staff Sgt. Michael Wood