Eight soldiers are being recognized for their quick actions during a mass shooting at Fort Stewart, Georgia — a ceremony that highlights both the courage of military personnel and the devastating reality of violence within the ranks.
On the morning of August 6, 2025, a former U.S. Army sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart, wounding five soldiers before fellow service members stepped in to stop him. More than a year after the shooting, Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve honored eight soldiers who either physically subdued the shooter or rendered life-saving first aid to the wounded.
What Happened That Morning
Sgt. Aaron Turner was among the first to realize something was wrong. He noticed a hoodie, then boots, then a weapon.
“That’s when I started taking action,”
Turner told reporters Thursday. Before the shooting began, Turner had recognized the gunman as a fellow soldier and tried to intervene,
“telling him that it’s not worth it.”
The shooter ignored him and kept moving.
Another soldier then rushed the assailant from behind, pulling the hoodie down over his eyes and yanking him back. Turner used that moment to disarm the shooter, clear the weapon of ammunition, and help restrain him until military police arrived.
The gunman, identified as Quornelius S. Radford, was a former automated logistics sergeant stationed at Fort Stewart. According to the Army, Radford drove onto the base with a loaded personal firearm following an argument with his fiancée. Fearing he was suicidal, his fiancée followed him onto the base. Radford shot a soldier in the parking lot, then entered his unit’s building complex and shot four more people. This past June, Radford confessed to the attack and was convicted of attempted murder by a military judge. He received six life sentences, to be served at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. All five victims testified in favor of the maximum sentence.
Awards Presented
Turner and Sgt. Michael Boron received the Soldier’s Medal — the Army’s highest award for heroism not involving direct combat with an enemy — for physically restraining the shooter and preventing further casualties. Turner serves as an automated logistical non-commissioned officer, and Boron is a combat medic and evacuation squad leader. Both are assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart.
Six additional soldiers — Capt. Shailesh Nakarmi, 1st Lt. Kendarious Nixon, Sgt. 1st Class Luis Garza, Staff Sgt. Jalen Davis, Staff Sgt. Raudy Javier, and Spc. Gavin Brebnor — were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for shielding others and assisting the wounded. Their occupational specialties ranged from logistics officers to heavy vehicle drivers to an ammunition stock control specialist. Some have since been assigned to other bases but returned to Fort Stewart for the ceremony.
Acting Secretary Telle addressed the crowd gathered in front of the 3rd Infantry Division’s headquarters, acknowledging that the response required more than training — it required genuine courage in a moment of crisis.
“We would all like to think that we’d do exactly what sergeants Turner and Boron did. We all like to think that, but they actually did [it],”
Telle said.
“It was heroic, and because of their speed, their discipline and their courage — no hesitation — not a single life was lost.”
It’s worth noting that Turner had already received a Meritorious Service Medal the day after the shooting, when then-Army Secretary Dan Driscoll honored five soldiers and Turner for their initial response. The Army later upgraded Turner’s recognition to the Soldier’s Medal.
The Human Toll
For Staff Sgt. Davis, who directed other soldiers away from danger as the attack unfolded, the experience has left a lasting mark.
“It’s definitely something that I think will stay with me for the rest of my life,”
he said, describing the event as “traumatic” — made more difficult by the fact that the shooter was a member of his own unit.
Lt. Col. Carlos Santos, who commanded the 703 Brigade Support Battalion during the shooting, said the unit has worked to recover through chaplain support, behavioral healthcare resources, and family readiness groups that helped the loved ones of injured soldiers. But he was candid about the broader impact.
“It affected me as well, from the battalion commander on down,”
he said, adding,
“we all need to recover.”
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