Britt Kelly Slabinski (born December 1, 1969) is a retired United States

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

on May 24, 2018, for his actions during the

Battle of Takur Ghar The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and al-Qaeda insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan. For the U.S. side, the battle proved ...

. He also participated in the highly publicized rescue mission to recover Army PFC

Jessica Lynch Jessica Dawn Lynch (born April 26, 1983) is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class. On March 23, 2003, she was serving as a unit supply specialist w ...

Early life

Slabinski is from

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

. He earned the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

at age 14 on March 9, 1984.

Military career

Upon graduation from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in 1988, Slabinski enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He attended boot camp in Orlando, Florida. Upon completion, he received orders to attend Radioman Class "A" School in San Diego, California. There, he trained on the basics of naval communications, graduating in spring 1989. He qualified and was accepted into Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The base, situated on the Silver Strand, between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, sup ...

. Slabinski graduated with BUD/S class 164 in January 1990. Following SEAL Tactical Training (STT) and completion of six month probationary period, he received the NEC 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the

Special Warfare Insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

President Trump Awards Medal of Honor to Retired Navy SEAL for Heroic Actions in Afghanistan 180524-N-N0101-210

Slabinski's operational assignments include SEAL Team FOUR, 1990 to 1993;

Naval Special Warfare Development Group The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

(NSWDG), 1993 to 2006; and Command Master Chief of Naval Special Warfare Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron TWO, 2006 to 2008. He was the Senior Enlisted Advisor of the

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

, Washington, DC Office, 2008 to 2010 and Command Master Chief, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO, 2010 to 2012. Slabinski has completed nine overseas deployments and 15 combat deployments in support of the

Global War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, including Operations

Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and

Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. He retired in June 2014 as the Director of Naval Special Warfare Safety Assurance and Analysis Program after more than 25 years of service.

Awards and decorations

*Six gold

Service stripe A service stripe is an embroidered diagonal stripe worn on the sleeve(s) of some military and paramilitary uniforms. In the case of the United States military, service stripes are authorized for wear by enlisted personnel on the lower part of the ...

Medal of Honor citation

The March 2002 ambush that resulted in Slabinski's heroic actions (now known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge) was described as one of the most savage and controversial battles of the Afghan war. The Medal of Honor awarded Slabinski is an upgrade from the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

award he previously received. In 2018, for his heroism during the same battle, TSgt John Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (he was "the one teammate hostarted moving uphill toward an enemy strongpoint").

Personal life

Slabinski has an Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic National Certification. He is self-employed as a corporate consultant. He has one son, Bryce (born 1996), who is also an Eagle Scout and Ohio State graduate. Slabinski appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of the

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...

's magazine ''Hallowed Ground,'' writing about his visit to the

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park is a unit of the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and elsewhere in Spotsylvania County, commemorating four major battles in the American Civil War: Fredericksburg, Chancel ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slabinski, Britt K. 1969 births United States Navy personnel of the Iraq War Living people Military personnel from Massachusetts People from Northampton, Massachusetts Recipients of the Navy and Marine Corps Medal United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients United States Navy SEALs personnel War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Navy sailors