Honoree, advocate Carter leaving Army

A Medal of Honor recipient who used his national renown to urge soldiers to get help for post-traumatic stress has separated from the Army, Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 7th Infantry Division announced Friday.

Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter, 34, chose to end his enlistment and pursue his life as a civilian, according to a spokesman for the division.

The division held a ceremony for Carter at Lewis-McChord on Friday, presenting him with end-of-service awards.

Carter received the Medal of Honor in August 2013 for the bravery he showed in an October 2009 battle in which a force of about 300 Afghan insurgents almost overwhelmed his unit at a combat outpost in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. Eight U.S. soldiers died in the fighting.

During the battle, Carter served with the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, Colorado. He returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a soldier in Lewis-McChord’s 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Carter grew up in Spokane and in the San Francisco Bay Area. He settled in Yelm with his wife and their three children.

Since he received the medal, Carter has been a visible advocate for soldiers. On Friday morning, he gave the keynote address at the Race for a Soldier breakfast in Gig Harbor.

He often gave speeches and interviews in which he encouraged people to drop the “D” from “PTSD.” It was his way of saying post-traumatic stress is a normal response to combat, not a disorder.