Nicholas “Nick” Dockery, a former St. John’s Military School cadet with ties to Salina, is set to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor.

The honor stems from Dockery’s actions on Oct. 2, 2012, while serving in Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Army. Federal records show Congress passed the Nicholas Dockery Medal of Honor Act, authorizing the president to award him the Medal of Honor for acts of valor during that deployment. The same legislation notes Dockery had previously received the Silver Star for those actions.

Dockery’s connection to Salina dates back to his time at the former St. John’s Military School, which operated for more than a century in north Salina before closing in 2019. School publications from 2003 list Nick Dockery among the top academic honorees in the graduating class and identify him as a cadet major. A later St. John’s publication described him as Battalion Executive Officer of the school’s 115th Corps of Cadets.

After St. John’s, Dockery went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2011. His military career included service as an infantry officer, Special Forces officer, and leader with the 7th Special Forces Group.

According to public congressional records and military reporting, Dockery was serving as a rifle platoon leader in Afghanistan when his unit came under attack. Accounts of the battle describe Dockery moving under enemy fire, helping rally friendly forces, and risking his life to protect and aid fellow soldiers.

The U.S. Army previously recognized Dockery’s actions with the Silver Star. In 2017, he also received the Alexander R. Nininger Award for Valor at Arms from the West Point Association of Graduates, an honor given to a recent West Point graduate on active duty who demonstrated heroic action in battle.

Dockery was later named to the Military Times Foundation’s 2022 Service Members of the Year list. Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, where Dockery studied as a graduate student and Downing Scholar, described him as an active-duty Special Forces officer who had deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom Sentinel.

For Salina, the recognition carries a local historical note. Dockery’s path included years at St. John’s Military School, an institution that shaped generations of cadets before its closure. His Medal of Honor recognition now places a former St. John’s cadet among the most highly decorated service members in the country.