The West Point Association of Graduates is pleased to announce that MAJ William Eberle, Class of 2004, has been selected to receive the 2026 Alexander R. Nininger Award for Valor at Arms, which will be presented at West Point on November 19. The Nininger Award, named in honor of 1LT Alexander R. “Sandy” Nininger Jr. ’41, the first recipient of the Medal of Honor in World War II, is presented annually to a graduate who is an exemplar of heroic action in battle. On December 2, 2012, Eberle—then a captain serving as a Special Operations detachment commander for Special Forces-Alpha 3132, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Special Operations Task Force-East—led his detachment against enemy insurgents who had breached Jalalabad Airfield in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Consistently exposed to enemy small-arms fire, hand grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades, Eberle conducted a rescue of injured U.S. and Afghan personnel and coordinated air assets in support of a ground force completing a sweep of the area outside the compound. According to the citation for his Distinguished Service Cross, which he received for his actions that day, “Captain Eberle’s actions throughout the fight helped save the lives of multiple coalition and Afghan personnel and prevented Jalalabad Airfield from being overrun by insurgent forces.” After a decade of active-duty service, Eberle transitioned to the State Department as a foreign service officer. He continues his military service today as a Reservist.