German Army Lt. Col. Thomas Cremer pins the Medal of Honor of the German Armed Forces on U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Thompson during a ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. Thompson, chief instructor at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, was honored for relaunching U.S.-German training exchanges after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — An American soldier who relaunched important U.S.-German training exchanges following the COVID-19 pandemic was awarded Germany’s highest noncombat medal for exemplary service, German army officials said.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael Thompson, chief instructor at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, received the Medal of Honor of the German Armed Forces on Thursday from German Lt. Col. Thomas Cremer during the academy’s September graduation ceremony.
The academy serves Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It is the oldest in the Army and the only one on the Continent. It hosts a number of exchanges throughout the year with the German army’s NCO academy in Delitzsch, about 15 miles north of Leipzig.
It is rare for an American soldier to receive the German army’s third-highest medal, said German Capt. Marc Meissner, an operations officer at the Delitzsch school.
The process took over a year and had to be personally approved by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, according to Meissner.
Noncommissioned officers from the U.S., Germany and Slovenia stand at parade rest during a graduation ceremony at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. Thompson, chief instructor at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, was honored for relaunching U.S.-German training exchanges after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
Noncommissioned officers march onto the parade field during a graduation ceremony at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. Thompson, chief instructor at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, was honored for relaunching U.S.-German training exchanges after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
The German Armed Forces Medal of Honor during a ceremony in Grafenwoehr, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026. Thompson, chief instructor at the 7th Army Noncommissioned Officer Academy in Grafenwoehr, was honored for relaunching U.S.-German training exchanges after the COVID-19 pandemic. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)
When the partnership program restarted after the pandemic, there were a lot of hiccups, he recalled.
Thompson combined the schedules of the two schoolhouses and took care of the bureaucracy, which allowed the students from both countries to spend more time together on the shooting range or training together.
“I always said, ‘He’s the perfect diplomat,’” Meissner said. “He knows how to deal with superiors; he knows how to deal with our students and soldiers here. He’s just easy to deal with.”
Thompson, a 50-year-old North Carolina native, joined the National Guard in 1995 but went on active duty after 9/11. An infantryman, he deployed to Iraq four times before arriving in Vilseck with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in 2018.
A short time later, he moved to the 7th Army Training Command and became an instructor at the school, which trains about 200 enlisted soldiers in each of its 30-day cycles.
It follows the Basic Leader Course curriculum, focusing on leadership, communications, program management, training management and operations. The instruction also involves situational training exercises.
Cremer said that during Thompson’s tenure, about 150 U.S. soldiers earned the German marksmanship badge and more than 200 German soldiers gained valuable insight into the rigorous standards of the U.S. Army.
“Sgt. 1st Class Thompson earned trust on both sides and kept his focus on the soldiers who would benefit from this exchange,” Cremer told the audience before pinning the medal. “His professionalism and dedication reached far beyond the boundaries of his own service.”
Thompson will retire from the Army in May but hopes to remain in the area working as a civilian, he said.
“This medal is very significant to me,” he said. “It’s nice that they see the work that’s gone into it.”
