Skarlatos has been in the Oregon Army National Guard since 2012; as of September 2015, he holds the rank of Specialist. He was previously deployed in Afghanistan for nine months. The acting adjutant general of Oregon has referred to Skarlatos as "a true citizen soldier who displayed the courage each of us would hope to find in ourselves."
After the attack, on August 22, 2015, Skarlatos and his friends received international attention for their actions in thwarting the attack. French President François Hollande awarded Skarlatos, his friends Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler, as well as British businessman Chris Norman, France's highest decoration, Knights of the Legion of Honour (Chevaliers de la Légion d'honneur). Hollande said the men "faced [off] with terror" and that they "gave us a lesson in courage, in will, and therefore in hope". French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised them for their bravery, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron.
In October 2016, it was announced that Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler would make an appearance on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire as a part of the show's special "Hometown Heroes" week which would premiere on October 31, 2016.
