Years after a sloppy Army investigation slapped soldiers with false criminal records and derailed his career, the officer who led the fight to clear service members’ names has finally received his previously denied promotion.

But holding the golden oak leaf pin felt “bittersweet” for now-Maj. Gilberto De Leon.

“Now we’re truly at the start line,” De Leon told Fox News. “We’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”