CHAMPION, N.Y. (AP) - A Fort Drum soldier decorated for bravery in Afghanistan has been charged with firing a gun outside a northern New York tavern.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department tells the Watertown Daily Times that Sgt. 1st Class Richard J. Olson Jr. of Spencer, Mass., was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.

Sheriff John Burns says the 33-year-old member of the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum fired a handgun into the air late Thursday outside a tavern located near the Army post. No one was injured.

Olson was released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond Monday. It wasn't known if he had a lawyer.

Olson was awarded a Silver Star in May 2010 for helping expel Taliban fighters from a provincial headquarters in Afghanistan and rescuing the governor.

Information from: Watertown Daily Times, http://www.watertowndailytimes.com