THE HAGUE(AP) Queen Beatrix awarded a Dutch commando the country's highest military medal on Friday for his heroics leading an elite military unit in Afghanistan.

Beatrix pinned the Willems Order cross and orange ribbon on Capt. Marco Kroon before slapping him on the left shoulder with her right hand to knight him at a ceremony in The Hague.

It was the first time in more than 50 years that the medal has been awarded to an individual soldier. It also can be awarded to entire military units.

Beatrix said Kroon showed ``courage, discretion and dedication'' in leading a commando unit in the southern Afghanistan province of Uruzgan in 2006.

Kroon's unit was involved in several firefights with Taliban insurgents during its deployment with NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

In one battle, Kroon's unit advanced and came under fire from the Taliban so that a wounded Australian soldier could be rescued. In another, Kroon's machine gun was hit by enemy fire as he tried to find a way through a village full of insurgents, the Defense Ministry said.

Kroon said in a statement that he received the medal on behalf of his unit. He said he built up friendship and mutual respect with his troops by leading through example.

``You create that by showing you will walk through fire for your men,'' he said. ``I trust them and they trust me.''

Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop paid tribute to Kroon's bravery, saying the medal ``symbolizes a recognition of exceptional acts under extreme and dangerous circumstances.''

The Netherlands has some 1,600 troops in Afghanistan, often working together with Australian forces stationed in the south. A total of 19 Dutch soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2006.