WASHINGTON — The Green Beret team leader who was singled out in a Pentagon investigation for blame after a deadly ambush in Niger last October has now been recommended for one of the military’s highest valor awards, officials said.

In an internal Special Operations Command report submitted last week, Army commanders recommended that the soldier, Capt. Michael Perozeni, receive a Silver Star — a rare honor that recognizes singular acts of valor and heroism in combat. The recognition is at odds with the public conclusions of an Africa Command report released in May that said that Captain Perozeni was one of the central figures in a mission gone wrong, while not directly attributing any blame to senior leadership.

Military officials have said that both narratives — that Captain Perozeni filed a misleading mission plan before the operation but then showed gallantry during the ambush — are true. Together, they are part of the fierce debate about a Pentagon shadow war in which four American soldiers died while on a murky mission in West Africa.

Army leaders must now make a difficult decision about which of those two story lines will prevail.

Captain Perozeni is one of five soldiers from Operational Detachment-Alpha Team 3212 who are being considered for a Silver Star. Three others have been recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest award, according to two Defense Department officials who are familiar with the report and described it to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity.