This Saturday class will be held at Virginia Lake at 9 a.m.
We will be doing our annual Memorial Day Murph workout.
Bring a friend, this is not a timed event this is a workout to honor the life of Navy Seal Michael Murphy.
Michael Patrick Murphy (May 7, 1976 – June 28, 2005) was a
United States Navy SEAL lieutenant and the first person to be awarded the U.S. military's highest decoration, the
Medal of Honor, for his actions during the
War in Afghanistan. He was also the first member of the U.S. Navy to receive the award since the
Vietnam War. His other
posthumous awards included the
Silver Star and
Purple Heart.
Michael Murphy was born and raised in
Suffolk County, New York. He graduated from
Pennsylvania State University with honors and dual degrees in
political science and
psychology. After college he accepted a commission in the
United States Navy and became a United States Navy SEAL in July 2002. After participating in several
War on Terror missions, he was killed on June 28, 2005, after his team was compromised and surrounded by
Taliban forces near
Asadabad, Afghanistan.
Since his death, a
United States Navy destroyer,
a post office, a combat training pool at Naval Station Newport, and a park have been named in his honor.
Operation Red Wings
SEALs of Operation Red Wings,
Murphy is on the far right.
Operation Red Wings was a failed
counter-insurgent mission in
Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving four members of the United States Navy SEALs. Murphy and two other SEALs were killed in the fighting in addition to 16 American
Special Operations Forces soldiers who were killed when their
helicopter was shot down while attempting to extract the SEAL Team. Prior to a helicopter being shot down in 2011,
[4][5] it was both the largest loss of life for American forces since the invasion began
[6] and the largest loss for the SEALs since the Vietnam War.
Marcus Luttrell was the only surviving American sailor from the squad; he was protected by local villagers who sent an emissary to the closest military base allowing a rescue team to locate him.
The map given to the Navy SEALs detailing their mission.
Murphy led the four-man
reconnaissance team on a mission to kill or capture a top
Taliban leader,
Ahmad Shah (code name Ben Sharmak),
[7] who commanded a group of insurgents known as the "Mountain Tigers,"
[8] west of
Asadabad.
[9][10] The group was dropped off by helicopter in a remote, mountainous area east of
Asadabad in Kunar Province, near the
Pakistan border. After an initially successful infiltration, local goat herders stumbled upon the SEALs' hiding place. Unable to verify any hostile intent from the herders,
[11] Murphy asked the team what should be done with them.
Matthew Axelson reportedly voted to kill the Afghans, and
Danny Dietz did not offer an opinion, causing Murphy to state that he would vote the same as
Marcus Luttrell, who said the herders should be set free.
[9] Hostile locals, possibly the goat herders they let pass, alerted 150 to 200
[citation needed] nearby
Taliban forces, who surrounded and attacked the small group. After Murphy called for help, an
MH-47 Chinook helicopter loaded with reinforcements was dispatched to rescue the team, but was shot down with an
RPG, killing all 16 personnel aboard; eight SEALs and eight service members from the
160th SOAR.
[1]
By the end of the two-hour battle, an undisclosed number of Taliban soldiers (which is estimated at 70% by some sources), Murphy, Dietz, and Axelson were killed in the action. Luttrell was the only American survivor and was eventually rescued after several days of wandering the mountain and being protected by the people of an Afghanistan village.
[1] All three of Murphy's men were awarded the Navy's second-highest honor, the
Navy Cross, for their part in the battle making theirs the most decorated Navy SEAL team in history.
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