Saturday 05/24/2025

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WOD
"Murph"
For Time:
1 Mile Run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Air Squats
1 Mile Run

*Runs cannot be broken up. Inside work can be broken up and partitioned however you like.

LT. Michael P. Murphy
United States Navy (SEAL)
May 7, 1976 – June 28, 2005

LT. Michael P. Murphy (SEAL) was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wings, tasked with finding a key anti-coalition militia commander near Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shortly after inserting into the objective area, the SEALs were spotted by three goat herders who were initially detained and then released. It is believed the goat herders immediately reported the SEALs’ presence to Taliban fighters.

A fierce gun battle ensued on the steep face of the mountain between the SEALs and a much larger enemy force. Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.

Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire. This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy. While continuing to be fired upon, Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He calmly provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point, he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in. Severely wounded, LT. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle.

LT. Murphy fought on, allowing one member of his team (Marcus Luttrell) to escape, before he was killed. For his selfless actions, LT. Michael Murphy was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on October 27, 2007.


Saturday

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WOD
"Murph"
For Time:
1 Mile Run
100 Pull Ups
200 Push Ups
300 Air Squats
1 Mile Run
*Partition the pull-ups, push-ups, and squats as needed. Start and finish with a mile run.

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LT Murphy was killed June 28, 2005 after exposing himself to enemy fire and knowingly leaving his position of cover to get a clear signal in order to communicate with his headquarters. He provided his unit’s location and requested immediate support for his element and then returned to his position to continue fighting until he died from his wounds.[1]

Operation Red Wings was a counter-insurgent mission in Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving four members of the United States Navy SEALs. Murphy and two other SEALs, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson, 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.

Murphy led the four-man reconnaissance team on a mission to kill or capture a top Talibanleader, 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 thePakistan border. After an initially successful infiltration, local goat herders stumbled upon the SEALs’ hiding place. Unable to verify any hostile intent from the herders, the team cut them loose. Hostile locals, possibly the goat herders they let pass, alerted nearbyTaliban 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]

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.[11]

On July 4, 2005 Murphy’s remains were found by a group of American soldiers during a combat search and rescue operation and returned to the United States. Nine days later, on July 13, Murphy was buried at Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, New York, Section 67, Grave No. 3710,[12] near his home town of Patchogue, NY.