Kristensen, Suzanne
L
land-warfare training
leadership advice and training
Lee, Gary
live-fire immediate-action drills
log PT
Lone Survivor (Luttrell)
Loo, Mike
Lucas, Jeffrey Allen
Luttrell, Marcus: ambush of and attack on; Capitol Building visit; deployment of; early life, training, and expertise of; Hall of Heroes induction; Hindu Kush terrain; live-fire IAD; Lone Survivor; Medal of Honor ceremony; Medal of Honor eyewitness; Medal of Honor Flag ceremony; media inquiries; on Michael; mission assignment; mission briefing; mission execution; mission planning; Navy Cross award; orientation briefing; Oval Office meeting; QRF loss; ramp ceremony; rescue operation
M
M4A1 rifle
Maggipinto, V. Anthony
Maguire, Joseph: funeral for Michael; live-fire IAD; Medal of Honor award; Medal of Honor ceremony; memorial services; memorials to Michael; mission details; rescue operation
McCabe, Barry
McCombie, Ryan J.
McEachin, James
McElhone, Eddie
McElhone, John
McElhone, Linda
McGreevy, Michael M., Jr.: Arlington National Cemetery ceremony; awards and decoration; burial; early life, training, and expertise of; mission briefing; mission execution; mission planning; rescue operation; respect for; SEAL Team Ten assignment
Medal of Honor: ceremony and reception; delay of awarding; preparations for; recommendation signing; selfless devotion of recipients of; speculation about awarding of; tickets for ceremony
Medal of Honor Flag
media inquiries: information about Michael; Medal of Honor
Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy Trophy
military honors
military training tests (MTTs)
MK-8 SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV)
MK-9 SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV)
MK-16 dive rig
Moden, Patrick
Mogadishu, Somalia
Monsoor, Mike
Monster Mash
Mother’s Day
Mountain Tigers
Mountain Warfare Training Facility
Muralles, Marcus V.
Murphy, Dan: Arlington National Cemetery visit; Capitol Building visit; casualty call to Murphy family; death of Michael, notification about; dinner with Rougheads; early life of Michael; Ewa Banas meeting; Father’s Day message; funeral for Michael; good and bad in people; graduation of Michael; Hall of Heroes induction; injury during Hell Week; location of Michael, knowledge of; Medal of Honor ceremony and reception; Medal of Honor, preparations for awarding; Medal of Honor, speculation about awarding of; memorials to Michael; Michael’s remains, return of; missing status of Michael; Navy Cross ceremony; news story about attack on SEAL team; opposition to military service for Michael; scholarship foundation; support network for; text message from Michael; Vietnam service of
Murphy, John: Arlington National Cemetery visit; Capitol Building visit; casualty call to Murphy family; death of Michael, notification about; evening plans with father; Father’s Day message; funeral for Michael; graduation of Michael; Hall of Heroes induction; memorials to Michael; Michael’s remains, return of; military career decision of Michael; news story about attack on SEAL team; scholarship foundation; support network for; uneasy feeling about Michael
Murphy, Karen
Murphy, Maureen: Arlington National Cemetery visit; Capitol Building visit; casualty call to Murphy family; death of Michael, notification about; dinner with Rougheads; early life of Michael; Ewa Banas meeting; Father’s Day message; funeral for Michael; funeral preparations; graduation of Michael; Hall of Heroes induction; information about Michael, access to; injury during Hell Week; location of Michael, knowledge of; Medal of Honor ceremony and reception; Medal of Honor, preparations for awarding; Medal of Honor, speculation about awarding of; memorials to Michael; mental and physical strain on; Michael’s remains, return of; Navy Cross ceremony; news story about attack on SEAL team; scholarship foundation; support network for; text message from Michael
Murphy, Michael Patrick: academic achievements; athletic abilities; birth of; cellulitis and Hell Week; character of, xix-xx; death notice; death of; death of, notification of family; early life of; education of; final visit home; Fitness Report and Counseling Records; identification of remains of; legacy of; live-fire IAD; memorials and tributes to; memories and stories about; military career decision; missing status of; optimisim of; promotion of; protector role of; remains of, return of; respect for by fellow SEALs; SEAL career of; text message from; vision surgery; water, love of; wedding plans; work ethic of
Muse, Chad: casualty call to Murphy family; funeral for Michael; Michael’s remains, return of
N
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
national security and foreign policy
Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado, California
Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC)
Naval Special Warfare: agoge; community support groups; JOTC; mission of; reorganization of; rules to live by; SQT program, importance of; structure of
Naval Special Warfare Center
Naval Special Warfare Foundation
Navy Cross
Navy enlistment oath
Navy Memorial
Navy officer commissioning
Navy SEAL Warrior Fund
New York City Fire Department
Night Stalkers (160th SOAR)
Norris, Tom
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
O
obstacle course (O-course)
O’Callaghan, Jimmie: friendship with Michael; funeral for Michael; graduation of Michael; memories and stories about Michael; physical fitness training; September 11, 2001 attacks and; support network for Murphy family
O’Callaghan, Owen: friendship with Michael; funeral for Michael; graduation of Michael; Medal of Honor ceremony; memories and stories about Michael; physical fitness training; scholarship foundation; September 11, 2001 attacks and; support network for Murphy family
Officer Candidate School (OCS): acceptance to; challenges at; decision to pursue; experiences at; goals of; graduation from; Indoctrination; preparations for
Olson, Eric T.
Oster, Ron
Ouellette, Brian
P
Pahl, David
Paro, Kent
Patchogue Post Office
Patton, Eric Shane
Pennsylvania State University
Pentagon Hall of Heroes
Pfeiffer, Paul
Philippine Islands
Physical Screening Test (PST)
Ponder, James W. “Tre,” III
professional development (PRODEV)
Purple Heart
Q
Qaeda, al-: attacks against U.S. by; Korangal Valley control; Kunar Province; Taliban protection of; training camps in Afghanistan; Whalers Operation against
Quattromani, Jim
quick-reaction force (QRF)
R
ramp ceremony
range safety officer (RSO) course
Rebuilding Together initiative
Red Cell Team
Red Wings, Operation: ambush of and attack on; call for assistance; deaths of SOF personnel; execution of; goat herders meeting; men assigned to; mission and plan for; mission briefing; naming of; planning; priority of; quick-reaction force for; recovery operation; rescue operation; rope entanglement and cutting; Taliban casualties
Reese, Tamsen
Reich, Stephen C.
Reidy, Tara
Risotto, Beth
rock portage
Ronkonkoma, Lake
Roughead, Gary
Russell, Michael L.
S
Sauers, Ben: Michael’s reaction to 9
/11; orientation briefing; QRF loss; rescue operation; respect for Michael; SDVT-2 deployment
Sawtalo Sar
scholarship foundation
SEAL Creed
SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) Teams
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One (SDVT-1): base and area of responsibility for; deployment of; Fitness Report and Counseling Records; funeral for Michael; Medal of Honor ceremony; men assigned to; mission assignment; orientation briefing; training of
SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team Two (SDVT-2)
SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV)
SEAL platoon
SEAL Qualifications Training (SQT): graduation from; preparations for; training at; training of enlisted men and officers
SEAL Recruiting District Assistance Council (RDAC)
SEAL squadrons
SEAL Team Ten: assignment to Afghanistan; battle with Taliban; beacon tracking; death of members of; memorial services; missing status of; orientation briefing See also Red Wings, Operation
SEAL teams; Team One; Team Two; Team Three; Team Four; Team Five; Team Six; Team Seven; Team Eight. See also SEAL Team Ten
SEALs: community of; cost of training; deployment and training cycle; dive training; equipment and gear; operations and missions; predeployment work-up; primary (core) missions; rules to live by; selfless devotion of, xiii; standards to become; team concept; training dangers; warrior culture
Senior Petty Officer Training Course (SPOTC)
September 11, 2001 attacks
shadow boxes
Shah, Mullah Ahmad
Silver Star
Skop, John Anthony
Somalia
Sparta and the Spartans
Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), 160th. See Night Stalkers (160th SOAR)
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
squadron integration training (SIT)
Stahl, George
Suh, James E.
Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) course
Swartz, Steve
T
Taliban: attack on Red Wings Operation; attacks on Afghan government; attacks on U.S. and coalition forces by; bombing campaign against; bombing of statues by; control of Afghanistan by; embassy bombings by; harboring of terrorists by; human rights violations by; Korangal Valley control; Kunar Province; QRF loss; Whalers Operation against
Taylor, Jeffrey Scott
teamwork
terror, war on
Thornton, Mike
Tomb of the Unknowns
Tridents
truth and justice
U
unit level training (ULT)
United Service Organizations (USO) George Van Cleave Military Leadership Award
United States Naval Academy
United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
V
valor, xiii-xiv
Van Hooser, Pete
W
warrior culture
Westin, James
Whalers, Operation
Widenhofer, Jeff: career and experience of; casualty call to Murphy family; funeral for Michael; funeral preparations; Michael’s remains, return of
Winter, Donald C.
Winters, Edward G., III
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gary Williams is the training officer at the Warren Correctional Institution for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in Lebanon, Ohio, and a member of the faculty at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. He began his corrections career in 1985 at the Marion Correctional Institution and transferred to the Corrections Training Academy in Orient, Ohio, in 1995, where he served as a training officer until 2002. While at the Corrections Training Academy, he developed the midlevel leadership program that received recognition in the American Correctional Association publication Best Practices. He transferred to the Warren Correctional Institution in 2002 and published his first book, Siege in Lucasville: The 11-Day Saga of Hostage Larry Dotson, in 2003 and Siege in Lucasville: An Insider’s Account and Critical Review of Ohio’s Worst Prison Riot in 2006; the latter was rereleased in 2009.
The oldest of five children, Williams was reared with a near-reverent respect for those who wear our nation’s uniform. His father is a decorated Korean War combat veteran. Williams holds a Bachelor’s degree in human resource management and leadership from Franklin University in Columbus and a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Dayton. He has six children and lives in West Chester, Ohio, with his wife, Tracy.
The Naval Institute Press is the book-publishing arm of the U.S. Naval Institute, a private, nonprofit, membership society for sea service professionals and others who share an interest in naval and maritime affairs. Established in 1873 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where its offices remain today, the Naval Institute has members worldwide.
Members of the Naval Institute support the education programs of the society and receive the influential monthly magazine Proceedings or the colorful bimonthly magazine Naval History and discounts on fine nautical prints and on ship and aircraft photos. They also have access to the transcripts of the Institute’s Oral History Program and get discounted admission to any of the Institute-sponsored seminars offered around the country.
The Naval Institute’s book-publishing program, begun in 1898 with basic guides to naval practices, has broadened its scope to include books of more general interest. Now the Naval Institute Press publishes about seventy titles each year, ranging from how-to books on boating and navigation to battle histories, biographies, ship and aircraft guides, and novels. Institute members receive significant discounts on the Press’s more than eight hundred books in print.
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1
The LT. Michael P. Murphy, USN, Memorial Scholarship Foundation was established by Michael’s family to provide college scholarships to senior students at Patchogue-Medford High School. Administered by a seven-member board of directors, the foundation’s principal funds are held at the Suffolk Federal Credit Union in certificate of deposits, with the scholarships funded from the interest earned. The foundation was designated as a public charity 501 (c) (3) corporation by the Internal Revenue Service on May 4, 2006.
2
For a detailed description of SEAL training, there is no better source than Dick Couch’s book, The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228 (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003).
3
For a complete and detailed description of of SEAL Qualification Training, read Dick Couch’s The Finishing School: Earning the Navy SEAL Trident (New York: Crown, 2004).
4
Their discussion is detailed in Marcus Luttrell’s book Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team Ten (New York: Little, Brown, 2007).
5
Luttrell, the only remaining eyewitness, described the epic battle in graphic detail as only a battle-tested eyewitness can in his best-selling book Lone Survivor.
6
The flight crew and other 160th SOAR special operators on board Turbine 34 will remain anonymous.
7
The author is unaware of any other member of the U.S. military to have achieved “Honor Man” status in both BUD/S and Ranger School.
8
A Ziegler case is a galvanized metal case designed to contain a deceased person in an airtight environment, and is used to transport the remains from one country to another.
This book was brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2010 by Gary Williams
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First Naval Institute Press paperback edition published in 2011.
eISBN : 978-1-612-51006-4
SEAL of honor : Operation Red Wings and the life of Lt. Michael P. Murphy, USN / Gary Williams.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Murphy, Michael Patrick, 1976-2005. 2. Murphy, Michael Patrick, 1976-2005—Military leadership. 3. Operation Red Wings, 2005. 4. United States. Navy. SEALs—Officers—Biography. 5. Medal of Honor—Biography. 6. Heroes—United States—Biography. 7. Courage—Afghanistan—Case studies. 8. Afghan War, 2001—Biography. 9. Afghan War, 2001—Casualties—United States. I. Title.
DS371.4123.O66W55 2010
958.104’7—dc22
[B]
2010009801
First printing