Morg Monday: Modified Murph

• THE SCENE:
  • Warm-ish & wet-ish
• F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
  
  
• WARM-O-RAMA:
  • 15x IC Goofballs
  • 10x IC Around the World Lunges
  • 15x IC Mountain Climbers
  • 20x OYO Penguin jumps
  • Indian Run to the Playground
• THA-THANG:
  • We partitioned the workout into 20 14 rounds in 2-count cadence of
    • 5 pull-ups
    • 10 merkins
    • 15 air squats
    • 1/10 mile run (first back always went for the 6)
• MARY:
  • 10x IC low country crab
  • 10x IC crunchy frog
  • 10x IC reverse crunches
• COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
  
  • 5 PAX (0 FNGs) + 1 Cujo for pre-BC ruck: Orange Julius, Bruce, Commie, BAM!, & Choker
  • 12 PAX (0 FNGs) for BC:  Orange Julius, Bruce, Woodpecker, Rosie, Wallbuilder, Commie, Carport, White Castle, Pirtle, Sleep Number, Choker, & Granola (QIC)
• CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
  • Most of my CoT was lifted from this site which selected excerpts from the “Biography” section of the Murph Foundation website (italics):In case you’re unfamiliar, “Murph” is a classic CrossFit workout known as a Hero WOD. Hero WOD’s are made by CrossFit to honor the men and women that have fallen in the line of duty. This one is specifically to honor Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005.
    Murph
    1mile Run
    100 Pull-Ups
    200 Push-Ups
    300 Air Squats
    1 mile Run
    With a 20 lb Vest or Body ArmorThis workout itself was Michael’s favorite workout to do, which at the time referred to it as “Body Armor”, hence the 20 lb vest or body armor as part of the workout prescription.

    Here’s an excerpt about what went down in Afghanistan in June 2005:

    On June 28, 2005, Lt. Murphy was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element in support of Operation Red Wing tasked with finding 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.

    As a result of Murphy’s call, an MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was sent in as part of the QRF to extract the four embattled SEALs. As the Chinook drew nearer to the fight, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter, causing it to crash and killing all 16 men aboard.

    On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, continued to fight.  By the end of a two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson had fallen. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead.  The fourth SEAL, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell, was blasted over a ridge by a rocket-propelled grenade and knocked unconscious. Though severely wounded, the fourth SEAL and sole survivor, Luttrell, was able to evade the enemy for nearly a day; after which local nationals came to his aide, carrying him to a nearby village where they kept him for three more days. Luttrell was rescued by U.S. Forces on July 2, 2005.

    By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was able to relay the position of his unit, an act that ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle.

• MOLESKIN:
  • I’ve been wanting to participate in the Murph WOD for a while, but haven’t been able to coordinate a fitting occasion for it until now. As a soft, non-veteran civilian, I’m never really sure how to adequately or meaningfully convey my gratitude to the brave men and women who lay their lives down for the rest of us.In reading Lt. Michael Murphy’s story above, I was struck by how much it took to recover Luttrell. Mission first, men always. Again, without any service experience myself, and drawing from my understanding that there would be no Easter without Good Friday, I can only guess that behind every Veteran’s Day there is a Memorial Day.So, in addition to the honor and thanks rightly due our Veterans, I’d like to think that we should also stand side-by-side with our Veterans to engage their stories, remember their fallen friends and family,  and cherish our shared freedom.
  • In addition to the comic relief of Carport’s flying-squirrel ready-positioning, for pull-ups, he also helped us recognize and honor AOQ-extraordinaire, Sergeant First Class Thomas Wright (aka Choker) for his service.
  • Apparently, everyone was way more familiar with this story than I was. I did my best to memorize and convey as much of the biography as I could and the PAX patiently let me stumble through it.
  • Kotters to White Castle!!
  • Stoked to have Pirtle permanently join the Morg!
  • One day Rosie may show up for a whole workout. Showing up late is better than not showing up at all!
  • Prayers for Carport & Red Roofer.