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AFGHANISTAN (1/22/2012) - The people and places the military
introduces service members to, can at times seem quite small. For
every deployment to a remote Forward Operating Base, there are
multiple occasions when soldiers run into an old friend or
colleague. Command Sgts. Maj. Samuel G. Murphy and John Wayne
Troxell are no different; their career paths began to crisscross at
Fort Bragg, N.C., years before their recent meeting in southern
Afghanistan. This meeting allowed the two senior non-commissioned
officers the chance to look back on their friendship.
“When
I was a sergeant I re-enlisted to go to the 82nd Airborne Division,
and when I got there I was assigned to the 3rd Battalion Airborne
73rd Armor,” said Murphy, Command sergeant major of the 3rd Stryker
Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. “The free world's only
airborne armor battalion.”
Murphy arrived at 3-73 Armor and
was assigned to the mortar platoon in Alpha Company, where Troxell
was the first sergeant.
“I first ran into him one Saturday
afternoon, when I was upstairs being a typical young sergeant with
the soldiers in the barracks,” Murphy said with a grin. “He came
upstairs, ‘cause we were making a lot of noise, and corrected us. I
happened to be the highest ranking one there so I got the most
correcting.”
“The boys would be half in the bag, playing
hockey and things like that,” said Troxell, Command sergeant major
of 1st Corps, Joint Base Lewis McChord. “I would have to put the
thump on him and the other NCOs [Non-Commissioned Officers].”
This was more than 15 years ago, before either realized that
their careers would mirror one another and a mentorship would
evolve. Neither of them thought –at that time- that one would be a
command sergeant major for a corps and the other a command sergeant
major for a subordinate brigade, but Troxell saw plenty of potential
in his young sergeant.
“After he knew who I was, he made it
a point to call me into his office on a daily basis,” said Murphy.
“For some reason he saw potential in me back then, that I didn't
even see myself. He tried to push me to go above and beyond.”
“Murphy was a young, energetic sergeant that was full of
energy,” added Troxell. “He was very impressive to me as a young
NCO. He was one of the best NCOs in his platoon.”
Mentorships
in the Army happen all the time and are not always welcomed in the
beginning. However, they bring out the best in the individual being
mentored and looking back they are thankful for the experience.
“The way he interacted with me at that time was exactly what I
needed”, added Murphy.
When they departed the 82nd Airborne
Division, they went their separate ways and would never serve
directly with each other again, but were always close by. Murphy's
career always seemed to follow Troxell's in some way.
“Our
deployments have kind of been off cycle,” said Troxell.
Troxell
deployed with 3-2 SBCT to Iraq in 2003-04, with Murphy's unit (the
172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team) replacing Troxell's. The next
deployment for Troxell was as the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team,
2nd Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major. He left just as Murphy
became the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment Command Sergeant
Major in the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
“We've never deployed together but we've seen each other
throughout the 15 years that I have known him,” said Troxell.
According to Murphy, Troxell is hard but fair with unyielding
standards of discipline, which Murphy has adopted. While Murphy
would not say he molded himself after Troxell he has definitely
picked up many of the same traits. He has no problem talking to
soldiers, and if they are out of line, he will put them back in
line.
“After 10 years of combat, we as an Army have become a
little bit too over compassionate and a little bit too
undisciplined,” said Troxell. “Sam Murphy is the kind of command
sergeant major that puts that back into balance, that good balance
of discipline and compassion.”
Both believe that the other is
exactly the type of command sergeant major the Army needs.
“He genuinely cares about every one of them [his soldiers], that's
why he's so hard on wearing your uniform right, wearing your
personal protective equipment right,” added Troxell. “He's exactly
the kind of guy we need, because it's those fundamentals, those
basic disciplines that keep soldiers alive on the battlefield.”
The welfare of soldiers is one of the basic responsibilities of
a Non-Commissioned Officer and both, Troxell and Murphy, believe
that a good NCO will enforce the standards.
“I think he's
exactly what we need for a corps sergeant major,” said Murphy.
“Someone who will continue to push the Corps in the right
direction.”
“If a command sergeant major is passionate about
making soldiers do the right thing, and it comes with a butt
chewing, that is motivation and an act of love,” said Troxell. “If
the command sergeant major didn't love that soldier like he loved
his own children, he would let the soldier walk around with whatever
standard that soldier wants. It could come back to haunt that
soldier outside the wire if they're not doing what they are supposed
to be doing.”
Troxell wanted the soldiers of the Arrowhead
Brigade to know and understand that they have a command sergeant
major that genuinely loves and cares for every one of them and
that's why he's going to stay in their backsides.
By Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Brandenburg
3rd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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