SWEETWATER COUNTY — On Memorial Day, to honor the men and women of our armed forces – particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice – members of the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office-Green River Police Department joint SWAT team participated in and completed a special “Murph Memorial” crossfit workout in memory of Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province in 2005.
Murphy’s heroic service was featured in the 2013 film Lone Survivor. During a fierce mountain firefight and heavily outnumbered by the Taliban, Lieutenant Murphy made a courageous decision. Already wounded, in a last-ditch attempt to save his four-man team Murphy fought his way to open terrain in order to use his satellite phone and call for support for his team. Though shot again while making the call, he even signed off “Thank you.” Murphy continued to fight, but succumbed to his wounds.
A new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, named the USS Michael Murphy in Murphy’s honor, was christened in 2011 and is presently home-ported at Pearl Harbor.
The “Murph” workout, which was a favorite of Lieutenant Murphy’s, has become popular nationwide. It consists of two one-mile runs, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats.
“We decided to do the workout as a way to remember and thank all our veterans,” said one SWAT team member. “As do all Americans, we owe them a lot.”
