Michael P. Murphy

At 29 years old, Michael P. Murphy physical status not available right now. We will update Michael P. Murphy's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

After graduating from Penn State, Murphy applied and was accepted to several law schools, but decided to attend SEAL mentoring sessions at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. In September 2000, he accepted an appointment to the U.S. Navy's Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida. On December 13 of that year, he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy and began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, California in January 2001, eventually graduating with Class 236 in November 2001.

Upon graduation from BUD/S, he attended the United States Army Airborne School, SEAL Qualification Training, and SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) school. Murphy earned his SEAL Trident and checked on board SDV Team ONE (SDVT-1) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in July 2002. In October 2002, he deployed with Foxtrot Platoon to Jordan as the liaison officer for Exercise Early Victor. Following his tour with SDVT-1, Murphy was assigned to Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) in Florida and deployed to Qatar in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning from Qatar, he was deployed to Djibouti to assist in the operational planning of future SDV missions.

In early 2005, Murphy was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE as officer in charge of Alpha Platoon and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While deployed, Murphy was known for wearing the patch of FDNY Engine Co. 53, Ladder Co. 43 ("El Barrio's Finest") in remembrance of the terrorist attacks on September 11th and an FDNY friend of his who had died that day. Shortly before deploying to Afghanistan, Murphy had asked for several patches from a close friend of his who had been assigned to the station.

Operation Red Wings was a counter-insurgent mission in Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving a four man special reconnaissance team of United States Navy SEALs. Murphy and two other SEALs in the team, Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson, were killed in the fighting, in addition to 16 other U.S. special operations members, who were killed when their helicopter was shot down while attempting to extract the SEAL recon team. Prior to a helicopter being shot down in 2011, Operation Red Wings was both the largest loss of life for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since the invasion began and the largest loss for the SEALs since the Vietnam War.

Murphy was the commander of the four-man reconnaissance team made up of himself, Danny Dietz, Matthew Axelson, and Marcus Luttrell. The team was tasked with conducting surveillance on a top Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah (code name Ben Sharmak), who commanded a group of insurgents known as the "Mountain Tigers," west of Asadabad. They were dropped off by helicopter in a remote, mountainous area east of Asadabad in Kunar Province, near the Pakistan border. After an initially successful infiltration, local goat herders stumbled upon the SEALs' location. Unable to verify any hostile intent from the herders, the team cut them loose. Hostile locals, possibly the goat herders they released, alerted nearby Taliban forces, who surrounded and attacked the small team. At the cost of his own life, Murphy was able to get a message out to friendly forces of their situation, which prompted reinforcements flown in on an MH-47 Chinook helicopter. The helicopter was shot down by an RPG, killing all 16 personnel aboard; eight were SEALs, the other eight were 160th SOAR.

Murphy, Dietz, and Axelson were killed in the action. Luttrell was the only U.S. survivor and was eventually rescued, after having wandered in the mountains before being taken in by friendly local Afghan villagers. All three of Murphy's men were awarded the Navy's second-highest honor, the Navy Cross, for their part in the battle; alongside Murphy's Medal of Honor, their team became the most decorated in Navy SEAL history.

As a consequence of this, the US Military no longer allows for just 4 men in operations like this, it is now standard to have 8+ men in such an operation.

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