{"id":28191,"date":"2020-05-04T20:50:42","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T20:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/04\/51-year-old-crushes-acft-readies-for-bct-graduation-and-eod-school\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:41:29","slug":"51-year-old-crushes-acft-readies-for-bct-graduation-and-eod-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/home\/left-column\/2020\/05\/04\/51-year-old-crushes-acft-readies-for-bct-graduation-and-eod-school\/","title":{"rendered":"51-year-old crushes ACFT, readies for BCT graduation and EOD school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style><div class='embed-container'><iframe src='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/\/WuJ9wBQviGI' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sgt. Michael Murray, 51, is about to graduate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/04\/06\/army-pauses-bringing-new-recruits-to-basic-training\/\" target=\"_blank\">basic combat training<\/a> \u2014 again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first time was in 1992, when Murray attended infantry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/04\/17\/soldiers-might-go-into-two-week-isolations-to-keep-new-infantry-tech-testing-on-track\/\" target=\"_blank\">One Station Unit Training<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/02\/05\/soldiers-court-martial-reversed-after-judge-failed-to-disclose-intimate-relationship-with-a-jags-wife\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Benning<\/a>, Georgia, said Army <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/08\/12\/four-takeaways-from-the-new-tradoc-commander\/\" target=\"_blank\">Training and Doctrine Command<\/a> spokeswoman Megan Reed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He later commissioned as an officer, earned a law degree from the University of Southern California, and racked up 17 years of active duty, Army Reserve and National Guard service. Three years ago, he left the military to work in the private sector in Port St. Lucie, Florida, according to a Fort Jackson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvidshub.net\/news\/368801\/back-future-soldier-begins-again-finish-he-started-1992\" target=_blank>news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Murray decided he wanted to finish off his military career, so he enlisted once again and headed off to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for a second round of basic training earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt one point I never thought I would go back but I took a look at myself and I was feeling good,\u201d Murray said in the release. \u201cI just had this urge to finish what I started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murray arrived for basic combat training this February as part of his reenlistment with the Florida National Guard\u2019s 221st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company in Camp Blanding. In order to rejoin, he had to resign his previous commission as a captain and re-enter as a sergeant, the release said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murray is several weeks from graduation. And while the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/03\/30\/acft-rollout-suspended-until-further-notice\/\" target=_blank>Army Combat Fitness Test<\/a> rollout has been suspended until further notice, it\u2019s still a required part of finishing basic training. Murray scored a 433 on the new test, meaning he reached the \u201cheavy physical demands\u201d category, said Reed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"891\" height=\"691\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-04-at-14.43.58.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-04-at-14.43.58.png.png 891w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-04-at-14.43.58.png.png?resize=300,233 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-04-at-14.43.58.png.png?resize=768,596 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sgt. Michael Murray, a trainee assigned to 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, low crawls under a razor wire obstacle during the final training event &#8211; The Forge. Murray began his military career in 1992 and has served with the Army on active duty as well as a California National Guardsman and Reserve Soldier. He resigned his commission as a captain to return join the Florida National Guard as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Specialist. (Photo by Lt. Col. Jason Dudley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During Murray\u2019s time with his training unit, he\u2019s been allowed to wear his deployment patches and Ranger Tab. After he graduates, he\u2019ll be working to pin on the EOD badge, too. Murray will attend eight weeks of advanced training at Fort Lee, in Virginia, before heading back to his home state for 28 weeks of EOD training at Eglin Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to serve my state. I didn\u2019t just want to sit back and be an observer during state emergencies,\u201d Murray said in the release. \u201cMy unit said the only way I could join is I had to go enlisted, but that\u2019s the job I wanted, the job of a team leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Others who have been out of the service for more than two years were also in Murray\u2019s training class, though he was the oldest. Another member of Murray\u2019s company, Sgt. Eric Le, is a 34-year-old prior service Marine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHaving each other to rely on helps us get through it,\u201d Le said in the release. \u201cWith every graduation requirement, like the range or physical training, we get after each one of us to see who can do it better. It\u2019s a great motivator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/04\/16\/one-training-battalion-at-fort-jackson-had-50-coronavirus-cases-basic-combat-training-to-continue\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6157178.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">One training battalion at Fort Jackson had 50 coronavirus cases; basic combat training to continue<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cEven those who we tested after we one or two positive cases, the ones we found out, were mostly asymptomatic,&quot; the Army chief said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In mid-January, Army Times also reported on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2020\/01\/14\/59-year-old-afghanistan-veteran-will-report-to-army-basic-training-this-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\">59-year-old former soldier and Afghanistan veteran<\/a> who would be returning to Fort Jackson in June after a 10-year break in military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even that soldier is not the oldest to attend basic combat training. Army Recruiting Command said that a 68-year-old had shipped to basic training in 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bringing recruits in through basic training has been a challenge for the Army as it adjusts to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The service paused bringing in new recruits on April 6 and resumed shipments two weeks later. Fort Jackson also suffered an outbreak of more than 50 coronavirus cases within one training battalion last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, Army officials said the post has been given four testing devices that can run approximately 750 tests locally each day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Murray resigned his commission as a captain to join the Florida National Guard as an EOD specialist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":92,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home","middle-column"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[100,23,92,93,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3385],"class_list":["post-28191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"53GEFXBERVAMJIR5UGZVIBMUQA","arc_canonical_url":"\/home\/left-column\/2020\/05\/04\/51-year-old-crushes-acft-readies-for-bct-graduation-and-eod-school\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>51-year-old crushes ACFT, readies for BCT graduation and EOD school - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Murray resigned his commission as a captain to join the Florida National Guard as an EOD specialist.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"51-year-old crushes ACFT, readies for BCT graduation and EOD school\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Murray resigned his commission as a captain to join the Florida National Guard as an EOD specialist.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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