Jack Murphy

New York

Journalist and Co-Host at The Team House

Co-Host at Military Matters

Contributor at SOFREP

Featured in: Favicon

sofrep.com Favicon

yahoo.com

sandiegouniontribune.com Favicon

audacy.com Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

substack.com Favicon

news.yahoo.com

Articles

Army jump pay is about to get an upgrade

1 week ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently attended All-American week at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he made a big announcement. "For the first time in [decades], here [as] the Secretary of Defense, through the Secretary of the Army, we are increasing jump pay," he declared during his speech to the 82nd Airborne Division. Hazardous Duty Pay, more often known simply as jump pay, will increase for all paratroopers from its current rate of $150 to $200.
Newly commissioned officer celebrates a family of service

2 weeks ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

This month, ROTC cadet Jill Abell commissioned into the United States Army, following a family tradition of military service. A senior at St. Francis University, her brothers, who are currently serving, were present to pin on her rank. Abell followed in her family's footsteps as her father was also an ROTC cadet at St. Francis, and her mother was a graduate of West Point. Her brother, Hank, attended ROTC at Florida Tech and currently serves as a Captain.
Counterintelligence is a vital component of Special Operations missions

2 weeks ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

Special operators get a lot of attention in the press and in the movies, but there is a lot that goes into making special ops successful in real life that takes place in the background, one of them being counterintelligence. Some of the World War II and Cold War era clandestine and covert programs failed because they did not include integrated counterintelligence. Some of those teams were intercepted the moment they parachuted behind enemy lines.
National Guard trains to prepare for a radiological event

3 weeks ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

In late April and early May, a Virginia National Guard unit called the 34th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) trained to respond to a potential radiological event during an exercise on Fort Barfoot. The exercise included a search and rescue followed by decontamination procedures with role players from the community who simulated real-life injuries.
New members inducted into Commando Hall of Honor

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

On April 17, Special Operations Command inducted 18 new members into the Commando Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor was created by Adm. Eric Olsen in 2010 and "recognizes those who have served with great distinction and have demonstrated leadership and selfless service within the SOF community."This year, a number of Medal of Honor recipients were inducted, including Vice Adm. John Duncan Bulkeley, Lt. j.g. (SEAL) Joseph R. Kerrey, Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael A. Monsoor, LT.
Marine Corps Special Ops conducts language immersion training with French counterparts

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

American Marine Raiders from Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC) recently completed a two-week language immersion program with French Marine Forces Special Operations Command, specifically working with the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment as a part of the. When working with local counterparts during deployments, language ability is a key to making those partnerships work. French is spoken across nearly thirty countries, most of them in West and Central Africa.
Bomb suit-wearing Army EOD Officer smashes 1-mile time

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

On April 25, U.S. Army Capt. Travis Chewning-Kulick, who leads the 752nd Ordnance Company (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), smashed through the previous record for running a mile while wearing his unit's protective bomb suit. EOD techs are assigned the job of rendering safe unexploded ordnance, ie, defusing bombs on the battlefield. The bomb suit itself weighs in at fifty pounds. "I am an avid runner, I run all the time.
Medal of Honor recipient William Carney recognized in new graphic novel

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

A new graphic novel published by the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) celebrates the life and service of William Carney, who received the Medal of Honor for his valiant combat actions during the Civil War. Carney was born into slavery in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1840 and made his way to freedom in Massachusetts as an adult. In 1863, he joined the Union Army and in the summer of that year, participated in the Battle of Fort Wagner.
US Army changes its physical training test, again

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

The Army announced this week that it is once again changing the service wide physical fitness standards that soldiers will have to pass, called the Army Fitness Test (AFT). The new AFT ostensibly replaces the previous Army physical fitness test, the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) which itself replaced the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) which was phased out in 2020. The APFT was a simple exam that consisted of push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run.
U.S. Army Considering New Options for Arctic Warfare

1 month ago | audacy.com | Jack Murphy

Other than perhaps the deep sea, there is no environment on the planet that is as hostile to human life as the arctic. With temperatures reaching routinely hitting -40 degrees, and the great distances needed to travel is such a vast austere environment, it would be a terrible place for ground troops to fight. However, with tensions high with another arctic power, Russia, and China also claiming to be an arctic power, the United States military considers the arctic to be key strategic terrain.