Career Marine recalls 30 years of service to Corps, nation

Photo By Nathan Hanks | Sgt. Maj. Stephanie K. Murphy, former sergeant major, Marine Corps Logistics Command, addresses family members, Marines and civilian-Marines during a retirement ceremony held aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., March 22.  

ALBANY, GA, UNITED STATES

03.26.2018

Story by Nathan Hanks 

U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Command

Maj. Gen. Craig C. Crenshaw, retiring official and commanding general, LOGCOM, said Murphy’s retirement was bittersweet.
“We are very fortunate to have had Sergeant Major Murphy in our ranks and I say that with the most utmost sincerity,” Crenshaw said. “The impact of what she has done in such a short time for this command is remarkable. Her fingerprints are all over Marine Corps Logistics Command and certainly are all over the Marine Corps.
“She is going to put her boots up,” he continued. “Sergeant Major Murphy is a Marine at heart (but) she does not have to wear the uniform to know that she is a Marine.
“Our Marine Corps is better today because of her and I am better today as an officer having had the privilege to serve with (her) for three years,” he concluded.
According to Murphy, the Marine Corps was not her first choice of military service.
“I chose to join the Navy first because my sister and my daughter's father were in the Navy,” Murphy admitted. “I was drawn to the Navy because of the people I knew. I showed up at the recruiting station to join and my appointment.
“When I arrived, the Navy recruiter was not there but a Marine Corps recruiter was standing outside,” she said. “I had no idea what a Marine was. So, I asked him who he was and he said, ‘We are the Marines.’
“I said ‘Oh, what do you have to do to join the Marine Corps?,” she asked. “He went on his spiel and while he was talking I looked down at the bottom of the glass window and there was a quote that said ‘We are looking for a few good men.’
“I looked up at him and said I am looking for the same thing y'all are looking for,” she said. “What do I have to do to join? He moved to the side of the hatch and said ‘volunteer,’ because at that time the Marine Corps was not looking for women.”
In March 1988, the native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, enlisted and went to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.
Upon graduating, she attended training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, where she obtained military occupational specialty, traffic management specialist.
Throughout her career, Murphy has been promoted nine times, served in a variety of billets and deployed in harm’s way.
Her fondest memory was when being a drill instructor at MCRD, Parris Island, South Carolina, where she discovered her purpose in life.
“Many Americans are patriotic so they join the military,” she said. “It's little bit more than patriotism, it's about giving.
“That's what I learned as a drill instructor and I learned it well enough to instill that into civilians and make them Marines,” she continued. “I wanted to ensure they understand why they joined so it would not take them as long as it did for me to figure it out. This was the turning point in my career.”
In 1999, Murphy, then a staff sergeant, was stationed at Marine Corps Logistics Bases where she served as the staff noncommissioned officer in charge of the Traffic Management Office.
After an accelerated promotion to the rank of gunnery sergeant, Murphy requested orders to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, to train Naval Officer Candidates. This would be the toughest assignment of her career.
“I was not accepted or welcomed,” she said. “But like all good Marines do, I pushed forward.”
After completing her first class, Murphy was awarded a Congressional Record by the 107th Congress, honoring her as the first female Marine drill instructor at Naval Officer Candidate School.
As the end of her career came in to view, she requested to be stationed in Albany one more time.
“I have been stationed here before so I was comfortable with the location,” she said. “I requested orders to Marine Corps Logistics Command for my last assignment. I thought this would be a good job for me and one I would succeed in because of my understanding and background in logistics.”
In June 2015, Murphy assumed her role as the senior enlisted advisor for LOGCOM.
“When you are a sergeant major working for a general officer or colonel, you
want to have some background knowledge in the job so that you don't look like someone who just started learning the (military occupational specialty),” she said. “I came here with the determination of doing the same thing that I have done everywhere else, which is taking care of Marines.
“Although my job was a little bit further away from the Marines than I would
have wanted to be, I was still able to adapt and overcome,” she continued. “Whenever I was not traveling with the general or doing something on the general’s schedule, I got on the Marines' schedule.
“We did professional military education classes with the Marines at the noncommissioned officer level, Staff NCO level and combined,” she pointed out. “I did as many
as I possibly could do. Those PMEs included dinner functions, mess nights and professional dinners.”
Murphy’s plan was to illustrate the Marines the importance of camaraderie.
“I thought bringing the NCOs and Staff NCOs together would give them a better
appreciation of one another,” she stated. “Once they began to appreciate one another, they
worked better together.”
The importance of caring, humbleness, striving for perfection, hard work and dedication is the legacy Murphy wants to leave behind.
“When you care about someone deeply, you are going to do the right thing for
them whether it means punishment or reward,” she said. “Because a lot of times people
view punishment in a negative manner but they are not always negative. Sometimes there are lessons that need to be taught.
“Part of our Staff NCO Creed in the Marine Corps is to strive for perfection
and we do,” she added. “We are not perfect. There is no perfect person but we strive for
perfection.”
Overall, Murphy described her 30-year career as a “struggle” with blood, sweat, tears, dirt and pain.
“Life is not easy and it's not supposed to be,” she said. “Anything good does not come easy. Marines have a saying, ‘Pain is weakness leaving the body.’ I believe that.
“If it does, it is not something you want,” she pointed out. “I don't think we get anything easy and honestly it's got to be some hard work involved. The good times you will have in the Marine Corps are the result of caring, humbleness, striving for perfection, hard work and dedication.”
Murphy confessed she is still in disbelief that she is retiring.
“My future plans are to continue to serve, be it the military, taking care of the homeless or a girls school,” she said. “My focus is not on a paycheck but to continue my life of service.”
Until then, her immediate plan is to complete her dissertation to become Dr. Murphy.
She expects to finish her doctorate in Organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix within the next six months.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2018
• Date Posted: 04.06.2018 15:12
• Story ID: 272101
• Location: ALBANY, GA, US