Criminal justice major, Decker Murray, recently earned the Commandant’s distinction as the second-best soldier in his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) class. He was awarded this honor based on his performance on 74D CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) tests, physical fitness and leadership.
Murray completed Basic Combat Training and AIT as part of his preparation for service in the U.S. Army. During BCT, he earned an honor graduate award for being the top-rated soldier in his group based on physical training scores, rifle qualification and overall leadership.
For eight of the nine weeks of Basic Combat Training (BCT), Murray served as a platoon sergeant, overseeing approximately 50 soldiers. During this time, Murray and three other platoon sergeants were ordered to hold a plank position, and the last sergeant remaining would earn an easier schedule and an earlier lunch. Murray held the position until he was the only one remaining.
“The entire platoon was shouting for me to be the last, knowing most of them had given up,” Murray shared. “I pushed myself to be the example for everyone to keep going, eventually being the last one remaining and getting my platoon out of further exercise.”
Murray said the experience reinforced the importance of leading by example. During the field exercises, he created plans for his platoon, coordinated breaks and meals and made sure his platoon understood their assignments. He said he often put his own needs last, including when there were mandatory trainings in freezing temperatures.
As AIT continued, he served as first sergeant for one week and was responsible for 123 soldiers. Later on, he became a squad leader for the remaining nine weeks, leading 15 soldiers.
“Some days morale would be low, so I would need to find ways to increase morale while also completing the task,” he said.
Murray’s leadership experience as a platoon sergeant has also helped shape his work as an emergency responder. He began serving as a volunteer firefighter at just 16-years-old, first with the Marion Vol Fire Department and later with several fire departments across Franklin County. He’s completed more than 200 hours of training, including Modules A through D, which cover introductory fire service skills, fireground support, exterior firefighting and interior firefighting.
As a volunteer firefighter, there have been several occasions where Murray has had to utilize his emergency medical technician certification. While working with the Fayetteville and Marion fire departments, he has helped save four lives during cardiac arrest calls.
Murray is also a trained vehicle rescue and hazardous materials operator, where he is called on to help victims of vehicle collisions, structural fires, forest fires and more. He shared that his emergency-services training taught him how to handle a wide variety of emergency situations, and how to delegate responsibilities to people prepared to handle them.
“When stress starts to take over my decisions, I usually find it best to put someone in charge of a section of tasks so that I can take a step back and look at the bigger picture,” he said.
Whether leading soldiers or responding to an emergency, Murray emphasized that his top priorities are making sound decisions, supporting the people around him and helping his team succeed. Looking to the future, his long-term goals are to either enter into a fire academy, the Pennsylvania State Police Academy PSP academy or both.
