A 15-year friendship: The tale of two command sergeants major

Staff Sgt. Joshua Brandenburg/3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division

AFGHANISTAN — The people and places the military introduces servicemembers to, can at times seem quite small. For every deployment to a remote forward operating base, there are multiple occasions when Soldiers run into an old friend or colleague. Command Sgts. Maj. Samuel G. Murphy and John Wayne Troxell are no different; their career paths began to crisscross at Fort Bragg, N.C., years before their recent meeting in southern Afghanistan. This meeting allowed the two senior NCOs the chance to look back on their friendship.

“When I was a sergeant I re-enlisted to go to the 82nd Airborne Division, and when I got there I was assigned to the 3rd Battalion Airborne, 73rd Armor,” said Murphy, command sergeant major of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. “The free world’s only airborne armor battalion.”

Murphy arrived at 3-73 Armor and was assigned to the mortar platoon in Alpha Company, where Troxell was the first sergeant.

“I first ran into him one Saturday afternoon, when I was upstairs being a typical young sergeant with the Soldiers in the barracks,” Murphy said with a grin. “He came upstairs, ‘cause we were making a lot of noise, and corrected us. I happened to be the highest ranking one there so I got the most correcting.”

“The boys would be playing hockey and things like that,” said Troxell, command sergeant major of I Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord. “I would have to put the thump on him and the other NCOs.”

This was more than 15 years ago, before either realized that their careers would mirror one another and a lasting mentorship would evolve.

“After he knew who I was, he made it a point to call me into his office on a daily basis,” Murphy said. “For some reason he saw potential in me back then, that I didn’t even see myself.”

When they departed the 82nd Airborne Division, they went their separate ways and would never serve directly with each other again, but were always close by. Murphy’s career always seemed to follow Troxell’s in some way.

Troxell deployed with 3-2 SBCT to Iraq in 2003-04, with Murphy’s unit (the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team) replacing Troxell’s. The next deployment for Troxell was as the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division command sergeant major. He left just as Murphy became the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment command sergeant major in the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

“We’ve never deployed together but we’ve seen each other throughout the 15 years that I have known him,” Troxell said.

According to Murphy, Troxell is hard but fair with unyielding standards of discipline, which Murphy has adopted. While Murphy would not say he molded himself after Troxell he has definitely picked up many of the same traits. He has no problem talking to Soldiers, and if they are out of line, he will put them back in line.

“After 10 years of combat, we as an Army have become a little bit too over compassionate and a little bit too undisciplined,” Troxell said. “Sam Murphy is the kind of command sergeant major that puts that back into balance, that good balance of discipline and compassion.”

The welfare of Soldiers is one of the basic responsibilities of an NCO and Troxell and Murphy believe that a good NCO will enforce the standards.

“If a command sergeant major is passionate about making Soldiers do the right thing, and it comes with a butt chewing, that is motivation and an act of love,” said Troxell. “If the command sergeant major didn’t love that Soldier like he loved his own children, he would let the Soldier walk around with whatever standard that Soldier wants.”