Life, Liberty & the Pursuit: SPC Nathan McMurray Duty Fulfilled
READY TO SERVE — Specialist Nathan McMurray switched gears from serving his country in the National Guard to serving God as a prayer leader. His seven year commitment to his country ends in the spring.
“I was going crazy, the weather where we were this time compared to the last time (I was in Iraq) was completely different,” Specialist Nathan McMurray said. “I was always indoors. I absolutely hated walking outside.”
For the future park ranger, these were harsh words.
“I love the outdoors,” McMurray said. “I would love to spend (my life) doing that.”
Even though McMurray does not miss the weather in Iraq, he said he does miss the camaraderie overseas but has found some of the same friendships in his dorm where he is a prayer leader.
“I have the same things here on campus in the dorms as I (did) there,” McMurray said. “I have the camaraderie with my buddies. I am still in a social environment, nothing has really changed. The social aspect is the only thing that is different.”
This was McMurray’s second deployment during the seven years he has been in the National Guard.
“I volunteered for this last (deployment) but I am not going to do it again,” McMurray said. “I have put it off too long, I have got to catch back up.”
McMurray said he is ready to get his life after the army started.
“I am going to be a three or four year senior almost, so I have got a long ways to go before I can actually start on my life after college and the military has been putting that off,” McMurray said. “I am doing a lot of freshmen classes trying to catch up with what I’ve missed.”
McMurray started his last deployment as a gunner, but was later transferred to the operations center to be an Operations Specialist for the Alpha Company.
“I was the company organizer,” McMurray said. “I was the liaison between our command and whoever was out on the missions.”
McMurray is leaving the army at the end of his seven-year commission in the spring and will be finishing his criminal justice degree.
“(I want to) work for the national park service, forest service,” McMurray said. “I want to do some sort of ministry as well, whether full time ministry or ministry on the side of my job.”
McMurray hopes that where ever God leads him that he will have the opportunity to give people “the gospel while teaching them about the outdoors about everything God has given us naturally.”