Country music star Craig Morgan reenlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve at the age of 59 during a ceremony Saturday on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
The “Almost Home” singer retook the oath on stage accompanied by Gen. Andrew Poppas, Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R, TN), in front of a sold-out crowd at the Opry, according to Stars and Stripes.
Blackburn served a key role in helping Morgan reenlist. During a conversation last year about the low enlistment rates the U.S., Morgan told the Sen. that he would love to reenlist, but at then age 58, he was far too close to the military’s mandatory retirement age of 62.
Blackburn, who was then a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was able to get the Pentagon to waive its requirement in Morgan’s case.
“I realized that there’s so much that I’ve missed — the friends, the feeling of the sense of accomplishment,” Morgan said. “I realized that I’ve missed it so much and I truly believe that I still have more to give.”
Once a soldier, always a soldier I love our country. pic.twitter.com/55XNrjF7sk
— cmorganmusic (@cmorganmusic) July 29, 2023
Morgan will now hold the rank of Staff Sergeant and Warrant Officer.
Morgan served in the Army for 17 years, with nearly 10 years of active duty. He deployed to South Korea and served in the Army and Army Reserve as a staff sergeant and fire support specialist with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. In 1989, he participated in the U.S. invasion of Panama, the paper reported.
Morgan praised his first stint in the Army and said he is grateful to the service for giving him his start in adult life, a way to care for his family, and instilling in him an appreciation for this country.
“This was my first test in combat, the real crucible of a soldier,” Morgan wrote of his service in his book, “God, Family, Country: A Memoir.” “You never know how you’re going to react when the bullets fly until you face them. I think we did well.”
The U.S. military has been missing recruitment goals all across the services and has also been under fire for pushing woke, left-wing nonsense on soldiers.
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