Country music singer Craig Morgan reenlisted in the U.S. Army while performing at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville Saturday.
The 59-year-old star had previously spent 17 years in the military, nearly 10 of which were on active duty, before finding acclaim as a country music singer. Morgan surprised the audience in the packed concert hall by pausing his concert to be sworn-in as a warrant officer with the U.S. Army Reserves live on stage. Morgan is the first person to commission military service at the Grand Ole Opry.
Welcoming country music singer Craig Morgan back into the @USArmyReserve as he resumes his already 17yrs of @USArmy service.@cmorganmusic pic.twitter.com/o3KXrsFFCb
— Chief of the Army Reserve & Commanding General (@ChiefUSAR) July 30, 2023
Morgan was sworn in by Gen. Andrew Poppas and was joined on stage by Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims and Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn reportedly played a big role in Morgan’s reenlisting, helping pave the way for him after he told her he regretted leaving the Army at a military fundraiser last year. Blackburn worked with the Department of Defense and the Army to get Morgan approved to reenlist, despite him being only three years away from the military’s mandatory retirement age of 62.
“He has always maintained his passion for and commitment to this nation and those that serve it,” Poppas said of Morgan while introducing him. “He’s always out there. He visits soldiers everywhere, whether it’s in the States, overseas…I’ve seen him in combat locations. He’s always engaging, he’s always entertaining, and he’s always inspiring those who’ve put themselves in harms way. That’s a patriot.”
“I realized that there’s so much that I’ve missed — the friends, the feeling of the sense of accomplishment,” Morgan said, according to Stripes. “I realized that I’ve missed it so much and I truly believe that I still have more to give.”
After being sworn-in, Morgan performed his song “Soldier,” which he routinely performs at concerts and dedicates to people who have been in the U.S. military. He called the service members who had been part of his commissioning ceremony back on stage and asked the people in the audience who had served in the armed forces to raise their hands.
“The people whose hands are in the air and the people who are on this stage represent the less than one percent of the people in the country that serve in this military,” Morgan said. “And it is that less than one percent that we owe our freedoms to. Lest we never forget, less than one percent. Thank you for your service, and thank you to your families.”
In an interview with NBC News prior to the ceremony, Morgan said that part of his reasoning for enlisting was the historically low recruitment for the U.S. military. Many, including Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, have attributed the lack of interest in military service to an increasingly politicized image of the armed forces in the eye of the public. Morgan said that people refusing military service on the basis of politics need to “put all of that aside.”
“I might not agree with everything this administration does, but I still go do my job and be all I can be so that I can be all I can be for everyone else,” Morgan said to NBC News.
Morgan will continue to perform concerts across the country for his God, Family, Country tour, but will be stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama two days each month.