During his Saturday night (July 29) set at the Grand Ole Opry, Craig Morgan had a surprise planned for the audience — but it wasn’t the debut performance of a new song or an unannounced duet partner.
Instead, Morgan enlisted in and was sworn into the U.S. Army Reserve live on the Opry stage as part of the Saturday night show. The singer has an extensive background of military service: He previously served 17 years in the Army and Army Reserve with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions as an E-6 Staff Sergeant and Fire Support Specialist.
According to a press release, Morgan will continue to tour and release music as he embarks on a new chapter of military service.
“I’m excited to once again serve my country and be all I can be in hopes of encouraging others to be a part of something greater than ourselves,” he said in a statement. “I love being an artist but I consider it a true privilege and honor to work with what I believe are the greatest of Americans, my fellow soldiers. God Bless America. Go Army.”
In video of the one-of-a-kind moment shared to the Opry’s Instagram, Morgan is formally sworn into his new position in the Army Reserves by General Andrew Poppas.
Morgan has been vocal about his time in the Army and how special military service is to him throughout his career in country music. In the fall of 2022, he released his memoir God, Family, Country, which chronicles his years as an elite military operative as well as a number of other phases of his life and career.