Exploring Careers in Military Banking with Major Terrell Murdock

Episode Transcript
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Tom (00:00):
Militarily Speaking, Episode 75, Major Terrell Murdoch.

Jodi (00:04):
This episode, we talk with Major Terrell Murdoch, Army Banking Officer,
U. S. Army Financial Management Command.

Tom (00:23):
Welcome to Militarily Speaking, brought to you by Armed Forces Bank.
This is Tom McClain and Jody Vickery.
I'm the military retail executivefor Armed Forces Bank and Jody is,
I don't know, yesterday it was onetitle, today it's another title.

Jodi (00:39):
I think we should

Tom (00:40):
just put, we'll work for food.
All right.
That works for me.
Chief Digital Officer.
What a cool name.
So congratulations.
You got promoted to Major when?
You remember the day I got promoted?
It was in

Maj Terrell Murdock (00:51):
March.
Uh, yeah, last, last year.
So March of 23.
What's the exact date?
March 1st, 2023.
He made that up.
He made that up, didn't he?
They like, they like to promoteon the first of the, the month.
Okay.

Jodi (01:08):
Yeah.
It's funny how dates have different,like my husband can tell you the exact
day time hour, I think when he retiredand he can tell you it was 20 years,
this many days, this many hours.
Certain dates have a lot of meaning.

You got a lot of time left, though, don't you?
I do.
I have a decent amount of time.
If I'm talking about 20 years, I haveabout, you know, nine, nine years
left to get to the 20 year mark now.

Jodi (01:30):
No, you're over halfway now.
So, you

know.
They dangled that, that, thatterm general in front of me.
You know, I don't know.

Jodi (01:37):
Yeah, yeah.
You're on the downhill run, man.
You're halfway there.
Again, welcome to our show.
We're excited to have youlistening and learning all about
our guest, Major Terrell Murdoch.
I'm going to tell our audiencea little bit about you.
You have a very distinguishedbio, so bear with me.
This is all information you know, but ouraudience, our audience, of course, wouldn't.
So I do want to share it because I think it'sall important and well deserved accolades.

(01:58):
Major Terrell Murdoch was born on May8th, 1991 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
He graduated from NorthwesternState University of Louisiana with a
bachelor's degree in finance on May10th, 2013, and commissioned as a
second lieutenant in the armor branch.
After completing the Armor Basic OfficerLeader's Course at Fort Benning, Georgia,
he was assigned to the 3rd Squadron,89th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat

(02:20):
Team of the 10th Mountain Division.
Major Murdoch deployed in Septemberof 2015 to 2016 to Afghanistan in
support of Operation Resolute Support,where he served as a platoon leader
with Alpha Troop 3 of the 89th Cav.
Upon redeployment from Afghanistan, he servedas the Infantry Dismounted Reconnaissance
Troop Executive Officer of DATSO.

Tom (02:39):
That's keep going.
Cause you, I don't roll.
I know I'm

Jodi (02:42):
trying.
I'm trying for Charlietruth through the 89 cab.
I don't want to, I don't want my husbandto hear this and have me come home and be
like, I can't believe you read that wrong.

Tom (02:50):
The three 89.
Yeah.

Jodi (02:52):
He deployed with Charlie truth via the 89 cab from October, 2017 to 2018 to Iraq
in support of operation inherent resolve.
Upon returning from Iraq, MajorMurdoch transitioned to the finance
branch, completing the FinancialManagers Branch course and Captain
Career course in December 2018.
He received his first finance assignment asthe Brigade S 8 for 1 Brigade Combat Team

(03:14):
101st Airborne, Air Assault, from 2019 2021.

Tom (03:19):
Bravo.

Jodi (03:20):
Yes, yes,

Tom (03:20):
airborne.
You took the acronym andactually made it the full thing.
I did that on the

Jodi (03:24):
fly

Tom (03:25):
too,

Jodi (03:25):
so yeah, be everybody be impressed.
He then served as the Alpha DetachmentCommander in the 101st Financial Management
Support Unit or FMSU from 2021 to 2022.
Major Murdoch was then selectedto attend training with industry.
Which we're going to talk a lotabout today from 2022 to 2023.
And currently he is serving as the departmentof the army banking officer at us army

(03:48):
financial management command, major Murdoch'smilitary education includes a lot of things.
I will just say armor, basic officers,leader course, army reconnaissance course,
army combatants, level one army combatants,level two financial managers, branch
course, casualty notification officer, andcasualty assistance officer, fiscal law
planning, programming, budgeting, execution.

(04:09):
PPBE for those that likethe shortened version.
Financial Management, Operational Budget,Internal Control Program Manager, Defense
Travel System Administration, GFEBS FundCertification, Mountain Athlete Warrior.
That's kind of cool.
I would like to hear about that a little bit.
I wouldn't want to probably doit, but I'd love to hear about it.
Financial manager's captain careercourse and training with industry.

(04:31):
There it is again.
So we're, we're teasing thewhole podcast with this.
By the way, that

Tom (04:34):
whole paragraph covered my entire life.

Jodi (04:36):
I think he's done, he's done more in that paragraph and maybe both of us combined.
Yes.
So, so it gets, it gets better, Tom.
So you might feel more inadequate as

Tom (04:45):
we proceed.
That's the end of his bio.
That's it.
No, he's got more.
Keep coming.
He's got more.

Jodi (04:50):
He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Northwestern
State University of Louisiana.
Master's Degree in Business Administrationfrom Trident University, Business Analytics,
Microsoft Excel Specialist, Six Sigma YellowBelt, and Illicit Finance Analyst, IFA.
Major Murdoch's awards and decorationinclude the Order of St. Maurice Legionnaire
Medallion, Army Bronze Star Medal, theMeritorious Service Medal, the Army

(05:13):
Commendation Medal with Bronze Oak LeafCluster and C Device, Army Achievement
Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation with BronzeOak Leaf, National Defense Service Medal,
Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq CampaignMedal, Global War on Terrorism Service
Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the OverseasRibbon, the NATO Medal, the Expert Soldier
Badge, Pathfinder, and Air Assault Badge.

Tom (05:32):
He was one shy of the number of ribbons I've received in my life.

Jodi (05:36):
Like your track and field from grade school does not count, huh?

Tom (05:39):
I won the typing award, right?
Yeah.
For 92 words a minute.
I don't

Jodi (05:44):
think that's the same kind of medal.

Tom (05:45):
I know.
OK.
And I won

Jodi (05:47):
a spelling bee.
Also, not that I got out in thefirst round in our spelling bee.
What was the word?
Shirt.
. I was little.
It might have been full, full disclosure.
No, I was having flashbacks to trying toput my husband's blues together with some of
these and wear the little Oakley clusters.
And

Tom (06:01):
all of that goes.
By the way, full disclosure,Terrell, I, I came in second.
I lost on iridescent.
Hmm.
You know what time aboutI can see that . Yeah.
I, I like you already.
I'll never, I like

Jodi (06:12):
you already.
I'll

Tom (06:13):
always know how to spell iridescent going forward.
Good.

Jodi (06:16):
I mean, it's a, it's a good thing to know in life.
Cause it's a commonly used word.
So, so welcome.
It is an honor to have you on our show.
Thank you for being with us and foragreeing to put up with Tom for the
next however long we're together.
You know, I want to start a littlebit with just your military career.
I, I'd love to just hear everybody's storyabout why they joined is different, right?
You know, I'd love to hear a littlebit about your decision to join the

(06:37):
army and how your journey has led youto your recent promotion to major.
We talked about that spring of last year.
So months ago.
Yeah.
Every take.
So I just love a little bit ofbackstory on you to start us off.
Okay,

so as far as my military career goes, I'll say
I grew up as a, as a weird kid.
Right.
So when I was in sixth grade, I hadmy, my life plan already created for me
to say might be either an NFL player.
That was my, my first choice.

Jodi (07:05):
Solid choice.
Yeah.

Second will be the army.
And then third was like,Hey, K that didn't work out.
I'll be an accountant.
So, you know, my, my NFL dreamsdidn't go as, as planned.
So as that happened, I looked towardsthat second option was, uh, the army.
And I mean, I grew a passion for it and itwas mainly through TV shows and movies and

(07:28):
my, my dad, he really, he liked war films.
So I grew a passion from watching that.
So I've always wanted to join.
And it also to me being acompetitor, me, me being a leader
in sports, it helped tie that to it.
It kept it kept that that senseof belonging going in me because

(07:48):
I didn't want that to die.
And obviously, you know, I got myfinance degree in business degree.
So if you know, I get kickedout today or tomorrow, I can I
can fall back on that as well.
Right.

Jodi (07:59):
Yeah, definitely.
And there's still timeearly to be in the NFL.
I mean,

truth be told.
What position?
So, I

Tom (08:07):
play cornerback and a receiver.
So, so like Dion's son, right?
Because he plays both DBand That's not his son.
That's not his son.
that's right.
Obviously gonna Is that Taylor?
How do I know more about that than you do?
That's like a nephew.
Can you edit this?
Yeah.

Jodi (08:23):
That's Travis Hunter.

Tom (08:25):
You're good.
I know.
There's more where that came from.
His son, the quarterback's pretty good too.
Well, he's got two sons on the team.
Defensive background.

He got two sons.
One's a quarterback and one's a safety.
Yep.

Tom (08:37):
What else can I tell you about football, Tom?
Let's go back to Major Murdoch.
Yes.
Yes.
So we've known each other, right?
For a few years, you've known Renee probablya little bit longer, but we've talked sports.
We talked movies, right?
We've talked real estate.
We've talked the economy, but let'stalk about you a little bit further.
You talked about, you know, thefootball, the army, the finance side,

(08:57):
the accounting side of the house.
But so what makes you tick?
I'm going to ask that one question.
I hate to be asked, but I'mgoing to ask you anyway, right?
What gets you up every day?
What fires you up every day?
What's, okay.
Who inspires you?
What makes you do what you want to do?
Because you like Jody and you'vetalked about, about the passion
that you have for what you do forour country, but what drives you?

So I'll, I'll say for me, my life purpose for me, I feel my
purpose is that I was put on this earth.
To change create change within myfamily, right, that that general wealth
capability and to the point right now,I say I've been achieving that goal.
I'm not there yet, but I'vebeen achieving that goal.

(09:39):
And what I mean by changethat is every generation.
I think within a family, youwant to get better and better.
You want to stay stagnant.
So I've took the knowledge thatI've gained through the military
being different personnel.
On how to better your finances andbeing educated in that arena to take
it to where, you know, your kids andtheir kids have the ability to be

(10:04):
financially set on moving forward.
And I think that was my purposeand not only for my family, but I'm
spreading their wealth against anybody.
And I need to share that knowledge.
That's one of the things that make me tick.
Other thing is my family.
I think it's important to havefamily and friends around you.
That way you're able to enjoy the good times.
And that way you can getthrough the bad times as well.

(10:25):
So those are the two things.
My life purpose and my family.

Jodi (10:28):
I love that.

Yeah.

Jodi (10:29):
What a good answer.
Good job starting offwith a, with a good one.
I know

Tom (10:32):
he, that was Chet GPT.
Was it?
Yeah, he did that.

Jodi (10:36):
That seemed legitimate.
That actually seemed very

Tom (10:39):
genuine and authentic.
Yes.
But if you fast forward five years,ten years, fifteen, twenty years
from now, we can't predict that.
But what, where would you be eitherwhen you got out of the military
or even in the next five yearswhile you're still in the military?
Is there a certain aspiration you have?

There is.
So one, one path that I'm followingright now is to get certified.
So first step would be anaccredited financial counselor.
Next step is to be a certifiedfinancial, um, advisor.
And that's something I can do rightnow while I'm in the military.
Get those two certifications.
So once I'm done, again, if I want to gointo that area, I do have that option.

Jodi (11:19):
That's good.
Those are both reallygood certifications to, to

go after.

Jodi (11:22):
Reportable.
Yep.
Definitely.
What would you tell, kind of to build on thatanswer, which I love, what would you tell
a young man or young woman that is thinkingabout joining the military today in today's
world with everything that's going on?
What advice would you give them?
Is there advice thatyou've either just learned?
along the way through your own experiencesor that, that maybe a mentor has given

(11:45):
you along the way that you would, youwould put a bug in their ear about as they
make that decision to join or not join?

Oh, yes, definitely.
So I will break down thatquestion into two parts.
So the first one is short term.
So if you're someone that don't necessarilyknow what you want to do long term, the
arm is a great option because it offersyou the ability to gain a certification.
gain experience, and also getpaid while you're doing it.

(12:12):
So if you do say, Hey, this iswhat I want to do long term.
Now you're in that particular field.
And if not, you can go into a fieldthat way you can get a certification.
One example is when I was a platoon leader,I had a soldier that was a signal soldier.
And he dealt with computers and during histime, he completed all his certifications.
And now he got out after fouryears and he's a certified I.

(12:35):
T. Technician, making a decent amountof money on the outside and vice versa.
Long term, if you're somebody that lovesto lead and inspire and make a difference.
You can do a long term, and at theend of it, I'll say it does have
a pretty nice retirement package.

Jodi (12:53):
As the spouse of a retiree, I would say yes.

Tom (12:57):
Emphatically.
Yes.
Yes.
So, thank you for another good answer.
He's getting good at these answers.
I've got to throw him for acurveball so he messes up.

Jodi (13:05):
Yeah.
You've been warned.

Tom (13:07):
Well, yeah.
So, we were introduced.
Thanks to Renee Fairchild.
I'm going to say her nameas much as I can today.
Through the Department of the Army'straining with industry program, right?
And it's been around formore than a couple decades.
Yes.
We're very proud of that.
I think you've, you're proud of to havebeen a graduate of that program too.
And from the Tony Taylors of the world toother people that have come and gone and

(13:29):
graduated, I think they all have praise.
for the program and how they benefitedfrom it and how it's memorable
for them and what they learned.
So you cover operations, retail, payments,credit, compliance, audit, cybersecurity,
fraud, a whole litany of things of life kindof in the banking world, the finance world.

(13:49):
Talk about that program from yourperspective and what it's meant either
for you personally or for the Army.
Yeah,

so I'll say the program is limitless.
So me personally, coming into the program,I've always was interested in banking.
Didn't get the opportunitybefore the military.
So for me, when I saw the opportunityto do training with industry and
to deal with a bank and having theability to learn the inside and outside
of, uh, A financial institution.

(14:17):
I jumped at the opportunitywhen it was presented to me.
Just taking a stab back at the program.
So again, like you said, program'sbeen around since 1970 and it was
stood up to bridge the gap betweenthe dispersing component and banking.
So when we go into, uh, say a conflict orinto a theater or a foreign country, and

(14:38):
we need to get access of cash to supportoperations, we're able to go into a foreign
finance institution and talk the talk andwalk the walk of a, of a banker and going
through this train with industry program,going through those departments that you
mentioned time and getting that education.
We do have that firsthand knowledge.
So that way we can look at thereports, look at the balance sheet.

(15:02):
They look at their certifications.
Do they have a vault?
Are they a actual standing business thatwe can use the government funds so that
way we can get cash on that economy?
And those are the tools thatwe get from the program.
And one of the things now is everybodywants a banking officer to be in their
organization, but that exact reason tosupport large scale combat operations.

Jodi (15:25):
I didn't know that I knew all that.

Interesting.

Jodi (15:28):
Yeah, definitely.
So, since its inception, the, theprogram has also expanded to include
what we call the short course.
I think we've had

Tom (15:35):
So, let's take a, we'll take a step back though, because the course, or the, you
were a full time student, if you will, right?
So is it nine or nine to 12 month timeframe?
Is that what it was when you were here?
We'll say, we'll say 11 months.
Let's go with 11.
10. 5, just to put the difference.
Yeah.
And then back to whereyou're headed with that too.
But yeah, we had two studentstypically go through that program.
And then we've had theluxury of getting creative.

(15:59):
Renee's helped, Jose Riverahelped, and now we've got a short

course.

Jodi (16:03):
Yeah,

yeah, the course.
So like when it, when it first startedback in 1970, it was just only one officer
that went through train with industry.
Then I want to say it was Likearound 2007, 2008, they incorporated
the one bank, one NCO, I mean, onebank, one officer and a one NCO.
So those two go as a team and typicallythe way it worked in a perfect year

(16:28):
is those two will pair up and theywill go to either Hawaii together to
be the Pacific banking team or Germanyto be the European banking team.
And then the officer and NCO were split.
So for that third year.
It will be, they'll go to Fort Knoxto serve as the CINCOM Banking NCO.
And then that other officer willgo to USFMCOM, United States Army

(16:50):
Financial Management Command toserve as the DA Banking Officer.

Jodi (16:54):
Coming out of the long, long program, the original program.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Back to your question,because Tom kind of jumped.

Jodi (17:00):
He does that.
Well, I

do that.
He does that.
It's a problem.
I'm trying to teach him manners.
So as far as the short parts, yeah,the, the short version of that course,
the operation of making a short course.
So same thing.
So that course was developed again with Ms.
Renee and my predecessor, MajorRivera, to give more opportunities.

(17:22):
So the training industry opportunitiesonly offered to active duty soldiers.
However, the short course, now yougot the National Guard component and
the reserve component that's alsoable to attend and gain that banking
knowledge through the short course.
So they may not hit all 26 departments thatthe active duty TWI personnel hit, but they

(17:44):
do get an extensive amount of knowledge.
And so it's three phases.
So they have the online phase.
And they go into the one week at ArmedForces Bank, and then they come here.
I used to film come and get that finalphase for the operational piece of it.
But the knowledge, they stillget that same knowledge.
And again, it's a great opportunityoffered to all three components.

Jodi (18:05):
And and so.
On top of that, would there be any, anythings that you would throw out there as, I
don't know, call it a 30 second commercialfor people that might think they're
interested in this, they're on the edgeand they're, they maybe need that push.
And if they are interested, how do theyraise their hand and get considered to
be part of one of the upcoming slatesfor the one of the upcoming courses?

Okay, so if, if you are someone that are interested in attending
the operation of making a short course, youcan go to the use of income SharePoint page.
For the training opportunitieswhere they will see the tab for the
operational banking short course.
If you click that tab, it providesyou with all the information for
all 3 iterations that are given aswell as what you need to provide.

(18:50):
So, provide your last 3 evaluations,your ability to pass a height and
weight test and a letter recommendation.
from your commander, and I'll getthat on the flip side, if you have
trouble with technology, you canalways email me at my military email.
That's Terrell, that's T E R R E LL dot W dot Murdoch, that's M U R

(19:15):
D O C K dot meal at army dot meal.
And I'd be happy to assist.
Excellent.
Excellent.
Wow.
What's your cell number?

Jodi (19:23):
Where do you live?
Don't say that.
Give him Tom's cell phone number.
555. Yeah.
Yeah.
He won't answer.
Right.

Tom (19:33):
Whoa.

Jodi (19:34):
He does know

Tom (19:34):
you.
He does know you.
Thank you for joining us today throughout.
We are talking about more ofthe selection process too.
I know that people will be jumpingat the bit to get their names in
the hat to try to be part of this.
And it's three times a year.
Typically these short courses are rolled out.
and fulfilled, but process wise,again, there's Guard, there's

(19:57):
Reservists, now we've added Marines.

Yeah.

Tom (19:59):
If I'm not mistaken.
So we're expanding the horizon a littlebit to different branches of service, but
they come into these programs and thenthey just go back to normal life after
they go through that three phase process.
Is that right?

Jodi (20:14):
As a military spouse, I understand how unpredictable life can be.
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Tom (20:25):
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Jodi (20:46):
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Tom (21:00):
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So yeah, so once they're done They did go back to their regular unit.
However, they do receive a skillidentifier from completing the course.
So with that skin identifier, theyare identified as someone that's went
through the course and has the abilityto conduct banking operations if needed.
So the, the way it is conducted is.

(21:45):
Any event, say we go into theater, say wehave, we're spread out, we got some things
going on in the Pacific, some things goingon in Central America, and I'm too busy,
I'm bogged down doing what I have to do.
Well, we have individuals identifiedthat we can locate within those units
that have the experience and theknowledge to be able to conduct banking

(22:06):
operations within that area of operations.
I do my best not to say acronyms, I wasgoing to say AOR, but you know, all those
army acronyms can get a little confusing.
Jody would have known that.
Tom

Jodi (22:17):
will just make up acronyms and act like they mean something.
So it's funny.
That's how we get through our day.
Sorry, Tom.
What did you, I mean, when you were in theprogram, what did you enjoy most about it?
So for me, I loved everything

about it because I completely nerded out, right?

Jodi (22:33):
I thought you were going to say Tom, you love Tom.
Hey,

I mean, Tom, Tom was okay.
He didn't give you enough free swag.
You should give him some free swag.
That's an AR comic for another day.

Tom (22:43):
We, no, but we gave them to a lot of others that went through the program.
So yeah, we, we chosenot to give some to you.
Okay.

Jodi (22:52):
Renee, I'll take care of

it.
But I, I, like I said, I murmuredout when I went through the program
because all that stuff fascinated me.
So getting that knowledge of.
You know, when applying for a credit card,these are the things you should look for.
You should include in the initialentry because a lot of people
don't know that stuff, right?
They get, they get frightened by applyingfor a credit card, learning that, Hey,

(23:15):
there's a bot, there's a bot system thatis the first initial entry to, to reviewing
a credit or, or, you know, your realestate application for that piece of it.
People don't know that stuff.
So learning that behind, behind the scenes.
Talking to the real estate section,the portfolio section, meeting the
CFO, the CEO, the comptroller, goingthrough what, you know, HR was okay.

(23:38):
It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasmore nerve wracking over all
the stuff that they deal with.
But going through the debit, the debitcard section, reviewing the fraud.
Yeah.
That was very exciting too.
Cause I didn't know that much was goingon behind the scenes or even, even
knowing people are continually trying to.

(23:58):
To hack the system and there'sthings in place that prevents it.
So they even give me a comfort of knowinghow to cure my, my own personal FSR.
What a financial institution in thedue diligence that the personnel
working behind the scenes are doing.
And not, and not only that, but theadditional training that that's being
offered and that they have to do as mandated.
So that way they stay up to date on their owncraft as well as overall within the industry.

(24:23):
So for me, learning that commercialside of it was fantastic.
Now on a, on a, on a plus a noteis being in the military, you do.
get accustomed to, to being in the military.
And after a certain point, youfeel like this is all I can do.
This is all I am.
So having that break and goingthrough training with industry, I

(24:46):
did learn that, hey, on that level,I can compete and I can do well.
I kind of compare myself to someof the employees that work there.
I'm not going to lie,

Jodi (24:55):
and

I was like, you know what?
I could do that.
So I left there with a sense ofcomfort that I can go into the
commercial sector and I can do well.

Jodi (25:06):
I think you just said he's coming for your job, Tom.
I know.
Well, yeah,

Tom (25:10):
I'm a silver platter.
So yeah, but you think aboutcareer transitioning, right?
That you're, you're in for 20 years,you're in for 10, for whatever number.
It's scary.
The transitioning process and to be able to.
Sort of have a side by side programthat lets you test the waters, if
you will, and see how you compete.
And also see if you even want a career inthe civilian world to be in that field.

Jodi (25:34):
So you talked about the skill identifier too, but aside from that, how,
how does participation in a course like this,while you're still in the military, how does
it help you in terms of career advancementor your plans within the military?

Yeah.
So as far as like.
That piece of it.
One thing I've learned is my timeas the Army banking officer there.
I'm the only one there.
There's no one else thatdoes what I what I am doing.
So at that piece of it, you havethe a lot of people relying on you.
So, if you do your job, well,just like anything else, right?

(26:08):
Your name will travel.
So, it would open up more opportunitiesfor you within the finance core.
So, that's, I mean, that's one ofthe, that's one of the benefits.
The other part is having theability to do things like this.
You know, if I would never didthat opportunity, I wouldn't

Tom (26:26):
be here right now.
So we're going to have you talkon behalf of the entire army.
Okay.
You ready?
No pressure.
Okay.
Because apparently this programhas been going a long time, right?
It's, it's gotten the endorsement,if you will, from The highest
level, it's meaningful.
It matters.
It's part of a long term play.
Maybe to get more people engaged, more peopleeducated, adept in the theater of finance.

(26:49):
And so from, put your department of thearmy hat on to a point where, how does
it benefit the department, this TWIprogram training with industry, and maybe.
Why it matters.
And talk a little bit about if youput a crystal ball in front of you,
what would it look like down the road?
Is it look the same?
I don't know.
A lot of conjecture here.

(27:09):
A lot of speculation about stuff.
But what first and foremost,why does it matter to you now?
The army?

So why does it matter?
So the army did a thing a year agowhen the force was Design update jr.
And what this did was it establishedbanking officers in different areas.
So previously the only true bankingofficer was the job that I'm sitting in

(27:38):
right now as the only banking officer.
Everywhere else it was additional duty.
So, that shows you, by them making anofficial assignment for the Pacific,
for Germany, for CENTCOM, to ensurethat there are backing teams that are
documented, that tells you the way goingforward and how they see things going.

(27:58):
And as we know, if the conflict movesforward, One of the more popular things that
has even recently came up was, Hey, the needfor more banking officers, because after the
fight gets spread out, we're going to getthinner, you know, as nothing's going on.
We were solid as a court.
We're going to get thinner.
So as those small teams push out, you'regoing to need people with banking knowledge.

(28:22):
So that's the first thing.
And then the second part, again,with that short course, we're
having, we're able to increase thefootprint that they can knowledge.
So, so even if you don't have a trainingwith industry graduate, you have
somebody that attended the short course.
And that person who attended theshort course can also expand on
their knowledge within their unit.
So that way it can affect the overall fight.

(28:44):
And the only way to affect the fightis having cash on the battlefield.

Tom (28:49):
So if you did fast forward, I still think this thing is viable, it's
relevant, it's important, it matters.
We need to be fluid as you're, as the armyis fluid, be cognizant of what's going
on in the landscape out there, but alsoprovide the resources for you and get you
the information you need that will helpyou be successful on the battlefield too.

(29:09):
So you see this, you seethis continuing for a while?

Yes, I can.
I see continuing for a while.
And I mean, I even see the demandpotentially growing just because we're
learning of how things are right now.
And banking is the more what Iwould say what more important thing
because as you look at technology.
Right.
Not only cash, but the cryptos,you know, EFT is having a way to

(29:37):
get cash from one point to another.
That money movement.
Yeah.
So having someone within internalindustry, learning the latest and greatest
ways of, of getting cash, transferringcash, that technology, being, getting
that firsthand knowledge of industry,and then taking that back to the army.

(29:57):
You're gonna always need the capability.

Jodi (29:59):
Very good point.

Tom (30:01):
Terrell, this is a personal question.
You ready?
All right.
What's the day in the lifeof Major Murdoch at work?
Keep it at work.
That's a good clarification.
I know I had to throw itin there the last second.
Okay.
Day in the life.
Without giving away toomuch information, what's the

day in the life?
Do some PT, check emails, assistmy, my AOR banking officers, as well
as bank liaison officers at all thedifferent Garrison managing contracts.
To ensure everybody have what they need.
But, but the biggest thing of myrole is supporting and supporting

(30:39):
requests and supporting personnelto ensure that we constantly have
everybody with their banking needs.

Tom (30:47):
So soon, and we don't give away dates, but at some point your role as army
banking officer comes to an end, right?
We, you passed the torch, passed the baton.
And so what's the legacy you wantto leave for maybe the predecessor?
Successor.

Jodi (31:01):
Successor.
Did I use

Tom (31:02):
that correctly?

Jodi (31:02):
You did not.

Tom (31:03):
So.
A plethora of successors.
Yeah.

Jodi (31:05):
Yes.
For the person that comesafter you, we'll say.

So, okay.
Legacy that I want to leave.
Yeah.
I'll say, uh, to someone that supported,someone that was a part of the
solution, that actively found a wayto yes, and overall someone that left
my seat better than I received it.

Jodi (31:27):
That is a really good answer.
I'd hire him today.

Tom (31:30):
It's like deep thoughts on Saturday Night Live.

Jodi (31:33):
No, that's just, that's embedded goodness right there.
So as you, as you think about, and Idon't, I don't know how far out that
transition is for you, but are therethings that you have on your radar as
things that you, you still want to tackle?
Things that are.
Maybe areas of concern or I think onthe flip side, maybe more positive spin.
What are the things about the experience inthe seat that you're the most grateful for?

I'm going to start with that one first.
So yeah, I figured he's going

Jodi (31:58):
to have a really good answer for this.

I'll say the ability to continue to talk to miss Renee and Tom.
I thought

Jodi (32:05):
you were just going to stop at Renee.

Hey, and I'm glad you stopped at Renee.
Yeah.
Well, can

Jodi (32:12):
we edit?
We'll edit

that.
Believe it or not.
Hey, me and Tom talk more than we.
We did when I was in the program.
So we'll talk more now than back then.
Let's not change a thing, Terrell.
No, but so at this, at this level thatI'm sitting in, I see a whole lot.
So stuff that I probablywould never even known about.

(32:33):
I hear about it firsthand.
And then that knowledge gap.
It's a big knowledge gap fromworking at the company or battalion
level to working at the core level.
So, so things that I was confusedabout or was never even aware of or
tracking, I get that knowledge firsthand.
Second thing is the associations.
So I get to deal with different agencies.

(32:55):
So like Federal Reserve, Treasury.
So whether this is being somebodysitting on the sound line.
I'm actually interacting with thoseindividuals that are in some key seats.
Something that I never would haveeven been a part of traveling.
I've traveled more than youcan ever imagine in this seat.
I've been places that Iprobably never would have went.

(33:17):
So just having that, that opportunityto see the world and it's all
paid for by the government.
Which is another thing that I'm gratefulfor because I'm me personally, I'm all
about doing new things and experiencingnew things because I feel a lot of time
when you grew up in a certain area, youkind of just stay there your whole life

(33:37):
and you don't actually spread out too far.
Or eat new things.
So having the ability to be in their seat,go new places, go farther where I've been,
meet people, develop mentors, friendships.
So again, like I said before, atthe beginning of this podcast, the
opportunities from doing training withindustry now to here were limitless.
And beyond whatever I thought I wasgetting myself into prior to submitting

(34:02):
my packet for training with industry.
Right, there's the

Jodi (34:05):
30 second commercial.

No kidding.

Jodi (34:07):
Yeah, bottle that up.

Tom (34:09):
It's a lot of people, Terrell, that are going to be proud of you
for the, for your responses today.
So you did a, you're doing a fantastic job.
Did you ask what his biggest fear was?
Nope, not yet.
Oh, we can ask him that?
What's your biggest fear, Terrell?
Not like spiders or something,but just, just in general.

I'm a very deep individual.
So my biggest fear, my biggestfear is, is leaving this earth.
Without fulfilling my purpose.
That's my biggest fear.
As in, in a nutshell, that's it.
Oh.

Tom (34:45):
That's your cue, Tom.
No, I'm still, I'm still absorbingall those great, great answers.
Very thoughtful answers.
So any other plugs?
Any other comments?
Anything you want to sayabout training with industry?
Or about your time in the military?
Any parting words as we wind this down?

First, so if, if there's someone that wants to apply for
training with industry, I'll say visit thefinance and comptroller school webpage.
So that's finance.
army.
mil.
So once you get to that site, you'llsee FC net, which you should sign up
for because they sent out the news forall things finance on that, but sign up

(35:24):
for the FC net located on mill suite.
And by doing that, it, they will post.
The announcement for the trimmer industryeach year, so that way you're able to apply.
Very good.
Now, as far as any, any parting words go.
Be nice.
This is, I'll leave, I'll leave,I'll leave with as any parting

(35:45):
words is always find a way to yes.
So if that person who tells you no.
Continue until you can find aperson that can tell you yes.
And that's something I live by becauseoftentimes in my life, in my journey,
people have told me, no, I couldn'tdo this or no, I couldn't do that.

(36:09):
But they wasn't the personthat could tell me yes.
So I continued on my journey.
I continue going until, youknow, I identify that person and
oftentimes that person is you.
You're the person that'sgoing to tell you no.
You're the person that'sgoing to tell you yes.
So that's something thatyou want to do in life.
I'll say continue pushing forwardtoward that goal, toward that dream,

(36:31):
because everything in life is limitless.
And at the day, it depends on you.

Tom (36:37):
So did you, I'm going to add on to that.
Did you come to that realizationon your own that you couldn't, you
didn't want to take no for an answer?
Or did something happen ordid somebody tell you that you
should take a different approach?
Or was it all self reflection andyou did, you took it on yourself?

You know, Tom, that's a very good question.
Most don't ask that question.
So, there's a story behind it.
So, me and my buddy, Cort andShelly, we was in, uh, Officer
Bolick together at Fort Benning.
So, once we graduated, uh, theschool, the armor school, we was
in, like, a snowboarding phase.
Basically, we was just, we wasjust there waiting the PCS.
So, we wanted to go to Pathfinder School.

(37:16):
And we were told by the school'sperson that we were with, like, no,
you can't go to Pathfinder School.
But they had slots.
It was like, well, we can't go.
They got slots.
Like, no, you can't go.
You're armored.
So me, me and Carlton Shelly, we were bothsecond lieutenants at the time, that's the
lowest ranking you can be for an officer.
We went down to the Pathfinder School, like,hey, I'm trying to get into the school.

(37:38):
They was like, oh, it's full.
But we got some extra slots this month.
You gotta go through your schools.
And they were like, well,school said we can't do it.
It was like, well, go to this place.
So we went to the headquarters,the airborne headquarters.
Went to the airborne headquartersand we met the secretary.
Secretary was like, oh no,you can't get into the course.
So then we started storming the halls.
We was looking for, uh, We was lookingfor the colonel who's over at the school.

(38:03):
And I was like, I was like, Heyman, we gonna get in trouble.
And then he told me that quote.
He's like, My mom told me, shewas like, Never accept a no from
somebody that can't tell you yes.
He's no longer serving in the military,but I took that slogan on for myself.
And I've used that into mycareer on a lot of things.
And as you can see, I've achievedthat goal of getting Pathfinder.

(38:26):
And it was because I never accepted a nofrom somebody who did not tell me yes.

Jodi (38:31):
Yeah, great story.
Great lesson.

Yeah.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.

Tom (38:36):
Is it time?

Jodi (38:37):
It is time.
Have you been looking forward to this?
Kind of.

Tom (38:40):
I think he's going to know the answer to the last, last episode's question.

Jodi (38:44):
Oh, okay.
So.
We'll give it a go.
We're going to play Military Minute.
So
it's your lucky day.
Yes.
So I don't know if you've missedthe setup, but we're very excited.
Tom's very excited to playour military trivia game.
That's not really military trivia.

Tom (39:01):
Not really.
Military Minute.
Sometimes it's like pop culture stuff.
And it's

Jodi (39:03):
trivia.
Yeah.
So not really military trivia.
So last podcast episode, we hada guest on that was a comedian.
And so if you know the answer to thisone, you are welcome to say it out loud.
Because the cat is out of the bag,as they say with their audience.
So according to Rolling Stone magazine, whois the best stand up comedian of all time?

Dave Chappelle.

Jodi (39:27):
Oh, that's a good guess.
Tom's got the list of the top 50,so he's gonna check you real quick.

Tom (39:33):
Not the one we were looking for.
It was 6, 7, 9th.

Jodi (39:38):
Oh, what a good guess.
You guessed better than I did.

Tom (39:40):
Yes, you got 41 more to go.
No, that would be 49 years ago.
I'm doing the math well.
I

Jodi (39:47):
mean, according to Rolling Stone, who I mean, I guess they know.

Tom (39:50):
I know.
I mean, maybe it was David

Jodi (39:51):
Chappelle and they just

Tom (39:52):
don't know.
But

Jodi (39:53):
according to Rolling Stone, they think it was Richard Pryor.

Tom (39:56):
I was going to say, I was going to say Richard Pryor.

Jodi (39:58):
Yeah,

Tom (39:58):
I always say that too, Terrell, whenever I get it wrong.

I was going to say Richard Pryor, but in, within like the past
two years, DeSapelle resurfaced, and hereceived a lot of accolades, and some would
say he has surpassed Richard Pryor's numbers.

Jodi (40:17):
Oh, we should write Rolling Stone and tell them they got it wrong.

They should.
You should say Major Murdock said that.

Jodi (40:23):
Need your signature.
So if you are in our audience and youguessed or had an informed answer and said
Richard Pryor, watch for your name to bedropped as the one that was selected with
the right answer that will receive 50 foryourself and 50 to a charity of your choice.
And this week's Military Minute, you can'tanswer this one out loud, but you can like.

(40:44):
He doesn't know the answer.
He might.

Tom (40:46):
Nah.

Jodi (40:47):
So raise your hand, I guess, if you know, because then we'll know that you know.
Okay.

Tom (40:50):
But

Jodi (40:50):
you can't say it.
So you could raise your handanyway, and we'd think you knew.

Tom (40:54):
Because I didn't know it.
He won't know it.

Jodi (40:56):
Oh.
It's about Indianapolis.
That doesn't make any sense.
What famous tune did Albert Von Tilzer.
Right.
Your face is the face I made.
Nobody on planet Earth is going to know.
They won't even know howto spell that to Google it.

Tom (41:13):
It'll take a little extra work.

Jodi (41:15):
Albert von Tilzer wrote a little ditty, a famous tune.
What would it be?
If you know the answer.
It's not

Tom (41:21):
about Jack and Diane.
It

Jodi (41:22):
is not Jack and Diane.
Tell you a story offline about that one.
But if you know the answer, when thispodcast drops, drop it in the comments and
then you too could be selected from theright answer list to get 50 for yourself
and 50 to a charity of your choice.
I don't know where you gotthat random one, but good job.

Tom (41:40):
Well, it's the 75th episode.
It

has to be a classic.
Yeah.
If I were to answer that questioncorrectly, would I have received 50?
And then Tom will personally pay you 50.

Tom (41:52):
Yeah.

He's good

Tom (41:53):
for it.
I'll just give you some swag.

Jodi (41:56):
Long awaited swag.

Tom (41:57):
Thank you.
Again, thanks for a great episode with you.
And so thank you for spending time with us.
If you enjoyed today'sepisode, go out to AFBank.
com and subscribe to the show.
Also make sure Terrell that you rateus, leave us a comment on your favorite
podcast platform such as Apple podcastor Spotify and YouTube, all the places.

(42:18):
Well done, sir.

Jodi (42:19):
Yes.
Thank you so much.

Tom (42:21):
Thank you.
Thank you.

Disclaimer (42:27):
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Their mention does not imply any affiliationwith or endorsement by Armed Forces Bank
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Apps may have an initial cost orin application purchase features.

(42:49):
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Although Armed Forces Bank believesthis information to be accurate, it
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Statements or opinions ofindividuals referenced herein are
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