Patrick Murphy is from a small town, Clifton Park, but his duties go far beyond the 50.2 square mile portion of Saratoga County where he lives with his wife Cherie. Murphy is a Brig. Gen. and 32-year veteran of the Army National Guard and was named the 52nd Adjutant General of the New York National Guard by Gov. David Paterson on Wednesday, Feb.3.
Gen. Murphy will replace Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto when his retirement becomes effective Sunday, Feb. 14. Gen. Murphy will now be responsible for making sure more than 16,000 members of the New York Army and Air National Guard are prepared to deploy in combat zones and to respond to State emergencies. He will also oversee 2,500 members of the New York Naval Militia and 700 members of the New York Guard.
In an interview with the Spotlight, Gen. Murphy said he is honored by Gov. Paterson’s appointment but that he’s just a small part of something much bigger.
It’s really not about the leadership and [honor], it is about all those folks that do all the hard work within this organization, we have some great people, and they just have a new leader now. I’m proud to be able to lead them, said Gen. Murphy.
He said he felt it important to emphasize that the current Adjutant General did a `phenomenal job` running the organization and making necessary improvements, like strength management. Gen. Murphy said it’s important to have a full force that can perform in overseas missions in addition to domestic missions, and under Gen. Taluto, there is more than 100 percent strength in the Army and Air National Guard. The challenge for him, said Gen. Murphy, will be to maintain what’s been built.
`Another area [Gen. Taluto] really built up was the idea of taking care of families in this time of persistent conflict overseas. We have deployed a lot of our service members and when they come back they may have some needs we had not identified previously. We currently prepare soldiers and families ahead of deployment to understand what their entitlements are and what’s available to them,` said Gen. Murphy. `Then we put together a program that helps support that post deployment period.`
The last big thing Gen. Murphy said he will work to maintain is ensuring a fully equipped force.
`When the war first started it was a big drain on a lot of our equipment within the state. Now, the equipment is either refurbished or replaced and we’re challenged to maintain that so our soldiers and airman have the equipment they need to properly train,` said Gen. Murphy.
Gov. Paterson said in a press conference that he chose Gen. Murphy because he is `an outstanding officer who brings with him a wealth of experience integrating the National Guard and active military components into State emergency and security planning, homeland defense and anti-terrorism activities.`
Gen. Murphy has served as a traditional National Guard soldier in Iowa, was trained as a helicopter pilot and held numerous Army National Guard leadership positions`platoon leader, company commander, battalion and brigade staff officer, battalion commander and brigade executive officer. He spent three years in Kuwait, serving as Assistant Chief of Staff for National Guard Affairs and was currently serving as Director of the Joint Staff and Assistant Adjutant General.
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