Former Army Captain is Army Undersecretary nominee

The nominee to Army undersecretary told a Senate committee that he believes his experiences as an Iraq War veteran and member of Congress will help him in the job. Patrick Murphy is a former Army captain and staff judge advocate who spent eight years in the service. He deployed to Bosnia in 2002 and Iraq in 2003, and also served as a constitutional law professor at the U.S. Military Academy. The 42-year-old served two terms in the U.S. House representing Pennsylvania’s 8th District.
Appearing Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Murphy said that if confirmed, he’ll engage in a top-to-bottom review looking for “efficiencies within the organization so we can refocus on the warfighters who are keeping our families safe.” Murphy vowed, “I will make sure that the Army is manned, trained and equipped to accomplish what General Milley articulated as his fundamental task, to win in the unforgiving crucible of ground combat.” Murphy said he is worried about the size of the Army. He said. “When I left Congress five years ago, we were 45 brigade combat teams on active duty. We are now down to 31.” Resourcing is also a concern, noting the tradeoff the Army is making in slowing modernization to pay for readiness.