Meet Patrick

Patrick Murray is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 24-years of active service. Patrick spent over a decade in numerous postings abroad, including tours in Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia and Russia. Serving around the World afforded him an up-close perspective of what it is like to live in places that do not enjoy the blessings of liberty. He does not take our freedoms for granted and knows first-hand that “freedom isn’t free.” 

He was raised in Oklahoma by a single mother who taught him the importance of hard work, honesty and self reliance. He went to work at the age of 14 to help her pay the bills at home. It was the height of the Cold War, and Patrick followed world events closely. He developed a strong sense of patriotism and love of country as he watched the United States confront an oppressive Soviet Union around the world. He put himself through college with a combination of working part time, student loans and a stipend from the Veterans Administration owing to his father’s WW II service. 

Patrick also felt drawn to military service, and enrolled in the ROTC program at Oklahoma State University. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to combat units on the East-West German border, then the “frontier of freedom.” After commanding tank units for seven years, Patrick went on to become a Foreign Area Officer in the Defense Intelligence Agency. He has extensive operational, analytical and policy experience. A Russian speaker, Patrick has worked in various bilateral and multilateral international relations venues, foreign policy, political military affairs, arms control and military-to-military relations. He has been a Military Attaché and has served in our embassies in Russia, Belarus, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Kosovo. In 2007 during the “surge,” Patrick deployed to Baghdad with the Joint Forces Command where he served as part of the Multi National Forces Iraq. His final tour of duty was at the United Nations in New York as a member of the U.S. Military Staff Committee.  

Patrick resides in Alexandria, Virginia.