Patrick Murray is our 2012 Republican nominee for Congress. Murray is a 24 year U.S. Army Veteran who is making his second run for Congress in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. As an Army Officer he served in numerous tours around the world, first as an Armor officer and later as a Foreign Area Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency. Serving in both war and in peace, Murray knows that freedom isn’t free.
During the Cold War, Murray commanded Tank units in both the 3rd Armored and 3rd Infantry Division on what was then the East-West German border. Murray says he helped to enact President Reagan’s dictum of Peace through Strength, and it worked.
Later as a Foreign Area Officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, he served in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and in Serbia where he was the Defense Attaché in the American Embassy. Murray also speaks Russian and served throughout the former Soviet Union. Living and working in Socialist and totalitarian regimes gave Murray a valuable first-hand perspective of the value of a Free Market economy, and of America’s greatness as a nation.
He has worked in the U.S. State Department in the Bureau of Political Affairs and at the United Nations as the American military representative on the Security Council. In 2007, Murray deployed to Baghdad, Iraq during the “surge,” where he served on the staff of General David Petraeus.
Murray has benefitted from wonderful educational opportunities; he holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics, and two Master Degrees in History and Russian Studies. He lives and works in Alexandria, Virginia.