Retirement not the end for 42-year veteran

By Butch Wehry
Academy Spirit staff

Col. Douglas Murray

As the countdown for his Feb. 16 retirement approaches, Academy permanent professor Col. Douglas Murray easily ticked off changes during 42 years of service.

"There are a great number of differences between now and the Air Force of 1965, but perhaps the greatest contrast has to be that the Air Force today is an expeditionary, continuously deploying, force," said the veteran political science department director who first arrived at the Academy in 1972. "The era of stabilized tours in one location is gone. We are no longer an air, but also a space and cyberspace force challenged by the need to integrate all three of these domains."

He has an unwavering belief in what he has taught.

"Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in values, culture and ideals," he said. "The study of political science during this period, particularly the subfields of international relations and defense studies, has become significantly more important for Academy graduates."

Change in the study of political science is driven by a number of factors, he said, not least of which is that the world has become more complex, interdependent, multi-cultural and less stable. To him, the concern and study of military power is offset by the increasing importance of economic and soft power. The influence of globalization, growing political, economic and social interdependence and culture is of central interest. "As the current conflict in Iraq illustrates so well, the formula for success requires not just military competencies, but an in-depth appreciation and understanding of statesmanship, the principles of governance and cultural impacts," said Colonel Murray. "Each of these is the subject matter of political science, and the study of political science is critical in providing officers with the capabilities to understand and address these changes." He put a lot of energy into the creation of the Center for Space and Defense Studies.

"America's future security and well being is in space," said the permanent professor who will retire as a brigadier general. "The United States has been a leading space faring nation, but our dominance is now being challenged. If we, as a nation, are to ensure that space remains a domain to which all peoples have access, we need to develop leaders who will provide an intellectual foundation; a theory, doctrine and policy framework for space and who have an avocation for space. In the 21st century, we want young men and women to come here because they see it as the best way to pursue a career in space - military, civil or commercial."

The colonel personally does not feel he is retiring, but rather transitioning to a new dimension of his life's work. What he will miss most will be first the cadets, ("they keep you thinking young"), the faculty and staff.

He has a philosophy on what justifies the existence of a service academy and why their existence is more important today than ever.

"An academy is a unique learning institution unlike any of its civilian counterparts because it integrates the educational tradition of free inquiry that historians associate with ancient Athens with the military tradition of strict training and discipline that historians associate with ancient Sparta," the colonel reflected. "Not to integrate these two institutions means that we can neither create nor build an effective professional military in our democracy. It is by the process of forging together academic and military cultures that
young men and women are transformed into professional officers in a free society."

He said his greatest satisfactions and successes lie in the students he has taught and the faculty he has led.

"One of my favorite quotes is from the former president of Notre Dame University, Father Theodore Hesburgh, who said, 'Great teachers live in each one of us who have learned from them, for they have shaped in us that which is eternal.' It has been most satisfying to be a part of this heritage."

Retirement will not mean the end. "For more than a quarter of a century, and nearly three quarters of my career, I have been engaged in preparing the next generation of military professionals to be leaders with character, poised to serve the people of this great nation," said this longtime leader and mentor. "As I retire as an Academy permanent professor, I take on the challenge as the new dean of academics and provost at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. Its mission is not different than that of the Academy. In fact, a significant part of its multi-faceted mission is to be a preparatory school for young men and women coming to the Academy or one of the other four federal academies."