[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO MICHIGAN'S FIRST ARMY NATIONAL GUARD BRIGADE COMMANDER

 Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, the contributions of women in the 
U.S. Armed Forces stretches back to the battlefields of our Revolution 
and continues in the deserts of Iraq today.
  But those contributions have not always been recognized.
  Today, I rise to note another milestone for women in the military and 
pay tribute to COL Mandi Murray who recently became the first woman to 
command a brigade in Michigan's Army National Guard
  Colonel Murray now commands the 2,433 soldiers of the 63rd Troop 
Command based in Jackson, MI.
  The missions of the 63rd Troop Command include maintenance, 
transportation, administration, Army aviation, and Airborne Ranger 
duties. One unit of the 63rd Troop Command is now serving in Iraq and--
sadly--one of its servicemen was killed there last month.
  Colonel Murray has had a remarkable career as both a civilian and an 
officer in her 22 years with the Army National Guard.
  She joined the Guard when she was 17. At one time she juggled full-
time duties as a neonatal intensive care nurse, full-time studies at 
the University of Detroit Law School, and her obligations to the 
military.
  She is married to a fellow officer--LTC Martin Murray with the 
Michigan Army National Guard's State Area Command--and now outranks 
him.
  But that is not a problem for this couple.
  ``My husband and I are truly in this as a team,'' Colonel Murray said 
recently. ``Sometimes one has to step back for the other. He knows I 
wouldn't be here without him.''
  The Murray's have two children, and both hold demanding full-time 
careers. She works as a lawyer for the St. Joseph Health System, and he 
is an operations director of a 23-physician medical practice.
  Our Nation is grateful to have such fine men and women willing to 
serve, and I am proud this couple hails from my home State.
  Women have come a long way since 1778, when Mary Ludwig Hays--also 
known as Molly Pitcher--manned a cannon at the Battle of Monmouth in 
place of her wounded husband.
  For her bravery, General George Washington made her a noncommissioned 
officer, and for the rest of her days she was known as Sergeant Molly.
  Now, when the armed services are called to duty, almost 200,000 women 
from all branches of the armed services stand ready to defend their 
Nation--women like Colonel Murray.
  I salute their bravery and their sense of duty as I do all who choose 
to wear our Nation's uniform with pride.

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