Patrick J. Murphy emphasizes moral courage, leadership in 2025 McMaster Series keynote speech

WAYNE, Pa. — Valley Forge Military College was honored to welcome Patrick J. Murphy to campus on Thursday, November 13 as our 2025 McMaster Speaker Series keynote speaker.

Sec. Murphy is an accomplished attorney, politician, media personality, and the Executive Director of Hilco Global’s Geopolitical Unit.

His speech called upon his varied life experiences and related them to our Cadets, emphasizing character traits like leadership and moral courage.

“Training is how to fire an M4 assault rifle,” Murphy said. “Training is how to march, how to do drill and ceremony. Training is about formations, etc., but education — is what you get here as well — is about being a critical thinker. The learning, the challenging, and when you’re confident when you learn things to have the moral courage to speak up and speak out when you know that something isn’t right.”

Murphy joined the Army at 19 and was the first veteran of the Iraq War to be elected to Congress. He served on the Appropriations Committee and authored bipartisan legislation such as the IMPROVE Act and Improper Payments Act.

He encouraged Cadets to take part in public service, whether in politics or other avenues. Murphy told several anecdotes from his experiences in the Army, as a politician, and as a media personality about the importance of speaking truth and standing up for what is right.

“As a leader, it’s about doing what’s good for the order. It’s about doing what’s good for the Army. It’s about doing what’s good for the mission and our country,” Murphy said. “Character is how you are when nobody’s looking, but the crux of leadership is solving problems. The crux of leadership is seeing a problem and then using the leadership abilities to solve that problem. Because what is leadership? Leadership is inspiring others to do something they otherwise wouldn’t do.”

One of his personal heroes is Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster ’80A, ’17HC, who he served with in the Army and worked with in Washington D.C. He cited McMaster’s book, Dereliction of Duty, often in his speech. Another VFMC alumni, Maryland Governor Wes Moore ‘96A, ‘98, is one of his good friends.

Along with the lessons and wisdom Murphy shared in his speech and following Q&A session, he also celebrated our Cadets and their importance in helping shape the future of this country.

“To be in your presence here today is an honor to me,” Murphy said.”And I hope you know, that people like Wes Moore, Gus Perna, Mike Linnington, these great graduates of years past, look at you with a deep sense of pride and appreciation for doing, frankly, what most others would never do.”