COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Manager for U.S. Army Uncrewed Aircraft Systems 
TITLE: Assistant product manager for Gray Eagle Weapons and Payloads, Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 1
YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 11
EDUCATION: Master of Information Technology, Virginia Tech; Graduate certificate in information technology management, Virginia Tech; B.A. in Political Science, Christopher Newport University
AWARDS:  Meritorious Service Medal (2); Army Commendation Medal (2); Army Achievement Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; and the Army Staff Identification Badge

         MAJ. STEPHEN MURPHY

by Cheryl Marino

Maj. Stephen Murphy has been a member of the Army Acquisition Workforce for only a short time, but with over a decade of military service, a family with six children and never a dull moment, he already has a well-oiled time management system in place combining two of the most rewarding things he said he’s learned in life—prioritization and perspective.

“Prioritizing mission essential over non-mission essential, discerning what is truly urgent from what may simply feel urgent, and understanding which failures may actually provide value from those failures we cannot allow, are some of the lessons I learned from career experience, some are from example, and others are derived from my theological beliefs,” he said of how he combines and implements prioritization and perspective methods into a workable construct. “However, people [choose to] learn those two things, they are invaluable in the proper management of people and resources, and for the sanity of those managing them.”

As assistant product manager for Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Murphy helps other product offices integrate new or improved weapons and payloads onto the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System. “It’s a fascinating role where the team is actively working about a half-dozen integration and testing projects, while simultaneously helping explore another half-dozen early stage, cutting-edge concepts,” he said. “We have transitioned to a more modular conceptual approach, allowing for quicker integration and a continuous transformation of the vehicle capabilities as demanded by the commanders in the field.” With all the long-range payloads the team is integrating, he said there is a collective confidence that the MQ-1C can provide commanders the survivable, “standoff, look in” capabilities the Army needs for near peer, multidomain operations.

By this he means that during U.S. Central Command counterinsurgency operations, MQ-1C was used in very close range to the target of interest. Now, in near-peer potential uses, it needs to be able to stay out of range of adversary air defense (standoff) but still be able to detect beyond that air defense into the adversary-controlled area of operations (look in). “This is where continuously transforming the Gray Eagle is essential,” he said. “By integrating long range payloads, pLEO [Proliferated Low Earth Orbit] satellite capability, and CMOSS [Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance/Electronic Warfare Modular Open Suite of Standards] open architecture chassis, we can create a completely different tool for the multidomain task force and division commanders using the same airframe.”

One of the most interesting things about this work, he said, is how many program and product offices must work in synchronization to get a payload to the warfighter. “It’s not the sole responsibility of a single office, but the collective expertise across multiple offices who excel in various disciplines to get from a requirement to a fielded system.”

Although this is Murphy’s first acquisition position, he has ten years of experience as a Patriot Air Defense artillery officer under his belt, where he said he acquired most of his valuable time management skills.

In 2021, he was in a broadening assignment as the Fires Personnel Systems staff officer in the Headquarters Department of the Army G1 Military Structures and Plans Division. While in that capacity, he attended dozens of Army Requirements Oversight Council Review Board and Army Requirements Oversight Council Capabilities Board meetings as the G1 representative for anything that fell under the field artillery, air defense artillery, multidomain task force or space portfolios. He said it was from attending those briefs, and having the ability to be involved in managing the development of the technology that Soldiers use, that he became convinced he wanted to become an acquisition officer.

“I was an operations officer and a battery commander in 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery in Okinawa, Japan before the HQDA [Headquarters Department of the Army] job in the Pentagon. Being based on Kadena Airbase, everything we did required working with joint and Japanese partners. Before we had a BDE [Brigade] stand up to support, we had to directly plan with USARPAC [United States Army Pacific] and USINDOPACOM [United States Indo-Pacific Command] on multiple exercises where we moved the batteries from Okinawa to all across Japan via air and sea,” he said. “You learn quickly the value of proactive networking and good time management.”

Murphy recently graduated from the Army Acquisition Transition Course (AATC) in late September 2023. “It was a lot of new information to master in a relatively short amount of time,” he said. “While the course familiarizes you with your new field, there is nothing quite like experience to properly understand the concepts. I wish the course was much longer to explore more of the various acquisition pathway programs in detail, but I think the intention is to get you into the field as quickly as possible.”

He said he believes he’s too new to acquisitions to have given advice to junior personnel, but there are a few good books out there he’d recommend like Defense Acquisition University’s “A Guide for DOD Program Managers” that covers all the overarching program management topics in layman’s terms. “That particular book was recommended to me by my [then] future product manager, Sean Tynan, and was an excellent supplement to the AATC course load,” he said.

Reading is a great resource for Murphy when it comes to the world of Army acquisition, but outside of work, he could probably write a book about family and work-life balance. “Anyone outside of work would know me for being the husband of a great woman [Heather], the father of six incredible children, the adherent of an ever-growing Christian faith, and for being unhealthily obsessed with the fortunes of the Arsenal Football Club,” he said. “The lessons I’ve learned from achieving a balance in my personal life have been equally useful when applied to my professional life. No problem at work can phase someone with six children!”