Irish high-fliers in US uniforms

THE Irish presence is very strong in the US security field — as we are reminded by the recent story that US Central Command chief (covering the Middle East), Adm William J Fallon, is resigning and the acting chief will be Army Lt-Gen Martin Dempsey.

Not only the New York Police Department (Commissioner Raymond W Kelly, since 2002 — its first commissioner in 1901-’02 was Michael Murphy) and the city’s fire department are our strongholds — although nearly one in every three of the city’s 9/11 dead were Irish.

The 17th and current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (since October 1, 2007) is Admiral Michael Glenn Mullen, who had been 28th US Navy chief of naval operations.