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.

Gen James T Conway is commandant of the US Marine Corps; Gen George W Casey is US Army chief of staff since April 2007.

Gen Michael E Ryan was US Air Force chief of staff 1997-2000; Clarence Kelley was FBI director 1973-’78.

The CIA director is US Air Force Gen Michael Vincent Hayden who from 1999-2005 was National Security Agency (NSA) director and, before that, had commanded the USAF Air Intelligence Agency.

The director of National Intellignce — the overall supremo — is US Navy (retd) Vice-Adm John Michael McConnell who formerly served as NSA director, 1992-96 (signals intelligence) and J-2 (intellignce officer) to the chair of Joints Chiefs of Staff. The deputy director National Intelligence (Collection) is Glenn A Gaffney.

The NSA director 1996-’99 was US Air Force Lt-Gen Kenneth A Minihan.

The US Coastguard commandant is Adm Thad W Allen who succeeded Adm Thomas Collins — which name also recalls USAF Maj-Gen Michael Collins commander of the first moon landing in 1969, and the first female Shuttle commander, USAF Col Eileen Collins. a New Yorker.

And the Australian chief of army is Lt-Gen Peter F Leahy who succeeded Lt-Gen Peter Cosgrove.

This often-ignored and proud history delights me — especially as a fellow Kilkenny native, James Hoban (1762-1831) from Desart Court, Cuffesgrange, designed the White House in 1792 and then, in 1824, Rossenarra House, Kilmoganny in south Kilkenny — where Mick Jagger and Frank Sinatra were guests, and where Sir John Lavery once lived.

We Irish didn’t do all our fighting outside pubs. It is a fine record well worth celebrating in the week of our national holiday.

Tom Carew

Merton Drive

Ranelagh

Dublin 6