New vice commander excited to be back at Laughlin Published July 20, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Desiree Economides 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - -- There's a new vice in town, Col. Tom Murphy. He returns to Laughlin as the 47th Flying Training Wing's new vice commander, where he launched his career 21 years ago. Colonel Murphy, who was stationed at Laughlin from 1989 to 1994 as a T-38 first assignment instructor pilot, says he is truly excited to be back. "It's great to be back at Laughlin. Some of the fondest memories of my career are from my time here, training pilots and taking advantage of all southwest Texas has to offer," said Col. Murphy, 47th Flying Training Wing vice commander. After completing his first tour at Laughlin, Colonel Murphy went on to serve in multiple operational assignments in the C-5 Galaxy including a tour as the commander of the 9th Airlift Squadron at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Most recently, Colonel Murphy served as the U.S. Transportation Command liaison to U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Fla. "I'm looking forward to supporting the Wing and Colonel Frankel in our critical mission of graduating the world's best pilots and deploying mission-ready Airmen," said Colonel Murphy. "Laughlin is a hidden jewel here in the corner of Texas and I feel fortunate we had the chance to come back." "The ability of my family and I to reacquaint with old friends from the community is an outstanding opportunity," said Colonel Murphy. "In my 21 years in the Air Force, I've never seen as strong of a relationship between the base and community as the one here between Laughlin and Del Rio," said Colonel Murphy. "The first time was great, I don't know how it's going to get any better, but I bet it does!"