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'Private Murphy's Law' Joins The Civil Air Patrol

By NOTF

CAP Second Lt. Mark Baker, a member of the Cochise Composite Squadron, of the Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and creator the popular cartoon series "Private Murphy's Law," recently began a series where the hero, "Army Sergeant Tim Murphy," joins the Civil Air Patrol to become a pilot.

Lt. Baker, a retired U.S. Army master sergeant with 20-years of service, began penning Private Murphy's Law for his friends in 1993. The cartoon originally appeared in the Fort Bragg Newspaper "Paraglide" when Baker was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division, and in 2000, the series was picked up by the Army Times. Since then, Baker's genuine military humor has entertained legions of fans each week, making "Murphy" a permanent fixture in the military universe.

The strip follows "Murphy" from his enlistment as an Army cavalry scoutand p aratrooper to his deployment in Iraq. The series highlights the daily life of a soldier and his family in a humorous and sometimes serious light through the eyes of "Murphy" and his wife. The wildly popular series appears weekly in the Army Times and reaches an audience of over a million through sales at military base exchanges and on-line. Additionally, Baker has published a series of books - collections of previously published "Murphy" cartoons.

Not since "The Adventures of Smilin' Jack Mosley," an aviation comic strip that first appeared on Oct. 1, 1933, in the Chicago Tribune, and ended April 1, 1973, has the Civil Air Patrol been featured prominently in a nationally syndicated comic strip series.

Lt. Baker stated in an interview he will run a series of five strips depicting "Murphy" becoming a Civil Air Patrol officer and learning to fly.

As to why Baker, an Army Veteran, joined the CAP, "I've always wanted to learn to fly. I took flight lessons on my own, but the CAP allows me to keep current and continue learning. The bottom line: CAP gives me the opportunity to serve my community and to fly. Who could ask for anything more?"

For more information about the Private Murphy's Law series go to: http://www.pvtmurphy.com/.

The Civil Air Patrol is a private, congressionally-chartered corporation that acts as an Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force when requested by the Secretary of the Air Force. Head-quartered at Maxwell AFB, Ala., its Web site is at www.gocivilairpatrol.com.