diff --git a/conf/mig-agent-conf.go.inc b/conf/mig-agent-conf.go.inc
index f234715d..f41cf8b9 100644
--- a/conf/mig-agent-conf.go.inc
+++ b/conf/mig-agent-conf.go.inc
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@ var APIURL string = "http://localhost:1664/api/v1/"
 
 // if the connection still fails after looking for a HTTP_PROXY, try to use the
 // proxies listed below
-var PROXIES = [...]string{`proxy.example.net:3128`, `proxy2.example.net:8080`}
+var PROXIES = []string{"proxy.example.net:3128", "proxy2.example.net:8080"}
+// If you don't want proxies in the built-in configuration, use the following
+// instead.
+// var PROXIES = []string{}
 
 // local socket used to retrieve stat information from a running agent
 var SOCKET = "127.0.0.1:51664"
diff --git a/conf/mig-agent.cfg.inc b/conf/mig-agent.cfg.inc
index 4b31f931..653978f2 100644
--- a/conf/mig-agent.cfg.inc
+++ b/conf/mig-agent.cfg.inc
@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@
     ; will attempt to restart itself instead of just shutting down
     isimmortal       = on
 
+    ; comma delimited list of host:port proxies to use, if desired
+    ; the agent will attempt to try to proxies for public ip retrieval
+    ; and the relay connection before a direct connection
+    ; proxies          = "proxy1:8888,proxy2:8888"
+
     ; installservice orders the agent to deploy a service init configuration
     ; and start itself during the endpoint's boot process
     installservice   = on
diff --git a/doc/configuration.rst b/doc/configuration.rst
index eebbac2b..4ed48ad2 100644
--- a/doc/configuration.rst
+++ b/doc/configuration.rst
@@ -856,11 +856,13 @@ public IP during startup.
 Proxy support
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-The agent supports connecting to the relay via a CONNECT proxy. It will attempt
-a direct connection first, and if this fails, will look for the environment
-variable `HTTP_PROXY` to use as a proxy. A list of proxies can be manually
-added to the configuration of the agent in the `PROXIES` parameters. These
-proxies will be used if the two previous connections fail.
+The agent supports connecting to the relay via a CONNECT proxy. If proxies are
+configured, it will attempt to use them before attemping a direct connection. The
+agent will also attempt to use any proxy noted in the environment via the
+`HTTP_PROXY` environment variable. A list of proxies can be manually
+added to the configuration of the agent in the `PROXIES` parameters. Proxies can
+also be specified in the agent configuration file, and will override any built-in
+configuration.
 
 An agent using a proxy will reference the name of the proxy in the environment
 fields of the heartbeat sent to the scheduler.
@@ -1635,7 +1637,6 @@ The following parameters are **not** controlable by the configuration file:
 
 * list of investigators public keys in `PUBLICPGPKEYS`
 * list of access control lists in `AGENTACL`
-* list of proxies in `PROXIES`
 
 All other parameters can be overriden in the configuration file. Check out the
 sample file `mig-agent.cfg.inc` in the **conf** folder.
diff --git a/mig-agent/agentcontext/env.go b/mig-agent/agentcontext/env.go
index b4e74c91..4e90857f 100644
--- a/mig-agent/agentcontext/env.go
+++ b/mig-agent/agentcontext/env.go
@@ -44,13 +44,12 @@ func findPublicIP(orig_ctx AgentContext, hints AgentContextHints) (ctx AgentCont
 		Dial: (&net.Dialer{Timeout: 10 * time.Second}).Dial,
 	}
 	client := &http.Client{Transport: tr}
-	resp, err := client.Get(hints.APIUrl + "/ip")
-	if err != nil {
-		logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Public IP retrieval from API failed. Trying with proxy next. Error was: %v", err)}.Info()
-	} else {
-		goto parseBody
-	}
+	var resp *http.Response
+
+	// If any proxies have been configured, try to use those first, fall back to a
+	// direct connection.
 	for _, proxy := range hints.Proxies {
+		logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Trying proxy %v for public IP retrieval", proxy)}.Debug()
 		pu, err := url.Parse("http://" + proxy)
 		if err != nil {
 			logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to parse proxy url http://%s - %v", proxy, err)}.Info()
@@ -65,6 +64,18 @@ func findPublicIP(orig_ctx AgentContext, hints AgentContextHints) (ctx AgentCont
 			goto parseBody
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Try a direct connection, but also take into consideration any proxies that may
+	// have been configured in the proxy related environment variables.
+	logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: "Trying proxy from environment otherwise direct connection for public IP retrieval"}.Debug()
+	tr.Proxy = http.ProxyFromEnvironment
+	resp, err = client.Get(hints.APIUrl + "/ip")
+	if err != nil {
+		logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Public IP retrieval from API failed. Error was: %v", err)}.Info()
+	} else {
+		goto parseBody
+	}
+
 	// exit here if no connection succeeded
 	logChan <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to retrieve public ip from api: %v", err)}.Err()
 	return
diff --git a/mig-agent/config.go b/mig-agent/config.go
index 1a724ed2..4cd0aa36 100644
--- a/mig-agent/config.go
+++ b/mig-agent/config.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"mig.ninja/mig"
@@ -23,6 +24,7 @@ type config struct {
 		DiscoverPublicIP bool
 		DiscoverAWSMeta  bool
 		CheckIn          bool
+		Proxies          string
 		Relay            string
 		Socket           string
 		HeartbeatFreq    string
@@ -80,6 +82,9 @@ func configLoad(path string) (err error) {
 	MUSTINSTALLSERVICE = config.Agent.InstallService
 	DISCOVERPUBLICIP = config.Agent.DiscoverPublicIP
 	DISCOVERAWSMETA = config.Agent.DiscoverAWSMeta
+	if config.Agent.Proxies != "" {
+		PROXIES = strings.Split(config.Agent.Proxies, ",")
+	}
 	CHECKIN = config.Agent.CheckIn
 	LOGGINGCONF = config.Logging
 	AMQPBROKER = config.Agent.Relay
diff --git a/mig-agent/context.go b/mig-agent/context.go
index e375c6cc..6448084c 100644
--- a/mig-agent/context.go
+++ b/mig-agent/context.go
@@ -215,29 +215,35 @@ func Init(foreground, upgrade bool) (ctx Context, err error) {
 
 	connected := false
 	// connect to the message broker
-	ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, false, "")
-	if err != nil {
-		ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay directly: '%v'", err)}.Debug()
-		// if the connection failed, look for a proxy
-		// in the environment variables, and try again
-		ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, true, "")
+	//
+	// If any proxies have been configured, we try to use those first. If they fail, or
+	// no proxies have been setup, just attempt a direct connection.
+	for _, proxy := range PROXIES {
+		ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Trying proxy %v for relay connection", proxy)}.Debug()
+		ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, true, proxy)
 		if err != nil {
-			ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay using HTTP_PROXY: '%v'", err)}.Debug()
-			// still failing, try connecting using the proxies in the configuration
-			for _, proxy := range PROXIES {
-				ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, true, proxy)
-				if err != nil {
-					ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay using proxy %s: '%v'", proxy, err)}.Debug()
-					continue
-				}
-				connected = true
-				goto mqdone
-			}
-		} else {
-			connected = true
+			ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay using proxy %s: '%v'", proxy, err)}.Info()
+			continue
 		}
-	} else {
 		connected = true
+		goto mqdone
+	}
+	// Try and proxy that has been specified in the environment
+	ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: "Trying proxies from environment for relay connection"}.Debug()
+	ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, true, "")
+	if err == nil {
+		connected = true
+		goto mqdone
+	} else {
+		ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay using HTTP_PROXY: '%v'", err)}.Info()
+	}
+	// Fall back to a direct connection
+	ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: "Trying direct relay connection"}.Debug()
+	ctx, err = initMQ(ctx, false, "")
+	if err == nil {
+		connected = true
+	} else {
+		ctx.Channels.Log <- mig.Log{Desc: fmt.Sprintf("Failed to connect to relay directly: '%v'", err)}.Info()
 	}
 mqdone:
 	if !connected {
diff --git a/tools/standalone_install.sh b/tools/standalone_install.sh
index e56e2fc2..0ba876b4 100644
--- a/tools/standalone_install.sh
+++ b/tools/standalone_install.sh
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ var LOGGINGCONF = mig.Logging{
     File:   "/var/cache/mig/mig-agent.log",
 }
 var AMQPBROKER string = "amqp://agent:$mqpass@localhost:5672/mig"
-var PROXIES = [...]string{``}
+var PROXIES = []string{}
 var SOCKET string = "127.0.0.1:51664"
 var HEARTBEATFREQ time.Duration = 30 * time.Second
 var REFRESHENV time.Duration = 60 * time.Second