By Kris Leonhardt
Senior Editor

STEVENS POINT – Anastasia McKay, a 1997 Stevens Point Area Senior High graduate, became the commander of the troop battalion at Womack Army Medical Center, during a ceremony held in late June at Fort Bragg, NC.

As a student at SPASH, McKay, known as Stacey then, was an unlikely candidate for the military.

“At age 15, I thought I would be an engineer,” McKay recalled. “I was interested in West Point because it was an outstanding engineering school that offered a scholarship. The military was a bit foreign to me. I was also interested in foreign language and would have entertained being a teacher of some sort.

“I remember counselors in high school trying to talk me out of the military thinking I could do better and get scholarships without ‘throwing my life away.’ I honestly had no idea what I was getting into, but service has blessed me in many ways.”

McKay received her initial commission through West Point military academy, but had an opportunity to go directly to Medical School at the Uniformed Services University.

“After completing a Family Medicine Residency, I served as a Battalion Flight Surgeon in the 101st Airborne Division and was intimately involved with MEDEVAC while deployed to Afghanistan,” she added. “In the military the term ‘Surgeon’ is used to describe a position, typically occupied by a physician, that is a direct advisor to a commander.”

McKay also served as a medical director for a clinic in Germany, the Command Surgeon for Human Resources Command, the 98th Civil Affairs Battalion Surgeon, and as the 82nd Airborne Division Surgeon.

“Each assignment was incredibly different in scope and responsibilities from managing daily operations of a clinic, learning the importance of how medicine interfaces with various human resource functions in the military, and training and supervising special forces civil affairs medics to independently provide care while deployed to geographically remote and underserved locations,” she explained.

McKay added that command opportunities are rare for military physicians and not something she was expecting.

“As a commander, you are responsible for the health and welfare for all those assigned under your command – it’s taking care of soldiers and their families and empowering them to be part of something bigger than themselves,” she stated. “Honestly, I was not expecting to be selected for command. I enjoy working behind the scenes and fully enjoy being a staff officer, advising commanders.”

Because the military medicine system is undergoing some modification, McKay said her long-term goals are not quite clear.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to be flexible and adaptable,” stated McKay. “Right now, military medicine is undergoing a large transformation. All of the services – Army, Navy, Air Force – are coming together under one umbrella, the Defense Health Agency, as directed by Congress. I think this is important, because my long-term interests do involve transformation of health systems in America to some capacity. While much of the nation is focused on ‘healthcare,’ many are not talking about systems of health and empowering and enabling healthy decisions that minimize healthcare requirements.”

Anastasia is the daughter of Robert and Gail Piotrowski, Wausau. She is married to Jock Robert McKay of Townsville, Australia.