1st Lieutenant Robert MacKay, an East Side resident, takes command of NY Army National Guard supply Company

Related Media

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE (09/16/2020) New York Army National Guard 1st Lieutenant Robert Mackay, a resident of New York City's East Site, took command of the New York National Guard's 133rd Composite Supply Company during a ceremony at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill on Sept. 12.

The company is based at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and has since Sept. 11, 2001 has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently the company was called to state duty in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was instrumental in turning the Jacob Javits Convention Center into an alternative care facility which treated 1,095 coronavirus patients.

Mackay was commissioned through the Reserve Officers Training in 2015. He has served as a platoon leader for the New York Army National Guard's 145th Support Maintenance Company in Staten Island, and the 1182nd Forward Support Company of the Massachusetts Army National Guard in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

He served as the company commander of the 145th during a rotation to the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, Louisiana in 2017. His most recent position was as the executive officer for the Headquarters Company of the 369th Sustainment Brigade at the 5th Avenue Armory in Harlem.

He also served on state active duty during the COVID-19 response, serving as a commander for Soldiers on the mission.

He is replacing Capt. Ishmael Batista who will become the operations officer for the 369th Sustainment Brigade.

MacKay holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics and another bachelor's degree in philosophy from Tulane University.

His awards include the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

In his civilian life, Mackay works as a data analyst and risk manager for a private lender.