BS, South Dakota State Univ., Brookings, SD, 1981
MHA, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX, 1991
MS, Industrial College Armed Forces, Washington, DC, 2000
Commander, Meddac, Ft. Drum, NY, 2003 to present
Commander, ACH, Schweinfurt, Germany, 2001-03
Demand Mgt. Staff Off., Northwest Lead Agency - TRICARE, Tacoma, WA, 1999-2001
Director, Dietetic Internship program, Walter Reed AMC, Washington, DC, 1993-94
Aesculapius Task Force, OTSG, Falls Church, VA, 1992-93
Resident, Health Srvc. Command, Ft. Sam Houston, TX, 1990-91
Colonel Mary Carstensen was born in Odebolt, Iowa. She was commissioned as an Army Medical Specialist Corps Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program after receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Food Science from South Dakota State University in 1981. She received a Master of Health Care Administration from Baylor University in 1991 and a Master of Science in National Resource Security from The Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, DC, in 2000.
Colonel Carstensen is a graduate of the Army Medical Department Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Colonel Carstensen assumed command of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC), Fort Drum, following an Army Staff assignment as the Director, Special Staff for The Surgeon General and Commander, U.S. Army Health Clinic, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Colonel Carstensen’s positions include nutrition related assignments at Letterman Army Medical Center, Landstuhl Army Medical Center, Brooke Army Medical Center and U.S. Army MEDDAC, Fort Hood Texas. She served as the Assistant to the Army Medical Specialist Corps Chief, Office of the Army Surgeon General, and was a member of the Army Surgeon General’s reengineering initiative--Task Force Aesculapius. Following a tour as Director of the Army’s Dietetic Internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Colonel Carstensen implemented the first TRICARE contract at the Department of Defense Health Affairs Lead Agency, Fort Lewis, Washington.
Her awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.