Gary E. McKay, Author of: Road Rage, Commuter Combat in America
Gary McKay worked his way through Lafayette High School as a carpenter, busboy, hotel maintenance worker, and concrete pipe finisher at a plant in St. Louis, Missouri. In April, 1977, he entered the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a Minuteman III, Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Mechanic, the nations premiere nuclear defense missile of that era. He worked out of his duty base at F.E. Warren, AFB, as an Assistant Team Chief and “cage man,” in which he would work out of an aluminum basket, hung from the top of the 100 foot deep missile silos, and completely disassemble and reassemble these nuclear missiles. This work occurred at missile silos across the eastern plains of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Gary was issued a top-secret security clearance, carried top-secret codes, and drove nuclear warheads, missile guidance sections, and propulsion system rocket engines to and from the missile sites in a specially built, oversized semi-tractor trailer. While transporting the nuclear warheads, he and his crew wore flack jackets, helmets, and carried .38 caliber pistol side arms, carried M-16 rifles and assault shotguns to protect the missile from any possible terrorist attack. He was repeatedly awarded medals for expert marksmanship and is a trained expert in anti-terrorist tactics. Gary left the service in 1981, and was two years in inactive reserves. He was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant in April, 1983. While in the Air Force, he also taught CPR and first aid, winter survival techniques, nuclear and explosive ordnance safety, and industrial safety to base personnel.
After leaving the Air Force, he spent five years in nuclear fuel manufacturing, as a nuclear health physics supervisor, at a plant in Hematite, Missouri. In 1986, he left the nuclear fuel plant, and over the next few years, worked as a project manager and sometimes superintendent in asbestos abatement, heavy demolition, and heavy construction, in southern Missouri, Kentucky, Green Bay, Wisconsin, New York City, New York State, and New Jersey. He has managed the demolition of more than 100 buildings and structures, including the demolition of the Grand Central Station Post Office in New York City. More than forty of these buildings were highly contaminated with uranium ore, thorium, and radium. Since 1991, he has worked at the Weldon Springs Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP) in Weldon Spring, Missouri, a national superfund cleanup site. He serves as the Construction Management and Operations Manager, as well as the Disposal Cell Project Manager, for MK Ferguson, Corp., which is the DOE’s project management contractor for this project. This is a $900 million U.S. Dept. of Energy Superfund site, and the largest cleanup project in the state of Missouri. He currently handles approximately $55 million in construction projects per year, and has been responsible for the safety of up to 700 site personnel during peak construction seasons. The WSSRAP site has won national safety awards for its protection of the environment and worker safety records. Gary has also managed a fleet of Dept. of Energy vehicles.
In addition to the above activities, Gary has written published articles for a number of years on the environment, safety, diet drugs, e-mail, and other subjects. He has written three books, one of which was published in June 2000. The other two books will follow, and cover the Phen and Redux Diet Drug Story, and a corporate e-mail survival guide. Gary has spoken for many years to groups in regard to safety topics, and has been trained in media. To date, Gary has appeared on a number of radio and TV programs across the U.S. while promoting his new book, “Road Rage, Commuter Combat in America”. He is a staunch advocate of safety both on and off the job, and focuses most of his efforts on attitude, which is where he believes safety starts, whether at work or behind the wheel. “Attitude hurts and attitude kills,” is his message in this newly released book.
He and his wife, Lori, also published a national newsletter for outdoorsmen for two years from 1998 to 1999. They live south of St. Louis, Missouri, in Festus, and have raised ostriches, horses, and love animals. They have six children and two grandchildren. Gary is 42 years old. Gary and Lori McKay have been happily married for 11 years. They enjoy fishing, camping, little league baseball, and other family oriented activities.
