Psychiatrist wins medal for fighting stress

Psychiatrist wins medal for fighting stress
Army lieutenant colonel earned Bronze Star for work in Iraq

By Madeline Will

When Rebecca Tomsyck was 53, she joined the Army. Now, six years later, she has been awarded a Bronze Star.

A Charlotte psychiatrist who is board certified in pediatrics, psychiatry and child psychiatry, Tomsyck had a successful practice in the Arboretum area, where her home is, but wanted something more.

When Army recruiters started expressing an interest in her son, Jay, she saw an opportunity. Her son didn't join the Army, but Tomsyck did.

"I wanted to serve and I wanted a change, and I wanted an adventure before I died," said Tomsyck, now 59.

When Tomsyck was in medical school, she had thought about serving in the military after she finished her residency; but her parents had strong objections. She married before her residency was over, and the idea was laid to rest.

Her goal was realized decades later when she was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Army in July 2005. She went on active duty that September, stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, as Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services, where she served soldiers' children.

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