Joshua Michael McConkey (born 18 September 1977), also known as Josh McConkey, is an American author, politician, emergency physician, and United States Air Force (USAF) colonel. He is known for being the author of the leadership book Be the Weight Behind the Spear.[1] He previously served as Chief of Aviation Medicine for the Nebraska Army National Guard from 2007 to 2009.[2] He also ran for Congress from the 13th district seat of North Carolina in 2024.[3][4]
McConkey’s military education includes being a graduate of Air Command & Staff College, Air War College, and National Security Course at National Defense University.[6]
Career
McConkey joined the Nebraska Army National Guard in 2000 as a Medical Service Corps officer and later served as the Nebraska Guard's Chief of Aviation Medicine, holding the role of flight surgeon from 2007 to 2009.[2][7] His military medical background includes over 340 hours of flight surgeon experience in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. In 2007, he was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.[2]
In 2011, McConkey transferred to the U.S. Air Force Reserve, eventually earning the rank of Colonel in 2019.[2][7] He served as a flight surgeon and Critical Care Air Transport physician, also serving for a time as Chief of Medical Staff at the 916th Aerospace Medicine Squadron.[2] As of 2025, he is serving as Commander of the 459th Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.[2][8][9]
Alliance Public School named him to their Wall of Fame in 2022.[10][11]
In 2023, McConkey released the book Be the Weight Behind the Spear.[10][12][13] which received a Distinguished Favorite award in the “Motivational” category at the 2024 Independent Press Awards.[14][15] He also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Chadron State College.[1]
In 2024, McConkey ran for Congress from the 13th district seat of North Carolina, but was not elected.[16][3][4][17]
In 2025, he received a People's Telly Gold Award for his work on the program A True American Hero: Dr. Josh McConkey's Journey as a Doctor, Soldier, and Leader.[18]
Since the mid 2000s, he has worked clinically as an emergency physician.[19] Previously, he also was a professor at Duke University.[20] McConkey has also served as a correspondent for news programs such as WRAL News.[21]
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