Colonel Kay K. Wakatake, Army, Retired

COL Wakatake joined the Armed Forces Insurance Board of Directors in July 2021.

COL Wakatake is a data privacy and security attorney. She retired from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps after nearly 23 years, and most recently served as the Chief Legal Officer for The Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command. She was the principal legal advisor to The Surgeon General and his staff on all matters including the U.S. Army’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a full range of legal issues in healthcare law, administrative law, and military law.

She supervised a legal team of nearly 200 personnel across the worldwide Army Medical Command enterprise. Kay is an experienced leader having served in numerous supervisory positions in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and the U.S. Army Office of The Judge Advocate General. Kay deployed to the Ramadi-Fallujah-Al Asad combat zone in Iraq as the Brigade Judge Advocate for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division to help establish the rule of law in those communities. Kay received an LL.M. from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School; J.D. from the Pepperdine University School of Law; and B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Even with her professional commitments, Kay still finds time to volunteer for veterans service organizations, professional legal associations, and in her community.