Veterinarian in the Military

Amy has asked me to post a blog entry (my first) as to what a military veterinarian does. I tend to get numerous questions in regards to what I will be doing as a veterinarian in the US Army. So here goes:

Of all the branches of the military (Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines, etc.) the Army is the only branch with a Veterinary Corps which in turn services all the other branches of the military. This is why we are going to an Air Force base in Japan even though we are Army.

The primary mission is to provide medical and surgical care for government owned animals (military working dogs, police and patrol dogs, etc), civilian pets on base, public health (ie. food safety and defense), and some humanitarian service missions such as providing veterinary care to underdeveloped countries.

Here are some pictures I found:

There are approximately 450 active duty veterinarians serving worldwide and then some additional reserve unit veterinarians. For our assignment in Japan, I will be running the veterinary hospital on base. I hope this answers some questions. Let us know if you have any more.

-Shane