1

1 2 3 4 5 6

An integral component of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD), the Veterinary Corps continues to distinguish itself within the veterinary profession. The Veterinary Corps has veterinarians from all of the colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States with more than 200 board certified specialists. Our veterinarians possess unique military public health and specialty skill sets rarely found in private practice. The Veterinary Corps is a national treasure; composed of diverse engaged individuals protecting the Soldier and supporting the National Military Strategy. We provide veterinary public health capabilities through veterinary medical and surgical care, food safety and defense, and biomedical research and development. The Veterinary Corps also provides military veterinary expertise in response to natural disasters and other emergencies. The Veterinary Corps conducts and oversees all Department of Defense veterinary service activities providing veterinary services to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force in more than 90 countries. ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE LEARNING THE FUNDAMENTALS You will attend a 12-week Officer Basic Leaders Course (OBLC) at Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas. This course is intended to teach you about the Army and the Veterinary Corps, and prepare you for service in your first assignment. This is not regular Army basic training. OBLC provides basic branch orientation to newly commissioned AMEDD officers. Instruction is done in the classroom and the field environment. In the field, you will learn to fire a weapon, evacuate casualties, navigate terrain with a map and compass, create camouflage and treat battle injuries. In the classroom, subjects include topics common to all Army officers, such as military law, map reading and subjects unique to the AMEDD, such as medical legal issues and medical evacuation. Officers must achieve passing scores on tests; pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT); meet weight standards; and participate in a Field Training Exercise to successfully complete OBLC. YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT Following the completion of your OBLC, you will report to your first assignment. As a new Veterinary Corps officer, your initial tour is usually spent in the United States, for about 18 to 24 months, taking care of military working dogs and service members’ pets, and ensuring the food procured for the installation and deployed service members is wholesome and secure. Veterinary Corps officers are responsible for providing care to military working dogs, ceremonial horses, working animals of many Department of Homeland Security organizations, service members’ pets, animals supporting Human-Animal Bond Programs at military hospitals and the dolphins and sea lions of the Navy’s Marine Mammal Program. As a member of the Veterinary Corps you are responsible for ensuring complete military working dog care, which includes training military working dog handlers to respond to medical emergencies. Full medical and surgical support for military working dogs and other government-owned animals begins at the installation veterinary treatment facility, extends through referral hospitals staffed with veterinary specialists at several installations around the world and culminates at an American Animal Hospital Association certified hospital with complete specialty staff at the Military Working Dog Center, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The installation veterinary treatment facility provides service members’ pets with veterinary preventive medicine, contagious and zoonotic disease control, and outpatient care; experiences at these facilities serve to enhance and extend the proficiency of our veterinarians and technicians who often are capable of providing emergency care and surgical services to ensure this goal. Many military hospitals have Human Animal Bond programs, and Veterinary Corps officers ensure the health of these very important animals. Army RPI 524 FS, June 2011 THERE’S STRONG. THEN THERE’S ARMY STRONG. Page 1 ARMY VETERINARY CORPS Veterinary