AVS Provides Training to U.S. Army Medics
Nine U.S. Army combat medics received training in basic veterinary aid last month at the College of Agriculture.
The medics who attended the all-day session on Feb. 19 were from the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion in Upland, the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion in San Diego, and the 7230th Medical Support Unit.
Staff from the Department of Animal & Veterinary Sciences and Western University of Health Sciences provided the training, which focused on small animals in the morning and ruminant animals in the afternoon. The medics got to work with dog dummies for the small animal session and with actual cows in the afternoon session.
The training is intended to give the medics the ability to provide basic veterinary aid for the Army’s security and bomb-sniffing dogs and assist indigenous populations with their larger animals during overseas deployments. The goal is to be able to stabilize animals until a veterinarian is available.
It’s the fourth time the university has provided the training for Army personnel.