Army Veterinary Medical Detachment holds exercise at Disaster City
COLLEGE STATION – The 43rd Veterinary Medical Detachment from Fort Hood deployed to Disaster City® to conduct a disaster exercise in animal decontamination.
Army veterinarians assist civilian agencies with animal medical care capabilities and public health support during a disaster response. The exercise, held May 11-13, was the first one the group has held at Disaster City.
“We came here in part to work with the Veterinary Emergency Team (members) who are actually doing these real-world missions,” she said. “Training with them enables us to learn from the experts. And we came to Disaster City because it’s an internationally known facility and adds an element of realism.”
About the 43rd Veterinary Detachment
The 43rd Veterinary Detachment is made up of veterinarians,veterinary food inspectors and animal care specialists. In June, the detachment will assume a first responder mission should a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear accident happen anywhere in the United States. As part of a larger decontamination task force, the Army is counting on the detachment’s soldiers and veterinarians to be the technical experts when it comes to providing animal medical care. which could be deployed to care for animals following a catastrophic event anywhere in the United States.
Read more in the Fort Hood Sentinel.
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