PP12 Vet Team Joins Cambodian Vets, Vaccinate Local Animals

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Feddersen, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (NNS) -- Pacific Partnership 2012 veterinarians worked side by side with Cambodian veterinarians to provide vaccinations for local animals during a veterinarian civic action project (VETCAP) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia Aug. 9.

Vaccinations included rabies vaccinations, wormers and a vaccination against a local disease for small animals as well as cattle and carabao.

World Vets volunteer Eilidh Hawkins said the VETCAP helped educate the local veterinarians about vaccinating and help reduce the risk of rabies in the area.

"The work we are doing here for rabies prevention is important to protect children from rabies, so we are working with the vets on the diseases they need to treat their animals for," said Hawkins.

Army Spc. Amanda Schwartz said another important part of the VETCAP was to provide vitamin B to the cattle and carabao.

"We give them vitamin B to help them gain weight," she said. "A lot of times, they aren't getting the vitamins they need, so we help supplement them."

Hawkins said the idea was to focus on preventative medicine.

"A lot of the work we do here is about preventative medicine and preventing disease, rabies in particular," she said. "So we do rabies education with children and use our vaccination program. Our work here has been a success due to the help we have received from the Cambodian officials and the Cambodian vets as well as our own team made up of U.S. Army veterinarians, NGOs, host and partner nations."

During PP12, VETCAPs are held to provide free care to local pets and livestock to protect the spread of disease to both animals and people.

Now in its seventh year, Pacific Partnership is an annual U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance mission U.S. military, host and partner nations, non-governmental organizations and international agencies designed to build stronger relationships and disaster response capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Army Reserve Vets Make House Calls in Guatemala

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

CHICOJL, Guatemala, June 28, 2012 – Army Reserve Capt. (Dr.) Daniel Skirvin’s civilian career may have gone to the dogs, but at least during his mission here in support of Beyond the Horizon 2012, his military career has taken more of a turn toward bulls, pigs and chickens.

Skirvin, a veterinarian who typically treats pets in his civilian life, is part of a three-soldier team from the 1019th Medical Detachment in Garden Grove, Calif., immunizing and treating farm animals for disease.

It’s a mission that takes him, Army Staff Sgt. Jorge Gomez-Rangel and Army Spc. Christopher Bryan to some of the most remote areas of Central Guatemala. They travel up mountainsides, through cornfields and sometimes as far as an hour’s walk from the nearest road to as many as 60 homes and farmyards every day. Skirvin estimates that by the end of their two-week deployment here next week, they will have made as many as 600 house calls.

“What we’re doing is really important, because for these people, these animals are what they have, financially,” he said. “If we can make these animals a little more healthy, that will give them a little more protein in their diets and also a little more that they can sell. And that is a big deal in terms of making their lives a little better.”

Providing that service – particularly when the patients are less-than-willing – requires a special touch. Skirvin’s team works hand in hand with Guatemalan veterinary technicians to steady the animals, tie bulls to trees when possible, and steer clear of angry kicks. “Sometimes, especially when there are no trees, it can be a little like a rodeo,” Skirvin said.

The team also depends on local officials to translate for them as they give farmers supplies of powdered vitamins and medications.

Bryan, a military food inspector, said he enjoys the experience he’s gaining during his first veterinary medical readiness training exercise here. “We’re helping the people keep their animals healthy so they have a better food supply, and they’re really grateful,” he said.

Gomez-Wrangle, with 27 years of military service under his belt, said he can’t imagine a more gratifying mission. “I see the results,” he said. “It helps, and I like helping people.”

Providing that outreach is a major objective of the Beyond the Horizon mission, one of U.S. Southern Command’s largest annual humanitarian and civic assistance efforts.

Australian Navy Delivers Veterinary Care during Pacific Partnership 2011

By Leading Seaman Imagery Specialist Helen Frank, Royal Australian Navy

DILI, Timor Leste (NNS) -- Veterinarians and technicians from the U.S Army, Australian Army, Spanish Navy and non-government organizations World Vets and Vets without Borders, concluded a four-day mission to provide veterinary care for the residents of Puno, Timor-Leste, June 20-23.

They were there as part of Pacific Partnership, an annual humanitarian assistance mission. During the course of the last two months, the Pacific Partnership team has treated more than 30,000 patients, completed 19 engineering civic action projects, cared for more than 400 animals, engaged in nearly 30 community service projects, and developed friendships in Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

The majority of animals seen by the veterinarians included dogs and pigs. The animals were neutered as well as treated for fleas and worms.

"It was exciting to be working in the field," said U.S. Army Captain Hakim Hamici. "We looked after a lot of domestic animals. This helps the well being of both the animal and its owner. The village people were very thankful, and we were happy that they were so receptive."

There was also an opportunity for information exchanges with visits by local agricultural students and volunteers from the Timorese Animal Lovers Society. Pacific Partnership veterinarians exchanged information about disease control and animal handling while learning more about how Timorese communities manage livestock.

The Pacific Partnership team was transported to the remote location of Puno via two Royal Australian Navy Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) ships. These 'pick up trucks of the sea' are 132 feet in length and can carry a maximum of 180 tons of cargo. Their shallow draft makes them ideal for delivering people and equipment to areas that are otherwise unreachable by larger ships. This capability is exactly what missions like Pacific Partnership require in order to bring assistance to remote locations.

"Without the contribution of our Australian partners, many people in the country might not even hear of Pacific Partnership and what we're trying to achieve," said Capt. Jesse A. Wilson, Pacific Partnership 2011 mission commander. "The LCHs' capabilities carry our message and support to the countryside, which is frequently hardest hit by natural disasters."

This is the second time the Royal Australian Navy LCHs have supported Pacific Partnership 2011. They also transported people and equipment to three remote locations in Vanuatu to conduct medical, dental and veterinary civic action programs.

During the past five years, Pacific Partnership has provided medical, dental, veterinary, educational, and preventive medicine services to more than 230,000 people and completed more than 150 engineering projects in 15 countries. This year, the Pacific Partnership team has completed missions in Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste. The mission will conclude in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Continuing Promise Veterinarians to Provide Vital Training for Jamaican Counterparts

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st (SW) Kim Williams, Continuing Promise 2011 Public Affairs

USNS COMFORT, At Sea (NNS) -- Military veterinarians embarked on board USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), in conjunction with other civilian veterinarians, began facilitating diagnostic parasitology classes for Jamaican veterinary practitioners during a port visit to Kingston, Jamaica, as part of Continuing Promise 2011 (CP11), April 10.

U.S. Army Capt. Rachel Lee and veterinary health care technicians, Army Sgts. Heather Robinson and Bethzabe Delgado, will perform the first study of food animals the island country has had in the last two decades.

"In Jamaica, we are going to be teaching at the national diagnostic lab, so we will probably have a very big influence there since they haven't had a parasitology study in food animals since 1980," said Lee. "These studies are very important for condemnation reasons, because there are a lot of things that animals can get that would prevent people from eating their meat safely."

Lee said that she and her team will teach at least three classes and work one-on-one with the host country animal health practioners.

"I'm excited to be on this mission, because I've only had one other similar mission to the Philippines, which was very small scale, as far as larger animals goes, so working as part of CP11 will be very exciting for me," said Robinson. "I'm very interested in helping the locals learn more about how to better their livelihood and their food because their animals are their lifeline."

The CP11 mission consists of veterinarian care in addition to medical, dental, engineering and subject matter expert exchanges. The mission is focused on helping people and building lasting partnerships with nations throughout the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.

Comfort will also visit Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Peru.

COMUSNAVSO/COMFOURTHFLT supports U.S. Southern Command joint and combined full-spectrum military operations by providing principally sea-based, forward presence to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain, to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with international partners and to fully exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.