Photo By Sgt. Zachary Zippe | U.S. Army Spc. Imani Newsome, an animal care specialist attached to the 566th Medical...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – On a typical day at the Camp Bondsteel veterinary clinic in Kosovo, U.S. Army Spc. Imani Newsome can be found drawing blood, taking vitals, scrubbing in for surgery or providing general care for military working dogs.
“Spc. Newsome is the vet technician for the entire [Kosovo Force] mission,” said Capt. Eric Dombou, chief of veterinarian services attached to the 566th Medical Company (Area Support), 61st Medical Battalion, based out of Fort Hood, Texas. “She’s actually the only 68T, animal care specialist, in the Balkan area.”
Newsome and Dombou are assigned to Regional Command-East for the KFOR mission, a NATO-led peacekeeping organization. While they’re here, their primary mission is to provide medical care for the military working dogs.
“We’re here in case they get sick, and we do regular checkups with the dogs,” said Newsome. “Fortunately, they do not get sick often.”
Dombou said Newsome is an outstanding Soldier for the vet clinic. On her first deployment she has responsibilities above her rank while also maintaining her basic Soldier skills.
“She runs the vet clinic on Camp Bondsteel,” said Dombou. “If you think about any position in the hospital, she has a very unique position. In a hospital you have a lab tech, radiologist, a nurse, but she does all of those jobs for the military working dogs.”
Everything she does for the clinic makes the veterinarian’s job easier, said Dombou. She has a lot of experience for a junior Soldier, and stays on top of her duties.
Newsome said she worked at a veterinarian clinic before joining the Army. In the civilian sector, it can be expensive to upkeep certificates and qualifications, whereas the Army trains their vets and technicians to the highest standard as a part of their duty.
“I was a vet tech on the civilian side before I joined the Army,” said Newsome. “I would say the difference between the two is that I get more experience in the Army. They let me do more with the dogs.”
At Fort Hood, Texas, where Newsome is normally stationed, she’s a member of the 43rd Medical Detachment Veterinarian Services and Support, 1st Medical Brigade. She works with the Veterinarian Treatment Facility taking care of service members’ personal dogs along with military working dogs.
The VTF is set up just like a civilian vet practice, so military working dogs essentially have their own vet hospitals built into the Army. For Newsome and other animal care specialists, military working dogs are just like Soldiers who deserve high-quality care.
“Military working dogs are our dogs,” said Newsome.
With all of her experience with animals in the Army, Newsome will have greater opportunities when she returns to school to become a veterinarian.
“I ultimately want to become a veterinarian,” said Newsome. “This is kind of like a stepping stool because I am getting to see all of the animal medicine side. When I become a veterinarian, I will be able to better understand where my tech is coming from.”
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2021 10:00 |
| Story ID: | 390815 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 461 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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