Veterinarians Promote Livestock Health In Rural Djibouti
U.S. Army Maj. Amanda Owens, a veterinarian with the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion, Functional Specialty Cell’s (FxSP) Veterinary Team, deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa, inspects a goat for suspected transboundary diseases (Pestis de Petite Ruminant or PPR), in Lake Abbe, Djibouti, on Jan. 23, 2019. Soldiers with the FxSP Veterinary Team engage local pastoralists in austere locations to promote better herd health management and facilitate communication for further engagements during a Veterinary Civic Action Project (VETCAP). The purpose of Civil Affairs VETCAPs is to build relationships with local community animal health workers and the Djiboutian Ministry of Livestock via animal health surveillance and to improve knowledge, skills, livestock medicine, and best practices. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Grimes)