Four-Legged Soldiers, First-Class Care: Army Reserve Vets Race Against the Clock in High-Stakes Battlefield Training

CAMP SHELBY, Miss. — Highly specialized U.S. Reserve Soldiers race against the clock to save a special battlefield casualty. The patient arrives at the operating room of the 422 Medical Detachment Veterinary Services Support (Vet Det) at the 348th Army Field Hospital.

“He’s not feeling well! He’s not been eating,” says Maj. Michael Wilson, an observer assigned to the 7302nd Medical Training Support Battalion. “Seems like he wants to vomit but nothing comes out.”

The patient is a simulated military working dog suffering from Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV)—a life-threatening condition that could be fatal.

Sgt. Raijuenae Aravena is ready. She is an animal care specialist with the 422nd.

“The dog’s stomach is basically turned the wrong way in its abdomen, causing it to bloat,” she explained. “Think of it like a hammock that flipped, it’s twisted shut at both ends. Gas and fluid get trapped inside.”

It’s a training event for the Vet Det, part of the larger Operation Sentinel Justice, a large-scale U.S. Army Reserve training exercise designed to validate unit capabilities and improve effectiveness through realistic training. Wilson’s job is to guide the veterinary team through realistic scenarios.

“It’s a lot of hands-on training that we get in the Army Reserve,” said Aravena, who has worked with animals as a civilian for ten years.

Precision in the Operating Room

When the simulated patient arrives, the veterinary team moves with practiced precision. Aravena and the veterinarian quickly assess the dog and go through the motions of taking an x-ray.

“We treat GDV with the utmost urgency,” said Aravena, “The dog arrives with a prognosis, and we check to make sure the GDV diagnosis is accurate with a radiograph.”

On the operating table, the Aravena sedates and intubates the animal.

“Then, I help prepare it for surgery—scrubbed, shaved, and ready.”

The surgical goal is to untwist the stomach and perform a gastropexy, tacking the stomach to the abdominal wall to prevent future rotation. The team's execution earned high praise from evaluators.

“They did good," said Wilson. “It was pretty much a check on all the steps, which was fantastic. Got him into surgery pretty quickly.”

Rigorous Training for Large-Scale Combat

“We provide veterinary service support for any animals that are owned by the Department of War throughout the theater,” said Lt. Col. Arden Gillespie, commander of the 422nd.

Everything their animal patients need is in the operating room—a 400-square-foot tent set up and equipped by the detachment in the field. The unit, nicknamed “Top Dog,” is preparing for large-scale combat.

“In counter-insurgency operations, [referring to the wards in Iraq and Afghanistan] we mobilized to locations that were already established with buildings and equipment,” said Gillespie. “Now we have to be ready to establish a field hospital, essentially, for the veterinary care of our working dogs in theater.”

“This was our first time as a team setting up this tent,” said Aravena. “It takes some getting used to learning where everything is and working in a smaller environment.”

The detachment Soldiers not only establish the operating room, but they have to account for area security and sustainment of the entire detachment.

“Learning how to set it up, establish it, who are our support and sustainment for us so that we can get the support we need to be able to do our mission,” said Gillespie. “This has been really good because we've had great support, and we're here ready to take patients.”

Cooperation as a Key to Success

Effective veterinary work requires team work, just like any other battlefield task.

“We consider military working dogs Soldiers, just like all the two-legged Soldiers are, and we take the same care of them as any other wounded soldier would have on the battlefield,” said Gillespie. “We have teams that are placed forward to be that first role that they're brought to, where they can stabilize them and then move them back to us.”

In the operating room, team work helps the Soldiers focus on the patient.

“Giving the best care to our patients takes communication first,” said Aravena. “We talk out loud as we work together, making sure we all understand what the patient needs.”

She points out that not all of their patients survive.

“Working as a vet tech in the U.S. Army Reserve isn’t about petting puppies and kittens. This can be life or death,” she said. “It is stressful and sometimes depressing.”

But training like this, according to Gillespie, prepares Soldiers to be ready for anything and save as many as possible.