Veterinary college graduates commission into U.S. Army Veterinary Corps

The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine was honored to host two commissioning ceremonies for four of its graduates in 2020.

On Feb. 20, Lauren Dodd, a research associate in epidemiology in the Department of Population Health Sciences, was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps by Maj. Megan Reglin, U.S. Army Nurse Corps. From 2016 to 2019, Dodd was a resident in comparative nutrition, completing both a Master of Public Health and a Master of Science in 2019 at the veterinary college.

“I have truly enjoyed my time here at Virginia Tech, especially the people I’ve met in the Department of Population Health Sciences and in Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences, and the clinical staff in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital,” Dodd said after the ceremony. “It’s also been a pleasure working with students. Virginia Tech really has come to feel like home, and I am proud to have held my commissioning here at the veterinary college.”

A member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition, and American Public Health Association, Dodd earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2014 from Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine and completed an internship in small animal medicine at VCA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before arriving at Virginia Tech.

On April 30, Class of 2020 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine graduates Kristin M. Blount, Haley E. Davis, and Carli A. Williams were commissioned into the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps as captains by Col. Jay Kyle, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps (retired), a Virginia Tech and VA-MD Vet Med alumnus. After 22 years in the Army as a public health veterinarian, Kyle joined Virginia Tech’s Career and Professional Development team in 2016 as assistant director of career development and college relations.

As the only veterinarians within the Department of Defense, Army Veterinary Corps officers provide animal care to government-owned animals and privately owned animals of service members; food safety and defense; public health; military medical research; and training to all branches of the military, as well as federal agencies at more than 1,000 locations in more than 40 countries.