Army
The Army reported that it filled its 446 authorized active-duty veterinarian positions, but that its veterinary reserve corps is not at full strength. Specifically, the Army only filled 173 of its 197 reserve positions in fiscal year 2008, a 12 percent shortage.
According to the Army’s analysis, the reserve corps has been at less than full strength since fiscal year 2005. These veterinarians commit to part-time training and to being deployed to full-time active duty when needed. The shortage means there is not a sufficient pool of veterinarians that can be called into active duty as the need arises. This is a concern, according to the official responsible for assessing Army veterinarian workforce needs, because the Army's need for veterinarian services is increasing due to growing concerns over bioterrorism, intentional contamination of the food supply, emerging zoonotic diseases, and due to operational requirements, such as agricultural reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other things. This official told us that recruitment into the reserves has been a problem because of the length, frequency, and uncertainty of deployments, which, in some cases has also resulted in veterinarians losing their jobs or suffering financial hardships. However, he told us that recent changes to the reserve corps program—such as decreasing the length of deployment from 1 year to 180 days, and making additional incentives available to veterinarians in the reserves—have helped strengthen the capacity of the veterinary reserve corps.Officials also told us they are concerned about a growing need for certain special veterinary skills. For example, there is an increasing demand for Army veterinary pathologists, who are essential for interpreting test results from animals used in drug and vaccine research. The official responsible for assessing Army veterinarian workforce needs told us the Army has yet to formally assess this need. Other Army veterinarians conduct medical intelligence work for DOD's Defense Intelligence Agency, where officials told us they are concerned about the difficulty of recruiting veterinarians with appropriate skills to meet a growing need to, among other things, collect and analyze data on animal diseases that could be used in a terrorist attack.
Veterinarians are important to such work because, according to these officials, the majority of diseases considered to be potential bioterrorism agents are animal diseases that could also affect humans. They told us that while the agency is working to expand its workforce capabilities to address bioterrorism, there is a concern that the growing demand for veterinarian capabilities may outpace the growth of the Army's workforce.The primary reason for the Army's success in maintaining its active-duty veterinarian workforce is a scholarship program, according to the official responsible for assessing Army veterinarian workforce needs. This program targets veterinary students and pays their tuition and fees to veterinary school in exchange for a commitment to (1) serve as a veterinarian in the Army for 3 years and (2) serve an additional 5 years either in active duty or in the Army reserve program. In fiscal year 2008, the Army reported it had 106 qualified applicants for 47 scholarships. According to the official, the program is successful because it targets students before they accumulate school-related debt. Veterinary students graduate with more than $106,000 in debt, on average, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. In addition, the funding for this program is directed specifically by congressional committees, separate from funds the Army uses to hire veterinarians.
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