Two thousand veterinarians in the wrong place

Abstract

Before WWI, Army horses were treated by civilian contract veterinarians. There was no organized Veterinary Corps, no Chief, no enlisted personnel, no veterinary regulations and very little professional communication between veterinarians isolated on regimental posts. Even before the U.S. agreed to enter WWI, the British and French sent military representatives to look at the American Army. One of the major problems they recognized was that we had no system of animal evacuation, hospitalization, or convalescence that would recondition sick and wounded horses and return them to the line. The British attached LTC Aiken, a member of the Royal British Veterinary Corps to their embassy. His job was to lobby Congress to commission veterinarians and establish an organized Corps that could function in France. LTC Aiken was successful in that Congress authorized commissions in 1916. However it was a year before veterinarians received their commissions and a month after we entered the war before the Army even started to organize the Corps. This delay was a significant factor in the animal problems of the Army that would last throughout the war. The Surgeon General brought together a board of officers and veterinar-