THE ARMY "VET"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 278, 13 August 1918, Page 6

THE ARMY "VET"

HIS ROLE IN THE GREAT WAR A GREAT OPPORTUNITY Tho war has witnessed an immense expansion of the veterinary service. During.the years that followed the .South African War tho present organisation gradually took shape, the general principle being the formation of a highlytrained nucleus of officers and men that could rapidly l>e expanded to meet the needs of an army on war footing. It is interesting, therefore, to compare tho results of the service in the war with those in tho South African War. and we cannot fail to be struck by the great advance which these figures indicate. The average annual mortality among Army animals in the South African War, 1899IUO2, exceeded 55 per cent, for tho whole war. In the present war the average is under 15 per cent. Nor can this bo Ascribed to tho difference between European and African conditions, for in tho campaign in German South-Wesi Africa, 1914-15, the annual mortality was 9.09 per cent. The deciding factor is- simply the existence of an efficient Army Veterinary Corps.

Tho officers of the Army Veterinary Corps are graduates of the British and colonial veterinary colleges, where ihey have undergone, usually, a, four years' training. The number of officers and other ranks, A.V:C., available for duty on mobilisation in August, 1914, were: Office-3, 109 ; other ranks, .322, including reservists. To-day there are several hundred officers and many thousand n.c.o.'s and men, exclusive of native Indian and Egyptian personnel. No man passed .fit for service with front-line combatant units has been accepted for enlistment in the A.V.C. 6ince September, 1915. Since that time there has been. a gradual ( comb out of all fit n.c.o.'s and men so that at the present timo 110 men lit for combatant units, save the senior n.e.o.'s are left. This mean a great deal of extra training, but the intelligence npd industry of the human raw material has moro'than compensated for this. The "Vets.'" Little List. The work of the Army Veterinary Service comprises:— 1. The examination for soundness of all animals prior to their purchase for the Amy. 2. Care of remounts on board ship. 3. Prevention and control ofbontagiou» and other diseases among all Army animals. 1

i. Treatment of minor cases of sickness and injury under regimental arrangement with the unit to'which the animals belong. 5. Evacuation to veterinary hospitals df all cases of sickness or injury, that cannot be treated properly-with the unit or that, for military reasons, it is not desirablo to keep with the unit. 6. Maintenance of an efficient standard of horse-shoeing- throughout the Army. 7. Supply of veterinary medicines and equipment. 8. The training in schools of farriery of shoeing-smiths and cold-shoers for the Army.

9. Careful advice affecting the welfare of Army horses, e.g., stable management, etc.

The existence of so much incipient disease will easily account for the Irequeney with which horses must be medically examined. "Prevention is better than cure" is, indeed, the sound maxim upon which our _ veterinary as well as our medical services - are conducted. This may be seen in tho excellent practical advice given in the series of pamphlets issued oy the Veterinary. Department of the War Office dealing clearly'and succinctly with each disease in such a way as to be quite intelligible even to the layman, and eminently useful to him.

pne of the most remarkable -works of the A.V.C. has been its care for horses and mules on board ship. During the first few months of the war the losses on board ship were somewhat heavy, averaging. 3 per cent, for a short period. It is now rare to lose 1 per cent. These results are attributable in part to tho improvements suggested by conducting officers. Such an improvement is the system by which animals are carried free in pens containing about five horses or mules each. Formerly all Army rtmounts were carried in narrow stalls, each animal liavin a stall to itself of a maximum width of 2ft. 6in.

The appointment of an assistant to the 'veterinary surgeons .on each ship, has proved an excellent method of educating fresh surgeons in the school of experience. Ono is tempted to dwell on -the nature of that experience, especially upon, the element of .adventure which could not but be prominent in conducting duty—during such a war as this—on the case, for instance, where owing to a civilian veterinary surgeon, 899 horses out of 925 wero landed in good condition from a ship attacked oft the Irish coast—26 having been killed by shellfire. "Casualties" at the Front. With divisions in the front-line in Prance the work is largely of a' preventive and first-aid nature. In each division there is a definite number of officers and n.c.o.'s of the Army Veterinary Corps who are responsible for advising oh all details concerning tho health of horses and for carrying out simple firstaid treatment and for deciding what cases are slight enough for "duty and dressing," and what should be handed over to tha mobile veterinary section, which is attached to each division for evacuation to hospitals on the lines of communication. Of those sent to hospital (for wounds or disease), 80 por cent, are returned to duty in due course. Early in the war actual battle casualties in horses were not very high; lately, however, they have increased considerably. Bombs from aeroplanes frequently cause heavy casualties, and in these "artillery duels" we read ot so constantly the animals are frequently sufferers, for practically all the ammunition is taken to the guns by horses. The veterinary hospitals are situated on the lines of eommunication, and at the various bases. They are usually built of corrugated iron, and they hold 2000 cases at a, time. Each hospital is divided into wards, According to tho classes of disease. The treatment of parasitic skin disease alone an enormous problem. At every hospital, howevor, research work is conducted, nnd great progress has been made from its results. S.P.C.A. Funds. The fund collected by the Eoyal Society for tho Prevention of Cruelty to. Animals has provided hospitals and hospital requisites of all kinds—clipping machines, dandy brushes, sprayers, etc. In all, hospital accommodation for 9500 animals has been presented. In addition (o this, horse ambulances, drawn by horses in tho wise of those close to tho front line, and by motor power in areas further back, 'have been presented by the society, and hay.e alleviated iu a wonderful degree the sufferings ot thousands of animals. The society has acted towards tho Army Veterinary Service in exactly the same way as the British lied Cross Society Ms acted to (lie Army Medical Service in providing those extra appliances not furnished by the Govern. raent ' '•• , » , Early in the war, tho supply of shoeing smiths for the Army became a critical matter. A sufficient number could not be enlisted, so it was necessary for tho Army to train its own men. Schools of, farriery were started under the auspices of the Army Veterinary Service, with the result that the supply was quietly put on a sound footing, all vacancies were filled, and a reserve of trained men formed.

The schools of farriery have now been greatly reduced ' in number, and einco April 1, 1918, all arms and branches of the service, except infantry and machinegun corps, are made responsible for tlio training of their own shoeing smiths. Tlio shoeing smiths of infantry and machine-gun corps are trained under the supervision of the A.V.C., at a school of farriery at Woohvich. The cold shoer has ceased to exist, and all shoeing smiths are required to pass the higher qualifying test. 1 The work of the A.V.S. is necessarily governed by local conditions. Thus, in Egypt and Mesopotamia, bullock and camel transport is very largely used. For these a specialist staff and separate hospitals or separate wards of general hospitals are provided. ■ But, however, much the local condi-

tioiis may vary, the broad general prin«. ciplcs 011 which the work is carried out remain the same, viz., advice 011 all matters relating to the health of careful watch over the healthy to detect the first deviation from health, constant inspection to prevent the entry and spread of contagious diseases (all of which may be summed'-up in the word, prevention) tho treatment of minor injuries in those that can remain witl; their units, and the cutiro caro of nil the more serious cases from tho timo they become casualties to tho time they, are cured and fit to return to work.