U.S. Army Veterinary Services from Charlie Company, 199 Brigade Support Battalion rarely get the opportunity to interact with the local animal population.
When a request came in for help with the stray cat population control on Camp Film City, Kosovo, the veterinary team jumped at the opportunity.
"I always enjoy working with our multinational partners…supporting them and learning their concerns,” said U.S. Army Col. Eugene Johnson, the sole veterinarian under KFOR RC-E Task Force Medical.
Soldiers have been working to trap stray cats on base humanely, but they needed veterinary support for spaying, neutering, and health checks. Johnson and his team traveled to Camp Film City to examine cats, perform a spay or neuter, and provide prophylactic care to ensure the animals were healthy.
“The cats…reproduce every day, and we have to stop it somehow, otherwise it's just more cats running around and they can get sick,” said Lance Cpl. Florian Lange, an engineer administrator who helps with the capture effort. “People get sick and sometimes it is blamed on the cats.”
After their procedures, the cats were cared for with fresh water, treats and a dose of affection before being released back to their familiar surroundings.
“If we keep it like this and actually have a veterinarian coming here to help them, I think we can make a lot of progress,” said Lange.
The veterinary team’s efforts in managing the stray population help reduce health risks to both service members and the broader community, ultimately supporting KFOR’s peacekeeping mission to maintain a safe and secure environment in Kosovo.
“Zero by 30” is a global health initiative launched in 2018 to eliminate human deaths from rabies by 2030. The initiative is led by the World Health Organization (WHO), they’ve collaborated with other health partners to build awareness. According to WHO, investing in rabies elimination saves lives and strengthens human and veterinary health systems.
“Our primary mission is threefold, animal medicine, food protection and a general veterinary public health mission,” said Johnson. “We address diseases or conditions that might be considered zoonotic, or things that might be a concern to be transmitted from animals to our service members or civilians.”
Coming along on these trips for public health missions like this one are U.S. Army medics with Charlie Company, 199th Brigade Support Battalion, where they can gain firsthand experience with procedures that directly support those prevention efforts and why it is important.
“We've been using our medics from the medical clinic and trying to include them in our surgeries…” said Johnson. “It gives them confidence and real life skills.”
For these medics, most training involves mannequins. Working with live animals provides a rare opportunity to apply those skills in a real-world setting.
Though military working dogs remain their primary responsibility, missions like this highlight the broader role of Army veterinary services which is supporting allied forces, protecting public health, and sometimes, simply caring for the creatures that share our space, even if they’re just wandering through.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2025 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 544106 |
| Location: | ZZ |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Helping Hands and Healing Paws in Kosovo, by SSG Alyssa Lisenbe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
