Cambodian cattle moo for Pacific Angel staff

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tom Czerwinski
  • Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
KAMPONG CHAM PROVINCE, Cambodia (AFPN) --  If asked, most people would guess that a humanitarian medical mission run by the U.S. Air Force is to give aid and assistance to people from third-world countries, or provide humanitarian relief to a place that has been hit by natural disaster or devastation. But one team on Operation Pacific Angel 01-08 was brought along specifically to help underprivileged animals.

A veterinary team of two Air Force officers and one Army officer traveled around Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia May 25 to 29. Their mission: to give care and vaccinations to the multitude of animals here.

The veterinary staff traveled to a new location in the province each day.

"What we are doing here for the local breed of Asian Brahman cattle is a combination inoculation treatment for prevention of Clostridium and Pasteruella," said Lt. Col. Susan Miller, a veterinarian assigned to Brooks City Base, Texas.  "The district veterinary health department only has Pasteruella treatments, so we are in effect doubling disease prevention.  The cattle moo a lot and are scared when forced into the stocks where we treat them, but it's for their good."

The veterinarian staff administers vaccinations to the cattle, rabies vaccinations and worm treatments to dogs and treats other animals such as pigs and horses for general problems.

As part of Pacific Angel 01-08, a joint/combined 13th Air Force-led humanitarian assistance operation, the staff made contact with more than 1000 animals of all types throughout five days of operations.

"We have seen mostly the local Brahman cattle and a Asian breed of domestic dog, but we also treated a pig for pneumonia and examined the local breed of Cambodian horse, which is full grown but the size of a pony," said Colonel Miller. "Everything is going well and we have treated a lot of animals. The biggest danger here is the chance of getting kicked by the cattle so you always have to be aware of your surroundings."

The Asian Brahman cattle here are used mostly as working animals, but some are raised for beef consumption.

"We have been treating the cattle with a Cydecostin spray that will help kill parasites, internal and external," said Capt. Kathryn Belill, a U.S. Army veterinarian from the Central Pacific Veterinary Command at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. "The livestock is healthy for the most part but a little underweight and enemic from the blood-sucking parasites they come in contact with."

Operation Pacific Angel is a joint/combined humanitarian assistance operation conducted in the Pacific area of responsibility in support of U.S. Pacific Command capacity-building efforts. Participating services include the active duty, Reserve and National Guard components of the Air Force, Army, Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

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