Horses at Oceana NAS?

J

jennyp

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
825
Maybe somebody here will know this.........

While in Virginia Beach for a few days before USNA I-Day, we happened by Oceana NAS. Noticed a large number of horses and very nice barns/facilities.:confused:

Middle Son was inducted at USNA July 1. However, his older brother is entering Vet School at Texas A&M. Army recruiters have talked to him about the program where Army pays for years 2-4 of vet school in return for a 3 year committment to serve as an army vet. His biggest hesitancy is that he is aiming to become an equine vet and hopes to do a residency in equine surgery following vet school (which could be done following Army commitment as well). Our heads nearly swiveled off our bodies as we drove past Oceana NAS and saw the many horses!:eek:

Anybody know anything about military vets? Horses at a NAS?
 
The only service that has vet's is the Army, so he'll have to stick with that service. The Army supplies vet's for the other services. I would definitely look more into the ability to specialize if you join the military because I have only seen general vet's and would doubt there is a need for such specialized care in the military.

As to the horses at NAS Oceana, I believe those are actually privately owned stables and only appear to have anything to do with the NAS because of their proximity.
 
Horses and vets

NAS Miramar horses... yep, used to be a lot of bases, especially naval air stations with training missions, were built out in the boonies with lots of land, to minimize noise impact. The towns have grown up around them. Va Beach used to be just a couple of streets near the beach, separated by acres and acres of farmland stretching to Norfolk. The stable facility is part of the Navy MWR (morale, welfare and rec) programs there. The Marine Corps Air Stations at Miramar, in San Diego, used to have stables too, but closed them in summer of 2008 for an RV storage area. One of our USNA sponsor daughters just got back from an exchange semester at USAFA, and she enjoyed having her horse join her there.

As for veterinarians...we have used Army vets when near Army bases for dog care, which is of course not their primary mission. Here's more on their mission for DOD:
http://www.veterinaryservice.army.mil/

I always figured they were there for the Army mule trains, cannoneers, horse troops, etc., and their mission evolved over time. I'm sure our Army friends here can tell us more.
 
If they are privately owned stables, they sure have a heckuva security gate! We wondered if they were "parade horses!" Like for ceremonial uses?
 
jennyp said:
If they are privately owned stables, they sure have a heckuva security gate! We wondered if they were "parade horses!" Like for ceremonial uses?
Click to expand...

Only "parade horses" I know of in the military are at Arlington National Cemetery.
 
^^^ Fort Riley and I believe Ft. Carson also have mounted parade units.
 
okay, so not privately owned, but operated by MWR :)
 
Ft Meade in DC also has a parade company, every Sunday the AD members are out there taking care of the horses for people to see after they have brunch at the O'Club. The AF has vets, but I am not sure if they are Army loaned, remember every military base has a K-9 team, and the dogs need to be taken care of. You might have 1 vet that travels from base to base. At SJAFB, the vet also sees AD members own pets 2 x a week.

I sold a home about 5 yrs ago to an Army Vet, she was being assigned to Belvoir, her job was just to take care of the military k-9 surgerical team (there are only a few in the world). Interesting fact, if the dog requires surgery, their handler is sent with them TDY and lives in the clinic while the dog recuperates. Prior to coming to Belvoir she was in Germany, and before that she was at Drum, so you do pcs often (3-4 yrs marker), as you get to specialties than the bases become more select.

Also not every base has stables, but if they are a big base they will have them or if it is very popular in the area. Elmendorf AFB, AFA, Pope have them, but SJAFB doesn't.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top