Read Sofia’s journey of becoming a veterinary technician and gain insight in to her daily life.

“My name is Sofia Baddick RVN, and I am a Lance Corporal in the British Army.

Home for me is a small village in Devon where I have lived and worked my whole life. After getting my A-levels and completing my Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing, I started working in a small animal practice. After 4 years I moved to a local mixed practice and as I didn’t have any previous equine nursing/handling experience; I really enjoyed this introduction to equine nursing and at this point decided that I wanted my future career to incorporate small and large animals.

After gaining experience at the mixed practice, again I decided I wanted a change. Not of career just lifestyle and location. Joining the British Army had always appealed since leaving secondary school but due to lack of confidence I never followed that path. After doing some research into my options, the Army route cropped up again and the Veterinary Technician role seemed pretty much perfect.

Becoming a veterinary technician in the Army

‘You work all over the world and deal with everything from injured search dogs to sick cavalry horses. You could be preparing an operating theatre one day and nursing hospitalised animals the next. It’s great experience that can help you get valuable qualifications and a job if you return to civilian life. When you’re not building your skills and career, you’ll have time to enjoy sports and make some amazing friends.’ – British Army Website

When it came to applying for the Veterinary Technician role, the first stage was an online application on the British Army website. I was then invited to the assessment centre at Pirbright. Over a couple of days, I undertook a health check, fitness tests, team building tasks and cognitive tests. After receiving confirmation I had passed this assessment, I waited for my start date.

Having been accepted, I joined the British Army in September 2022. I attended the Army Training Regiment, Winchester where I completed my Phase 1 basic training course, which is 13 weeks long. This consisted of a fast-paced training programme learning basic soldiering skills, weapon handling, administrating yourself in field environments, drill, military awareness and leadership skills. During this time, you are given an amazing fitness programme to follow with dedicated instructors and will leave training 100% fitter then you started, so don’t panic about your fitness. It’s an intense few months but completely worth it! I got the opportunity to spend a week in the Brecon Beacons doing adventurous training which involved caving, hill walking and climbing. Adventurous training was super fun and gave me an opportunity to partake in activities that I would have not done necessarily as a civilian. I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone. We also went to Belgium for a 5-day battlefield study trip, experiencing the realities of war and learning about some of the British Army’s rich history.

After basic training I moved from Winchester to the Defence Animal Training Regiment (DATR), The DATR is the Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) training and procurement unit, based in Melton Mowbray. Here I completed a 7-week Patrol Dog Handler course. I learnt the basics to handling Patrol dogs and their specific care requirements. Coming from a civilian veterinary background and despite 6 years of animal experience, it was hugely beneficial to be given this time and coaching by the training staff to adjust to the differences between pet dogs versus Military Working Dogs. It also gave me a huge insight into what other vital parts of the RAVC do.

My next step was the Transition to Military Practice course at the DATR. Essentially, this is a course to teach the process’ of procurement of military working animals, preventive health procedures and travel requirements, as well as the different paperwork used. To finish the course, I took a small exam to test my understanding of the new administrative systems. Once I completed the course, I was promoted to Lance Corporal and given 12 months to complete the Army Leadership Development Program, which is a 2-week promotion course consisting of 1 week classroom-based leadership lessons and followed by a week-long field-based phase to test my leadership and decision making while in command of a section of soldiers.

First posting

My first posting has been to the DATR as a clinical nurse in the Veterinary Training Squadron. We are a small clinic consisting of 3 Veterinary Officers, a Hospital Manager, and 7 RVNs carrying out a variety of clinical and training roles. The Veterinary team is responsible for approximately 100 dogs and 100 horses that live on site. I’ve been officially posted to the DATR since April 2023 and I have certainly been exposed to lots of new opportunities and continue to be exposed to both the dogs and horses, helping to increase my equine experience.

Each day can be different, depending on which department you are assigned to; this can either be on the Canine or the Equine department. Most days are of a similar routine but occasionally with the odd emergency thrown into the mix but mostly we assist in maintaining health and welfare of all the animals on site; this includes routine preventative care to out of hours emergency care.

The procurement of all Defence Animals takes place at or through the DATR. I have been fortunate enough to take part in both a dog and horse procurement visit. Each consists of a visit to a vendor along with military dog or horse trainers to see if they were suitable for our needs. The Veterinary team on these visits consist of a Veterinary Officer and a veterinary nurse to health check the animals, review any radiographs, analyse gait and movement, take any relevant blood samples and administer vaccines and parasite treatments before approving their fitness to travel.

Opportunities for travel

Since being at the DATR I have been lucky to go on some great trips. The first being, a trip to Smiths Barracks, Baumholder in Germany to take part in a K9TCCC (Canine Combat Casualty Care) course held by the US Army. This was an amazing course teaching and sharing emergency tactical field care techniques. A selection of military medics, dog handlers, vets and nurses from numerous European countries attended this course and shared knowledge and educated one another on improved and up to date procedures.

I have been able to travel to Cyprus and take part in a neutering clinic, during which time we neutered 37 cats and 5 dogs in five days, it was a good opportunity to have an intense week of clinical work. This was a super fun week and in our down time we got to explore local towns and beaches.

In the latter months of 2024, I was given the opportunity to spend some time at Knightsbridge Barracks, London with the Household Calvary Mounted Regiment (HCMR), to assist in their equine clinic. This provided a good insight to a possible future posting at one of the Army’s two mounted regiments. The HCMR clinic is made up of 2 Veterinary Officers and 2 Veterinary Technicians (RVNs) supporting the Military Working Horses during day-to-day training and during State Ceremonial and Public duties. It is the RVNs role to carry out teaching with the soldiers about horse welfare, health, and husbandry, alongside the general health maintenance of the herd held there.

Whilst visiting this unit, I was able to take part in a State Visit which meant being part of an emergency team following the procession of HCMR horses through London in a horse ambulance alongside Military Farriers and the 2 Veterinary Officers.  I hope to take this career pathway in the future. The role provides sole equine work alongside the chance of living in central London with subsidised living costs which would be hard to find in any other workplace and provide opportunities like no other.

Other places you can be posted to as a RVN in the British Army include the 1^st Military Working Dog Regiment, which includes the Cyprus Military Working Dog Troop and the King’s Troop Royal Artillery which is another mounted regiment based in Woolwich, London.

Work hard, play hard

Another huge perk of Army life is the wide range of Adventurous Training available to every soldier. I have had the chance to take part in mountain biking trips at Forest of Dean and in the Peak District which has taken me away from day-to-day work to enjoy the trails. What’s amazing is it’s not just fun days out that you can get out of this, I am also hoping to obtain my mountain bike leader qualification so I will be able to take groups out to also enjoy this activity. There are lots of other opportunities to gain these qualifications in other sports and AT pursuits and the qualifications are recognised in “civi street” too!

Being a RVN in the British Army offers many other benefits too including competitive pay, health care and faster opportunities for promotion. The experience gained in this role can also lead to various career paths in and out of the veterinary profession after service. It’s a unique and rewarding career and I would recommend it to anyone. If you do ever consider this career path, there are plenty of social media accounts that can give you a better understanding of what the RAVC get up too with regular updates.

For more information and to apply search ‘Army Veterinary Technician’. If you would like further details, please email christopher.archer110@mod.gov.uk.