Incirlik's veterinary clinic best in DOD

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jason Burton
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affiars
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Incirlik's veterinary clinic was recently named as the Best Veterinary Clinic in the Department of Defense.

The vet clinic here currently only has one active duty veterinarian, one active duty veterinarian technician, a part-time civilian animal health technician, and a volunteer. However, even with a small staff they were able to beat every other veterinary clinic in the DOD, earning them the Above and Beyond award.

"We found out last week that we won," said Army Capt. Robert Hawley, Incirlik Veterinary Clinic chief of veterinary services. "I received a call from my commander and we were real excited and kind of shocked. There are a lot of bigger and newer clinics out there, but this small clinic in the middle of Turkey is the best, it is amazing."

"A few weeks after Captain Hawley arrived at his new position in Turkey, he acquired a new building to house the veterinary clinic that was 300 percent larger than the previous facility," said Army Lt. Col. Noreen Murphy, Southern Europe District Veterinary Command commander. "Along with his Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, they renovated the new clinic to include all the exam areas, surgical suite and treatment facilities necessary to provide the highest quality veterinary care."

The new facility has also been equipped with a new x-ray machine and processor, a new dental workstation with dental instruments and new surgical instruments. Additionally, they were able to expand vet clinic hours, offer emergency services for the first time at Incirlik and more than doubled their capacity for appointments.

Last year, prior to Captain Hawley's arrival, there were roughly 600 clinical appointments. In the past eight months; however, there have been more than 2,000. Also, the number of surgical procedures offered was increased along with the number of surgeries performed, raising from an annual average of around 100 to more than 500.

"The Incirlik branch teamwork resulted in the veterinary clinic winning the Eubanks Award for both United States Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Force levels in November 2006 and for 2007 respectively," Colonel Murphy said. "The clinic was the only one who received an individual 'Award for Excellence' given by the Eubanks inspection team for Incirlik in 2007."

Captain Hawley said, that he and his NCOIC have spent a lot of time researching different products and companies to find the best ways of serving the community.

"If you are not out there researching and getting this stuff done, you are not going to get any toys," he said. "Acquiring new equipment takes a lot of work and a lot of time, but in the short term, I'm happy we helped improve the clinic here.

"We have a group of hard working people that have been a tremendous help, not only with the animals, but also for owners as well," Captain Hawley said. "This is certainly not a one man shop, the clinic has a great office staff, a great sergeant and it gets great support from the base."

The Incirlik veterinary clinic definitely deserves this award because they have gone above and beyond the call of duty," said Colonel Murphy.