MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Bridget Wilson has known since she was five years old that she wanted to be a veterinarian. But as she got older, she had another aspiration—her dad was in the Air Force and her fondness for military service grew.
“I grew up in a military family and I liked the military lifestyle, but I didn’t really know how to make that work with being a veterinarian,” said Wilson.
Wilson was preparing for college when she learned about the U.S. Army’s Health Professions Scholarship Program, a scholarship designed for individuals wanting to be doctors, dentists, or veterinarians.
The program sounded like a perfect fit for Wilson, which would allow her to be both a veterinarian and a service member.
“When I went on my first training, I got introduced to the [military] working dogs and that was it,” Wilson said. “I knew then that this is what I wanted to do.”
After graduating training and spending time on Fort Benning in Georgia, she was assigned to be the resident veterinarian on Parris Island.
Wilson, who is a captain in the Army, oversees the care of the Marine Corps military working dogs as well as pets owned by Department of Defense service members and veterans in the local area.
Wilson has been a veterinarian on active duty for just over a year and she said the best part of her job is not just getting the opportunity to see to the improvement of the beloved pets under her care, but nurturing the growth of the soldiers under her and watching their improvement.
“While at Fort Benning I really fell in love with teaching,” said Wilson. “Getting to teach and train all the new soldiers, specifically the vet techs, and getting to watch their confidence and abilities grow is what I really enjoy getting to do now.”