BAMC holds special promotion ceremony for three four-legged service members

Story by Lori Newman

Brooke Army Medical Center Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, OCT. 4, 2024 — With a nose bop and paw salute, Brooke Army Medical Center promoted three of its five facility dogs during a special ceremony held on Oct. 3 in the Carolyn D. Putnam Auditorium.

During the ceremony, Budd, BAMC’s first facility dog, was promoted to the rank of Army lieutenant colonel. Budd is a 4 1/2-year-old yellow English Labrador/Golden Retriever mix that weighs 92 pounds.

“You just have to spend a few minutes with him (Budd), and you can understand why he is really the gold standard for a facility dog program and why he’s very deserving of this promotion,” said Army Col. Mark Stackle, BAMC commander.

Along with Budd, Quinn, a 2-year-old black Labrador, and Scout, a 2-year-old black Labrador/Golden Retriever mix, became BAMC’s first enlisted furry service members. Quinn received the rank of Army sergeant first class, and Scout received the rank of Air Force staff sergeant.

Lt. Col. Budd’s main mission at BAMC is to roam the halls with his primary handler, Jennifer Higgins, to calm, encourage, support and motivate the BAMC staff.

Sgt. 1st Class Quinn will work with the trauma service to provide support for both staff members and patients.

“The trauma mission is something that sets Brooke Army Medical Center apart, and that’s not an easy job,” said Stackle. “Patients oftentimes come in very, very critically injured, or worse and our trauma service is the professionals who each and every day go out and take care of those patients. So, I think it’s important for us to recognize that and to support that mission.”

Staff Sgt. Scout will focus his intention on supporting BAMC’s education programs. The San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences train more than 800 Army and Air Force residents, fellows, and allied health professionals each year.

Staff Sgt. Scout will provide “that extra layer of support and emotional comfort for these people who are going through a really stressful time in their training,” the commander said.

BAMC Chief Medical Officer Col. Joseph Hudak explained how the BAMC Facility Dog Program came to fruition.

“This program was one of the few silver linings that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hudak said. “It started when Ms. (Jennifer) Higgins approached the BAMC CMO, Col. Sean Hipp, with the idea to bring a facility dog to BAMC to boost staff morale.”

Hudak credited America’s VetDogs, an organization that trains and places military facility dogs to provide animal assisted intervention to patients and staff members at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers, for providing BAMC with a total of five facility dogs.

“When you see these pups around the facility, you just can’t help but smile and feel a little bit happier,” Hudak said. “I know our staff and our patients truly value having their furry faces around on the good days and on those not-so-good days.”

The facility dogs provide support throughout BAMC, the outlying clinics and other areas across Joint Base San Antonio.

“One staff member put it best a while ago when he said, ‘this is the best program I have seen in the 13 years that I’ve been here at BAMC.’” Hudak shared. “That’s a powerful statement considering how many outstanding programs this organization has.”