Greg Reppas

Greg has been an Army veterinarian since 2008, reporting to CSU from Fort Bragg, NC. As a Major at Fort Bragg, he served in a deployable unit as an officer-in-charge of a veterinary service support team (VSST)—first while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and later as the unit’s deputy commander upon its return from its one-year deployment. When not deployed, the VSST is training for deployment. In July 2013, Greg will be transferring to U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza, Italy, as the Deputy Commander of U.S. Public Health Command District-Southern Europe.

During his tour in Iraq, Greg’s team (one vet, one animal technician, and five food inspection specialists) provided veterinary care to over 300 Military Working Dogs (MWDs) and contract working dogs; were responsible for the inspection, management, and enforcement of regulations of all food safety, security, and quality assurance programs for 48 facilities within their region; provided public health support to local nationals in terms of zoonotic disease surveillance and eradication; and conducted Civil Military Operations by training the host nation police forces how to provide canine medical care for their newly-acquired MWDs.

For his new assignment, Greg will be the Deputy Commander responsible for providing training, logistical, and mission support to veterinary personnel and/or facilities within Spain, Italy, Turkey, England, and the Azores.

How Greg’s ColoradoSPH education/degree fostered professional success:

Greg chose to pursue his MPH at CSU (Animals, People, and the Environment) to develop knowledge, skills, and perspective with regard to zoonotic diseases and eradication strategies (his team’s work in Iraq on a rabies eradication strategy/program piqued his interest in this field), as well as veterinary emergency preparedness. He believes the Fort Collins campus location provides a tremendous opportunity, from a veterinary public health perspective, to take advantage of the progressive experience and expertise of the College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the local CDC and USDA campuses. Also, the courses he chose to take (especially the electives—Culture of Disaster, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Advanced Agricultural/Food Safety Issues, Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, and Delivery of Extension Programs) were congruent with his interests in developing disease eradication/public health programs.

Greg Reppas
Greg’s academic MPH experience culminated with practicum/capstone work completed through the USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services, which involved developing an occupational health survey assessing USDA employee knowledge of zoonotic disease and personal protective equipment usage. Eventually, when he finishes his work for the Army, Greg intends to continue his career in veterinary public health (zoonotic disease focus). He is also interested in setting up an organization that employs canine therapy as a means to mitigate the PTSD effects of patients.

During his practicum, Greg visited the MWDs/handlers at Buckley Air Force Base…he got to help out with some dog attack/bit training. When you’re in a full bite suit, they call this “catching a dog” — you can see how easy it is for a 55lb dog to take out a 235lb person!