The AVMA is looking for a dedicated volunteer to lead the Maryland Veterinary Medical Assistance Team as the VMAT-2 team commander.

These highly trained teams of veterinarians, veterinary technicians, other medical and academic professionals, and support personnel respond to disasters and animal health emergencies. Their mission is to assist the local veterinary community with the care of animals and to provide veterinary oversight and advice concerning animal-related issues and public health, during a disaster or following a request from an appropriate agency.

The team commander is responsible for managing and supervising all the operational and managerial aspects of disaster missions. Besides supervising the team's overall function, the commander provides supplemental support to the local veterinary infrastructure during disaster and animal health emergency situations. The commander establishes liaisons with appropriate officials and groups, conducts team orientation and training programs, and develops after-action reports, as assigned by the AVMA and the National Disaster Medical System.

Minimum requirements for this position are a DVM/VMD or equivalent degree and a valid, unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. territory. Applicants must also have one year of specialized experience directly related to the NDMS Response Team veterinary medical officer position, or the equivalent, at the GS-12 level or higher in the federal service.

The successful candidate will be preprocessed for federal employment and approved for General Schedule pay at a rate of GS-14/15 base pay per hour. The team commander can be called to federal service for up to 14 days as a special-needs employee of the Department of Homeland Security. During nondeployment times, the commander serves strictly as a volunteer in the AVMA VMAT program.

A resume, cover letter, and three letters of recommendation from current AVMA members should be forwarded by March 15, 2004, to Dr. Cindy Lovern, Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response, AVMA, 1931 N. Meacham Rd., Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173; fax, (847) 285-6332; clovern@avma.org.

The AVMA is also still accepting applications for a VMAT-4 team commander to lead the West Coast VMAT. February 1 is the application deadline for that position.

To read the full ads for those positions, go to www.avma.org/vcc/AEO_Search.asp. More about the AVMA Disaster Preparedness Program is available at www.avma.org/disaster. To learn about the federal General Schedule pay scale, visit www.opm.gov/oca/03tables/html/gs.asp.