Lieutenant Colonel Jodi K. Sangster
Public Health Activity-San Diego Commander
LTC Jodi K Sangster hails from Bozeman, Montana, and is a 2000 graduate of Cornell University as well as a 2005 graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Following graduation, she was commissioned into the Army as a Veterinary Corps Officer. Her first duty site was in the Mojave Desert at Edwards Air Force Base, where she spent two years as the Section OIC. She then proceeded to the Deputy Commander position at the 51st Medical Detachment (Veterinary Medicine) in Pulaski Barracks, Germany. In this capacity, she oversaw the transition of the 51st MDVM to Dog Center Europe, where she became the OIC. From 2010-2013, she completed a residency in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, where she was twice awarded the resident clinical teaching award. She obtained board certification as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2013. Following the residency, she was assigned as the clinical specialist for the 64th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service Support) in Baumholder, Germany. During this time she deployed for 10 months as the Theater Clinical Specialist in Kandahar, Afghanistan, overseeing the care of over 1200 working dogs theater-wide. From 2016-2018, she served as clinical instructor for the First-Year Graduate Veterinary Education program at Ft. Campbell, KY, where she trained nine new VCOs in animal medicine and leadership. Her most recent position was as commander of Public Health Activity – Guam from 2018-2021, where she oversaw a public health mission spanning fourteen countries. She is the current commander of Public Health Activity – San Diego.
LTC Sangster possesses a certification in Strategy and Policy Development from the U.S. Army War College. She is a graduate of the AMEDD Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the AMEDD Clinical Proficiency Course, the USDA Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician Course, the Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties Course, Common Core Command and General Staff College, and the Joint Medical Executive Skills Institute Healthcare Management Course. Her military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (two oak leaf clusters), Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon (4). She earned the Expert Field Medical Badge in 2006 and was inducted into the AMEDD’s Order of Military Medical Merit in 2015.
LTC Sangster is married to the amazing Robert Ratchford and they have two cats, Grendel and Gristle.