Pocatello physician participates in Guard training

A Pocatello doctor is among Idaho National Guard troops participating in a month-long training at the National Training Center in California.

Colonel (Dr.) Andrew Thayne joined the U.S. Army in 1990 after college to help pay for medical school. Almost two decades later, he joined the Idaho Army National Guard.

“To me, the National Guard is the best of both worlds,” Thayne said. “One weekend a month, I put my uniform on and do the things I’ve been training to do for 24 years.”

One weekend a month Thayne serves the Idaho Army National Guard as the state surgeon, the state’s senior medical provider. The other days of the month he serves the people of Pocatello as a family physician at InterMountain Medical Clinic.

As the state surgeon, Thayne oversees the state’s medical readiness program.

He has deployed twice in his career. He participated in a peace-keeping mission to Bosnia in 1999 and deployed to Afghanistan with the New York National Guard in 2012.

“The Army is a mission-focused organization,” Thayne said. “Everyone has a common goal. We work together to complete a mission and its satisfying.”