Mission of Service

There is an unmistakable quality among military service members and veterans on the importance of acts of service. For many the desire to serve one’s neighbors, community and country is what led individuals to enlist in the armed forces. For Dr. Jenna Werre, serving others has been an integral part of her life. It has led her to serve her country in the Army National Guard, find her passion for healing people and animals through her chiropractic practice, and ultimately share the hardships and adversity that she has faced with others in the hopes of inspiring them.

The Heart to Serve

From a young age, Werre felt compelled to serve others. This led her to join the North Dakota National Guard at the tender age of 17 while still a junior in high school. Having both her brother and sister go into the active-duty army after graduating, Werre knew that she wanted to serve in the military and attend college.

Werre exceeded in her undergraduate studies at North Dakota State University, becoming a paramedic and eventually becoming a Doctor of Chiropractic with an animal chiropractic certification. She is now owner and chiropractor at Western Edge Chiropractic in Box Elder, South Dakota. Within the army, Werre has risen to the rank of Major after joining as a medic and attending officer candidate school to become a commissioned officer and training as a military police officer.

“If you have the heart to serve you have to scratch that itch otherwise it doesn’t go away,” explained Werre. “I believe that my husband has had a similar experience where we both have been called to help people.” Werre’s husband is a service member with the South Dakota Army National Guard and has been deployed on multiple missions, just recently returning home from a yearlong deployment. Service to others is an important aspect of their lives, not only in their military work but in how they raise their children and the passion they put into their civilian work.  

Werre started her chiropractic practice in 2021 after the birth of their first child. In less than a year she had to leave her full-time job to focus on her animal practice which was growing fast. “I love western South Dakota and the mentality of the people here; how hard they work and how hard their animals work for them. It energizes me to be able to assist with their livelihood,” said Werre. “It’s been very rewarding for me with the military and my practice because it has always been about serving the community, the population and helping an organization or individual meet their goals.”

Service During Hardship

“I am a person of faith, and I really let that and my obedience to God lead me in my life,” explained Werre. “These things that we are called to do not always, if ever, occur at convenient times.”

It was during her last couple of days working for the VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Rapid City that Werre discovered she was pregnant with her second child. A month later, Werre was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer originating in the lymph nodes. During this time, she was in a command position and in charge of a military police company of 120 service members. “I had just left my job and was growing my private practice while also pregnant, doing chemotherapy and trying to drill,” explains Werre. “I had an orange sized mass right in the middle of my chest and I did chemotherapy through week 15 to 32 of my pregnancy.”

Through all this, Werre continued to try to stay positive and continued to want to fulfill her purpose of helping and serving others. “Working and still serving was honestly my saving grace because I don’t think I could have just stayed in my house,” said Werre. “People can do hard things and a lot of it is just an exercise in faith. You can’t be in a place of fear; it is crippling.”

During 2020, Werre had felt compelled to write a blog to help encourage people, especially women, during the pandemic. After she was diagnosed, she used that platform as well as her chiropractic business presence on social media to post updates and content to further connect. “You have to walk in what you are called to do, and I felt compelled to share my journey,” explained Werre. “I felt like I was able to inspire and connect with so many people through that.”

“Most people that I know have not walked my specific journey but there were pieces of it that people identified with that were applicable in their own lives. If I could help inspire them or grow their own faith that is all I needed,” Were said. “Biblically, we are told all you need is faith the size of a mustard seed. We can all find something that small to believe in because that truly is all it takes to get something growing.”

Despite the adversity, Werre went on to have a perfectly healthy baby at 39 weeks. Although one of the cancer treatments that she had taken had a moderate chance of affecting her future fertility, nine months after her second baby was born she found out she was pregnant again.

The Power of Connection

Over the years Werre has had multiple people who have supported and mentored her in her personal and professional life including her mother Christine and her husband. He has always been her biggest supporter and her biggest ally. Their youngest child was only three months old when her husband was last deployed, which was a major challenge for Werre. “He has missed three years collectively of the kids’ lives,” said Werre. “We have four kids; three of which are four and under, I run my business, and I still go to my own drills. These challenges, however, are just a testament to the Lord’s faithfulness.”

During these times, Werre said it is important to surrender to God and walk boldly in the mission that you are called to do. “That is what I try to keep at the forefront of my mind, of course it is not easy when I am working and looking after kids, but it is important to keep the mission first and continue to see the bigger picture. Don’t allow yourself to be bogged down or distracted from the main goal. Things happen in seasons and a lot of the time you don’t appreciate the season that you are in until you are in the next one.”

For as long as Werre has been a commissioned officer in the military she has been paired with a non-commissioned officer who has always acted as a mentor and guide willing to give her advice and recommendations. She has always been blessed to have had people who have been kind and come up with generous ways of delivering advice or corrections.

“These people are what kept me going during my cancer diagnosis and continue to keep me going now,” Were said. “Whether in the military or not if you have goals, you can usually find a few people that you have a lot in common with. You never know where you will end up and the connections that you will make when you lean into obedience.” She has been cancer free since 2023.

Whether it’s adjusting people or animals, serving in the military, or inspiring people in times of hardship, Werre has always kept her eye on her mission of service. “It’s meaningful to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” Werre said. “The purpose of life is to discover, and the reward is to share it and use it to connect and inspire others. Because of my challenges I have been able to do that.”