Soldiers don’t get paid like professional athletes. But they’re often called on to demonstrate similar feats of physical fitness and ability.

So the health promotion office at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, is sponsoring a series of speakers to help servicemembers treat their bodies accordingly.

"My personal feeling is the soldier is a professional athlete," said Betsy Walters, health promotion coordinator on base. She said her headquarters at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany feels the same way, and that partly as a way of promoting the opening of a base wellness center, experts have been invited to speak on base over the next two months.

Mike Perko, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, will talk about nutritional and dietary supplements in a trio of 90-minute sessions Wednesday and Thursday. Perko is considered an expert on the subject and has testified before Congress about steroids. His sessions are set for 1 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday.

Elizabeth Applegate, a University of California-Davis professor and nutritionist for the Oakland Raiders, and Kris Clark, a Pennsylvania State University professor who has worked with the U.S. women’s soccer team, will speak Nov. 6-7. Walters said they’re scheduled to talk about hydration and eating strategies, but might also branch out into related subjects.

Tony Spinosa, a retired lieutenant colonel and current director of the National Defense University’s health and fitness team, will speak Nov. 18-20. He will concentrate on strength training.

Walters said the free sessions will be held at the base theater and are open to all Department of Defense ID card holders.