From this inscription we know his father's name is Publius, and that Betuinianus belonged to the Quirina voting tribe. His first attested appointment was his commission as "praefectus" or commander of cohort I Raetorum, whose official station was in Germania Inferior, but had been assigned to the Roman forces in Trajan's First Dacian War (AD 101-102). After the conclusion of that war, he was commissioned military tribune with Legio X Gemina, at the time also stationed in Germania Inferior. He was then commissioned "praefectus" of the ala Dardanorum, which took part in Trajan's Second Dacian War (105-106). For his valor in these conflicts, Betuinianus received "dona militaria": the "corona muralis" and "corona vallaris" (mural and camp crowns), "hastae purae" (headless or "pure" spears), and a "vexillus argentus" (a silver staff). These are an unusually generous amount of decorations, far in excess of any other known case of a man passing through his "tres militiae". Valerie Maxfield argues that "it would not be going beyond the evidence to see these dona as a total for two campaigns rather than as a single award", and allocates them thusly: "One decoration as Praefectus cohortis and one as praefectus equitum, the first with one crown and one hasta, the second with one crown, one hasta and one vexillum (the same as that received by the only other praefectus equitum known to have been decorated at this period)".