The Vela pulsar is the brightest persistent source in the GeV sky and thus is the traditional first target for new \gamma -ray observatories .
We report here on initial Fermi Large Area Telescope observations during verification phase pointed exposure and early sky survey scanning .
We have used the Vela signal to verify Fermi timing and angular resolution .
The high quality pulse profile , with some 32,400 pulsed photons at E \geq 0.03 GeV , shows new features , including pulse structure as fine as 0.3 ms and a distinct third peak , which shifts in phase with energy .
We examine the high energy behavior of the pulsed emission ; initial spectra suggest a phase-averaged power law index of \Gamma = 1.51 ^ { +0.05 } _ { -0.04 } with an exponential cut-off at E _ { c } = 2.9 \pm 0.1 GeV .
Spectral fits with generalized cut-offs of the form e ^ { - ( E / E _ { c } ) ^ { b } } require b \leq 1 , which is inconsistent with magnetic pair attenuation , and thus favor outer magnetosphere emission models .
Finally , we report on upper limits to any unpulsed component , as might be associated with a surrounding synchrotron wind nebula ( PWN ) .