By Capt. Constance Quinlan
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Even when Soldiers at Forward Operating Base Kalsu aren't enjoying the best of health, they can enjoy the services provided by a new aid station there.
Just over a month ago, Soldiers from Company C, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division moved medical operations from a tent into the newly-built Emily Perez Treatment Facility.
Formally dedicated Nov. 20, the aid station was named in honor of 2nd Lt. Emily Perez, a platoon leader who died when an improvised explosive device hit her convoy Sept. 12, 2006. Perez, a West Point graduate, was the institution's first female casualty in the Global War on Terrorism. While at West Point, she became the academy's highest ranking minority, as cadet/brigade command sergeant major.
The medical facility named in her honor is staffed by two doctors, three physician assistants and one nurse. It is overseen by lead provider Maj. Howard Curlin, an OBGYN from Houston, Texas. In addition to standard treatment rooms, the building houses a lab, X-ray equipment, a patient hold facility and a fully-stocked pharmacy. Nearby are separate facilities for dental, physical therapy, mental health and combat stress.
Capt. K.C. Woody, commander of Company C, in Iraq on his third deployment, remarked on the improvement in medical treatment he has observed in country since the beginning of the war. Facilities like the new aid station, he believes, will further the trend by providing greater sanitation and space while improving the privacy and overall care offered to Soldiers.
A rigorous training program completed prior to the deployment will also increase the skills and medical capacity of the Soldiers and medics with Company C.
The Marne Medic Validation Program certified the skills of every 4th Brigade Combat Team medic. During extensive training, medics interacted with subject matter experts in areas as diverse as trauma surgery, K-9 operations, venomous snakes of Southwest Asia, Special Operations and Border Patrol SWAT operations.
Lt. Col. John Chadbourne, commander of the 703rd BSB, made it clear that sponsoring such ambitious training would be well worth the effort if it saved one life. Sure enough, the effort paid off almost immediately, when a wounded Soldier in respiratory distress arrived at the aid station and was saved by Company C Soldiers.