By the 1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – After settling in at the troop medical clinic on Forward Operating Base Falcon in Baghdad's Rashid district, "Cobra" Soldiers are the sole medical providers for the base.
The Cobra Clinic offers a wide array of medical provisions to the Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and its attached units deployed to Baghdad in support of Multi-National Division – Baghdad and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"All the Cobra Soldiers have worked extremely hard to take over the clinic," said Capt. Jim Silverstrim, commander, Company C, 4th Support Battalion, 1st BCT.
After a seamless transition with the previous medical company, the 4th Spt. Bn. Soldiers were anxious to begin operating the clinic, said Silverstrim.
"The heart of the organization is our medics," Silverstrim stated. "They are doing a great job preparing for all types of patients that may come through the doors."
The medical clinic offers a variety of services for the Soldiers stationed at FOB Falcon, such as a dental services section, clinical lab and x-ray room, physical therapy room and a three-bed trauma bay for emergency care.
The nucleus of the clinic is the command post, which maintains communication with all units on the FOB and medical evacuation assets outside the wire, said Silverstrim.
"The command post inside the Cobra Clinic is the center of our communications," he explained.
The clinic also houses other support specialty services, such as a medical supply warehouse, medical maintenance shop and casualty evacuation platoon.
"Unlike Fort Hood, the medical supply section operates from its own warehouse," Silverstrim stated. "It has the capability to order, store and distribute a significant amount of medical supplies."
Sick call and basic preventive medicine are the primary focus of daily operations within the clinic, but the medics are also prepared to respond to any emergency that arises.
When the Soldiers get any downtime during the day, they train to sharpen their medical skills, said Pfc. Lindsay Bergeron, a medic assigned to Co. C.
Bergeron, who hails from Vancouver, Wash., said she genuinely enjoys her duty of tending to the sick and wounded that come through the clinic doors.
"I am excited to get the opportunity to be here and help people that can't help themselves," she stated. "It's the best job in the Army."
The Cobra Clinic Medics are always looking to enhance the quality of the clinic.
"Clinic operations are improving every day," Silverstrim explained. "The Soldiers have many ideas to improve the facility even more over the next 14 months."
The Soldiers of Co. C, are on call 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week, ready to serve the 1st BCT "Raider" Soldiers with any medical needs because they know the importance of their mission, said Silverstrim.