USNS Comfort facts for kids
_is_anchored_off_the_coast_of_La_Brea,_Trinidad_and_Tobago._(48677005558).jpg)
USNS Comfort in Trinidad and Tobago waters in September 2019
|
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name |
|
| Builder | National Steel and Shipbuilding |
| Laid down | 1 May 1975 (as Rose City MA-301) |
| Launched | 1 February 1976 |
| In service | 1 December 1987 (with the U.S. Navy) |
| Homeport | Naval Station Norfolk |
| Identification |
|
| Motto | Curare Aegra Permarinum (Care of the Sick on the Sea) |
| Status | Active |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Mercy-class hospital ship |
| Displacement | 69,360 tons (70,470 t) |
| Length | 894 ft (272 m) |
| Beam | 105 ft 7 in (32.18 m) |
| Draft | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Propulsion | Two boilers, two GE turbines, one shaft, 24,500 hp (18.3 MW) |
| Speed | 17.5 knots (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) |
| Capacity | 1,000 patient beds |
| Complement | 63 civilian, 956 naval hospital staff, 258 naval support staff |
| Time to activate | 5 days |
| Aviation facilities | A flight deck that can handle military helicopters (CH-53D, CH-53E, MH-53E, Mi-17, UH 60) |
The USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) is a special hospital ship of the United States Navy. It's like a floating hospital that helps people in need.
The Comfort provides emergency medical care. It helps U.S. military forces during wars or other operations. The ship is run by the Military Sealift Command. It offers quick and flexible medical and surgical services. It supports military units on land and naval forces at sea.
The ship also helps U.S. government groups. It provides medical aid during disasters or humanitarian missions. It can also offer care during peacetime military operations. The Comfort is more advanced than a simple field hospital. But it is not as big as a regular hospital on land.
In 2020, the Comfort went to New York City. It helped fight the coronavirus pandemic. It treated patients who did not have coronavirus at first. Later, it also treated patients who tested positive for the virus.
Contents
- Who Works on the USNS Comfort?
- How the Ship Was Built
- Important Missions and Deployments
- Helping During the Persian Gulf War (1990–91)
- Assisting Haitian Migrants (1994)
- Supporting Operation Uphold Democracy (1994)
- Responding to September 11 Attacks (2001)
- Helping During the Iraq War (2002–03)
- Assisting After Hurricane Katrina (2005)
- Partnership for the Americas (2007)
- Operation Continuing Promise (2011)
- Helping After Hurricane Maria (2017)
- Operation Enduring Promise (2018)
- Awards and Honors
- Ship Features
- Images for kids
- See also
Who Works on the USNS Comfort?
The letters USNS mean Comfort is a non-commissioned ship. This means it is owned by the U.S. Navy. But it is operated by civilian sailors from the Military Sealift Command (MSC).
When the Comfort is sent out, a Navy hospital staff comes aboard. This staff includes Navy doctors, dentists, nurses, and chaplains. It also has Navy enlisted personnel. These are people like hospital corpsmen and support staff.
.jpg)
The Comfort and its crew do not carry offensive weapons. This is because of the Geneva Conventions. These are rules for how wars should be fought. Firing at the Comfort would be a war crime. This is because the ship only carries weapons for self-defense. It is a non-combat ship. So, Navy personnel who fight in combat are not part of its regular crew.
How the Ship Was Built
The Comfort was first built as an oil tanker in 1976. Its original name was SS Rose City. It was built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California. It is the third U.S. Navy ship named Comfort. It is also the second Mercy-class hospital ship.
The ship became part of the U.S. Navy on December 1, 1987. This ended its time as an oil tanker. For 25 years, the Comfort was based in Baltimore, Maryland. In March 2013, it moved its homeport to Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. This move helped the ship be closer to supplies and medical staff. It also saved the U.S. Navy about $2 million each year.
Important Missions and Deployments
The USNS Comfort has been on many important missions. It has helped people around the world.
Helping During the Persian Gulf War (1990–91)
The Comfort was called into action on August 9, 1990. This was for Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. It left Baltimore on August 11. The ship was positioned near Kuwait, off the coast of Saudi Arabia. It returned home on April 15, 1991.
During this mission, the Comfort traveled over 30,000 nautical miles (35,000 mi; 56,000 km). It saw more than 8,000 outpatients. It admitted 700 inpatients. This included four sailors who were hurt. The crew performed 337 surgeries. They also filled 7,000 prescriptions. They made 1,600 pairs of eyeglasses.
Assisting Haitian Migrants (1994)
In 1994, the Comfort was used as a center for Haitian migrants. It was the first time a ship was used this way. It sailed to the Caribbean with 928 military and civilian staff. On June 16, 1994, the first Haitian migrants came aboard. At one point, there were 1,100 people on the ship. The Comfort later sailed to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. It dropped off the remaining 400 migrants there.
Supporting Operation Uphold Democracy (1994)
The Comfort was called to action again on September 2, 1994. This was for Operation Uphold Democracy. The ship was tasked to provide medical care for 35,000 Cuban and Haitian migrants. These migrants were at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The ship left Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia, with 566 staff members. After an agreement between the U.S. and Haiti, the Comfort went to Port-au-Prince. It was ready to help if anyone got hurt. From September 16 to October 2, 1994, the Comfort staff helped U.S. forces. They also gave emergency care to injured Haitian citizens. They helped rebuild the local healthcare system. The ship returned to Norfolk on October 14, 1994.
Responding to September 11 Attacks (2001)
On September 11, 2001, the Comfort was activated. This was after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The next day, it sailed to Pier 92 in midtown Manhattan. It served as a 250-bed hospital. The ship arrived on September 14.
Many relief workers came aboard the ship. The ship's clinic saw 561 guests. They had cuts, breathing problems, and other minor injuries. The Navy psychology team gave 500 mental health talks. Volunteer massage therapists gave 1,359 massages to guests.
Helping During the Iraq War (2002–03)
The Comfort was activated on December 26, 2002. It sailed to the U.S. Central Command area on January 6, 2003. It stopped in Diego Garcia to pick up more medical staff. Then it went to the Persian Gulf. It served as a trauma center for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The Comfort stayed in the Persian Gulf for 56 days. It gave medical care to wounded U.S. military personnel. It also helped injured Iraqi civilians and enemy prisoners of war. The ship returned to Baltimore on June 12, 2003. This was after almost six months of work. During this time, the ship had over 800 helicopter landings. It performed 590 surgeries. It treated nearly 700 patients. This included almost 200 Iraqi civilians and prisoners of war.
Assisting After Hurricane Katrina (2005)
.jpg)
The Comfort was sent out on September 2, 2005. This was just two days after Hurricane Katrina hit. It went to help with recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast. It started in Pascagoula, Mississippi, then sailed to New Orleans. The Comfort staff saw a total of 1,956 patients. It returned on October 13, 2005, after a 7-week mission.
Partnership for the Americas (2007)
The Comfort went on a humanitarian mission called Partnership for the Americas. This started on June 15, 2007. It was part of a plan to help social justice in the Western Hemisphere. The Comfort visited 12 countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Its medical crew gave free healthcare services to communities.
The goal was to train U.S. military personnel. It also aimed to show U.S. goodwill in the region. The medical team treated over 98,000 patients. They performed 1,100 surgeries. The team included over 500 military and non-governmental organization doctors and nurses.
A group of SEABEEs also helped. They did repair and building projects in the host countries. The U.S. Navy Showband also performed in each port. The Comfort was operated by 68 civilian mariners. This mission included many groups. These were Operation Smile, Project Hope, and various U.S. military branches.
Dentists treated 25,000 patients. They did 300 tooth extractions and 4,000 fillings. Bio-medical experts fixed about a thousand pieces of medical equipment. The ship's crew also delivered nearly $200,000 worth of donated aid.
Operation Continuing Promise (2011)
In 2011, the ship went on Operation Continuing Promise. It was deployed for five months. It provided medical and surgical services to nine places. These were in the Caribbean and Latin America. The ship's crew set up temporary medical clinics. These clinics offered primary care, internal medicine, and pediatric services. They also had eye care, physical therapy, and dental services.
On board the ship, they performed general surgery, eye surgery, and orthopedic surgeries. Patients were screened before coming aboard. The mission also included a Navy SeaBee Unit, a Navy helicopter squadron, and the United States Navy Band. US Army veterinarians and Canadian Navy dentists also took part.
Besides medical help, the mission also did community projects. Veterinarians worked with local farmers. SeaBees improved local schools. The Navy Band performed for local officials.
Helping After Hurricane Maria (2017)
On September 29, 2017, the ship sailed to Puerto Rico. It went to help after Hurricane Maria hit the island. It arrived on October 3, 2017. In San Juan, the Comfort held a meeting with key groups. This was to plan the ship's mission.
The ship's 835 personnel worked with Federal DMAT teams. They checked 6,003 patients. 1,912 patients were sent to the Comfort. 290 patients were admitted, and 192 surgeries were done. The ship provided over 40,000 lab tests and 16,000 prescriptions. It also did 343 CT scans and 1,169 radiology studies. Dental services helped 312 patients.
The Comfort helped the sickest patients on the island. Its 50-bed ICU had the most critical patients. The ship supported other hospitals. It filled their oxygen tanks. It also sterilized surgery kits for many hospitals. This helped other hospitals keep working. It provided life-saving care, including dialysis. It even had two births on board. The ship was ordered home on November 17.
Operation Enduring Promise (2018)
In October 2018, the Comfort left for an eleven-week mission. This was in Latin America. Its main goal was to help countries that received refugees. These refugees had fled the crisis in Venezuela. The ship aimed to ease the burden on health systems. It visited Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Honduras.
The ship cared for nearly 27,000 patients. It performed 599 surgeries in 23 clinical days. This was across five stops in four countries.
Awards and Honors
The USNS Comfort has received many awards for its service:
- Combat Action Ribbon – (February 26, 1991)
- Joint Meritorious Unit Award – (April 1991–December 1996) for Operation Provide Comfort
- Navy Unit Commendation – (August 1990–March 1991, May–July 1994)
- Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation – (September 1994–March 1995, September 2001–June 2005, June–October 2007)
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal – (September–October 1994)
- Southwest Asia Service Medal – (August 1990–March 1991)
- Humanitarian Service Medal – (September–October 2001, September–October 2005, January–February 2010, September–November 2017)
In 2008, the United Seamen's Service honored the Comfort and its sister ship Mercy. They received special awards for their humanitarian missions. These missions were in Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
Ship Features
The Comfort is a very large ship. It is 894 ft (272 m) long. It weighs about 69,390 tons when full. It can travel at 17.5 knots.
The ship has a crew of 61 civilian mariners. It also has 58 Navy communication and support staff. When deployed, it has 1,156 medical and dental staff. It has a helicopter landing pad for one helicopter.
Patient Capacity and Facilities
The Comfort can hold many patients. It has:
- Intensive care wards: 80 beds
- Recovery wards: 20 beds
- Intermediate care wards: 280 beds
- Light care wards: 120 beds
- Limited care wards: 500 beds
- Total Patient Capacity: 1000 beds
- Operating Rooms: 12
The ship also has many medical departments and facilities:
- Place to receive injured people
- Intensive care unit
- X-ray services
- Main lab and a smaller lab
- Blood bank
- Place to sterilize medical tools
- Medical supply and pharmacy
- Physical therapy and burn care
- Dental services
- Eye care and lens lab
- Morgue
- Laundry
- Two oxygen producing plants
- Medical photography
- Four plants that make drinking water from sea water (300,000 US gallons (1,100,000 L; 250,000 imp gal) per day)
Images for kids
-
Capt. Dean Bradford, master of Comfort, greets Princess Anne on 11 July 2002 while the ship was docked in Southampton, UK.
-
A Hospital Corpsman gives a report in the Intensive care unit (ICU) aboard Comfort in 2003.
_aboard_USNS_Comfort_(T-AH_20).jpg)
See also
In Spanish: USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) para niños
