What I don’t want to do is take reservists from a hospital where they are needed just to put them on a ship to take them somewhere else where they are needed.”. THE PENTAGON — The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) will be routed to New … That’s because the hospital ships are less than ideal for trying to manage a highly contagious disease that requires patients to be sealed away from each other and from medical staff who need to wear extensive protective equipment and face masks at all times so they don’t end up contracting the virus themselves. Speaking at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that while the military can bring a lot of capability to help the nation manage the pandemic, it’s not as simple as just adding military medical personnel to the front lines to augment civilian medical personnel – because in times of war a lot of the military’s medical ranks are drawn from the civilian medical sector in the first place. The ships were deployed in late March to help assist frontline hospital workers and provide care on the ships, should hospitals overflow with patients. Like the Comfort, USNS Mercy, began life in the Navy as an oil tanker built in the 1970s. ... Another Navy hospital ship, the U.S.N.S. The two largest hospital ships in the world have been ordered to pull up anchor in the coming days and set sail for New York Harbor on the East Coast and Los Angeles Harbor on the West Coast with the goal of putting their compliments of 1,000 patient beds each and decks full of surgical suites at the service of those cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The USNS Comfort departs for its home port of Norfolk, Virginia on April 30, 2020 in New York City. RELATED Comfort, Mercy take small number of referral patients so far The USNS Comfort had a similar mission in deploying to New York City. The Mercy has also deployed to treat American and Coalition troops in the Persian Gulf and also has carried out a number of humanitarian relief missions along the Pacific Rim, including treating victims of the Indonesian tsunami. Based in San Diego, the Mercy was deployed to Los Angeles for the same purpose. “Our teams in New York and Los Angeles — which include veterans of the U.S. … Comfort was outside New York City until it left the area and departed for Virginia on April 30. Photo credit should read THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP via Getty Images Photo by Joe Skipper/Getty ImagesU.S. READ NEXT: Ventilators Can’t be Manufactured Fast Enough for Expected Wave of COVID-19 Patients, Hospital Ships USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy Will Sail to New York and Los Angeles Harbors, Copyright © 2020 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Navy/Getty ImagesSailors view smoke and building damage caused by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center September 14, 2001 from the deck of the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort in New York City. CAPT Scouten deployed several times on USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). He was the Pediatric Department Head in support of Continuing Promise 2009 and Assistant Director of Medical Services and pediatrician in support of Operation Unified Response, after the earthquake in Haiti. Comfort is based in Norfolk, Virginia, and was deployed outside of New York City to help with crowded hospitals in that area. The USNS Comfort arrived in New York March 30, above, and the USNS Mercy accepted its first patients in Los Angeles, March 29 (below). Posted June 5, 2020. A helicopter lands on the USNS (United States Naval Ship) Comfort hospital ship in the harbour off Port-au-Prince on January 23, 2010. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, Mercy and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons, though defensive weapons are available. Photo by Aaron Peterson/U.S. Navy/Getty Images, Ventilators Can’t be Manufactured Fast Enough for Expected Wave of COVID-19 Patients. On Monday, the USNS Comfort docked in New York City to aid in the area's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The vessel USNS MERCY (IMO: 7390454, MMSI 367816000) is a Hospital Vessel built in 1976 (44 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of USA. United States … The USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy were deployed to New York City and Los Angeles, respectively, to relieve the pressure on overwhelmed local medical facilities combating the … A tweet from a registered nurse presents compelling evidence that the Mercy and Comfort ships are NOT ‘over-flow hospitals for non-virus patients’. Comfort arrived in New York City on March 30, a day after it left Virginia, according to Business Insider. Attacking Mercy is a war crime. JAY DIRECTO/AFP via Getty ImagesUS naval officers await the berthing of USNS Mercy at Manila’s port in the Philippines. The crew consisted of 1,200 people, and there were 1,000 beds. Photo by Noam Galai, The USNS Comfort hospital ship sits docked on the westside of New York City as the sun sets on April 8, 2020 as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey. The USNS prefix identifies the Comfort as a non-commissioned ship owned by the U.S. Navy and crewed by civilians from the Military Sealift Command (MSC). The USNS hospital ships Mercy and Comfort have treated fewer than 20 patients combined since the ships arrived in Los Angeles and New York City, respectively, according to … A decade later both ships were converted to hospitals which are owned by the Navy but crewed by the sailors of the Military Sealift Command. The USNS Mercy, along with the USNS Comfort, which is due to arrive in New York today, were both converted from oil tankers into hospital ships. (Photo by Gary Hershorn, The USNS Comfort navy hospital ship is docked at Pier 90 as The Empire State Building Glows Red In Solidarity With Those Infected With COVID-19 on April 3, 2020 in New York City as seen from West New York, New Jersey. “What we have to be very conscious of and careful of as we … use them to support the states [is] that we aren’t robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak. As COVID-19 cases surge in each state, both of which have docks where the ships would have access, this remains to be seen. Leadership Biographies: USNS Mercy, USNS Comfort 2020 USNS Mercy CAPTAIN Dan Cobian Commander, Destroyer Squadron 21 CAPT Dan Cobian is a native of San Diego. The lack of Navy personnel in control of the ship helps cement the ships’ status as a noncombatant, making it a war crime for anyone to attack it even if it is serving in an active war zone. Photo by Kena Betancur. In April, seven sailors were removed from the ship after contracting COVID-19. Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, has had a total of 15 patients, officials said. The USNS Comfort hospital ship sails in the Hudson River as it departs New York City after ending its coronavirus (COVID-19) duty on April 30, 2020. Keith is a member of Graham Media Group's Digital Content Team, which produces content for all the company's news websites. Comfort also docked in New Orleans to treat victims in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and off of the coast of Haiti to treat victims of the devastating earthquake in 2010. The current position of USNS MERCY is at North America West Coast (coordinates 45.56213 N / 122.71995 W) reported 16 days ago by AIS.. That way the hospitals on dry land can turn their attention to managing COVID-19 cases for the foreseeable future. The USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy also have medical labs, CAT scans, oxygen-producing plants and a hanger deck able to land the largest military helicopters, Navy officials said. Her sister ship is USNS Comfort. To begin my research I googled for “USNS Comfort drawings”. It Has 20 Patients. The Comfort has a crew of more than 750 Navy and civilian medical and support personnel. Under the terms of the Geneva Convention the ships cannot carry any offensive weapons; although military security personnel on board do have small arms to protect the ship and the medical staff onboard. USNS Comfort and Mercy, A Scale Model, Part 5. LOS ANGELES AND NEW YORK CITY – Charter Communications, Inc. announced today that its Spectrum Enterprise unit is delivering TV services to the USNS Mercy docked in Los Angeles and the USNS Comfort docked in Manhattan to help patients and medical personnel stay informed and relieve stress while onboard. We have some answers to these important questions. The USNS Mercy is in Los Angeles under the command of Navy Capt. She is the third US Navy ship to be named for the virtue mercy. Comfort’s Sister Ship, the USNS Mercy, Also has a Storied Past. 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