Working Environments
Crewmembers aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort “man the rails” as Comfort returns to her home of Baltimore from deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
USNS Comfort
From her station in Baltimore, Maryland, the USNS Comfort represents Navy medicine – and United States compassion – on the move.
Equivalent to the height of a ten-story building and the length of three football fields, the USNS Comfort is used for medical and surgical care in support of amphibious task forces, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force elements.
The USNS Comfort is also deployed around the world following humanitarian crises. In 2005, the Comfort was called upon to provide medical assistance to the Gulf Coast following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The ship set sail for the Gulf of Mexico in a record two and a half days, loaded with medical supplies and carrying more than 900 personnel, including civilian mariners, Active Duty Navy personnel and Project HOPE medical volunteers. The crew provided medical treatment to almost 1,500 people.
Navy medical personnel staff the Comfort’s hospital, known as the Medical Treatment Facility (MTF). When activated, the MTF is much more than symbolic. It becomes a 250-, 500- or 1,000-bed facility. Comfort can hold a team of up to 1,215 Navy doctors, nurses, dentists and support staff. The additional Navy military personnel who augment the MTF come primarily from shore-based Navy facilities, located throughout the eastern seaboard.
The Comfort is a converted San Clemente class tanker built in 1976. She was converted to a hospital ship and delivered to the Navy on December 1, 1987. Her official maximum speed is 17 knots and she has tanks that hold 300,000 gallons of safe drinking water.
From a tanker to a symbol of hope across the globe and close to home, the USNS Comfort provides one of the most unique settings for medical professionals to make a difference in the lives of others.