Hospital ship preps for a novel mission

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/13508637/detail.html

And they're off! Fair Winds & Following Sea USNS Comfort!! Son finally got a hair cut after all my badgering. :rolleyes: Can't have the First Lady thinking my son is a bum. :biggrin: He's on the bridge this morning saying, "Hey Captain, whats this button for...."
 
Ha ha congrats to Jamz and the rest of the crew. I bet he wishes it was Jenna or (young)Barbara Bush on board rather than Laura! :D Anyways, it's a great trip he has ahead of him. Keep us informed on any new developments. :thumb:
 
He'd give his entire paycheck to switch the First Lady for her daughter. He's already told me that his little southern gentleman act isn't working too well due to no doors to open anywhere. He said, "I've never seen so many pretty nurses in my life. Its hard to concentrate here". :rolleyes: In other ship news... The Navy guys/gals cleaned the MSC guys/gals' clocks in baseball 9-0 the other day. He feels cheated as he is considered to be both MSC & Navy. I told him to pick a loyalty & stick to it. :wink:
 
Comfort deploys to Latin America

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2007/06/navy_comfort_deployment_070614w/

In a past life, it was a tanker known as the Rose City. Converted in 1987 to a massive hospital ship, the Comfort was scheduled to deploy to coastal Latin America on Friday for the kind of goodwill mission the Navy has been honing in recent years.

More than 800 sailors, airmen, Coast Guard personnel, civilian volunteers and the Military Sealift Command ship’s crew are embarked on the mission. Of the contingent, 600 are active duty and reserve sailors, mostly medical specialists, as well as a detachment of Seabees, helicopter crews and a security force. They will spend 120 days in the Southern Command area visiting Latin American countries and providing medical assistance to impoverished communities....
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The hospital ship Comfort deployed from Norfolk to Central America on June 15 for a 120-day humanitarian assistance mission. Some 800 sailors, airmen, Coast Guard and civilians are aboard for the deployment to provide medical care to impoverished communities in 12 nations.

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Ya'll can't see him, but I can.:shake: He told me where he was when they crossed the Canal. 4th from the left hand side on the bow. If we were able to zoom in, we'd see that nasty KP hat of his that was lost four months then found in a life boat. Ick. You can't imagine life as a 20 year old on this adventure. I guess I'll start that scrapbook now. See all the people on the deck at midship? Well, I can tell those are all the nurses that he knows the names of.....
 
Wow, what an adventure for your son, Jamzmom!!!! The pictures are awesome. :thumb: Will they go back through the Panama Canal on the return voyage? It is a tight fit!
 
Yes indeed. Very cool. He will go through again on the return voyage. Here's an interesting tid bit on that "tight fit":

Both of the Navy’s Mercy-class hospital ships are “Panamax” vessels, meaning they fall into the largest class of ships that can safely pass through the canal. Panama Canal Authority regulations allow ships up to 106 feet in width to use the canal’s locks; Comfort is 105 feet 9 inches wide.

Do the math on that one! LOL It was interesting to learn that the Comfort paid $150,000.00 to cross through. :yikes:
 
I really admire the professionals on the ship and on the ground who can get a ship like the Comfort through the Canal. Impressive.
 
Jamzmom, that is seriously Awesome! :thumb:
What an amazing experience for a 20 year old :wink:
 
If I am looking at the correct person on the bow, I think your mid is looking up at the nurses and winking! :wink:
 
Yep. That would be him! One of his jobs is to run one of the 30' shuttle boats that take the docs, nurses & patients to & from the ship so he's seen almost all of them. He has favs by now. Four names are in just about every email. :biggrin:
 
JM - That article was horrible! I hate it when people use any opportunity to Bush-bash, especially when it is something humanitarian. It's terrible when people turn something so good into something bad, and suggest that there are ulterior motives when someone is just trying to do something charitable.

I'm sorry you had to read that - that guy oughta be keel-hauled! He's illiterate anyway, so I wouldn't worry about anyone paying much attention to his comments.

Hope all is otherwise well on your end!
 
This ***** put his politics ahead of a child with a repaired club foot or blind people that can now see? I don't get inflamed easliy but I am LIVID. This guy/gal appears to on the ship.
 
Did you read the comment that is posted below the article? We aren't the only ones disgusted with this guy.

This kind of stuff makes me so mad! :unhappy:
 
Heh. Yes indeed & I fear I had something to do with that. I need to keep my mouth shut from now on I guess. I forwarded it to son.... Copies are probably stuck to community bulletin boards by now. :rolleyes: I just really need to be quiet. Man he was mad.....
 
Antoinette, I wish I could put to words what being on the Comfort meant to him. I don't think he got the magnitude of it at first but having returned home & hearing what he thought about the experience, I'm proud to say I know of one more human being out there who looks to make the world a better place. It effected him greatly. Finally got to see his photos last week. WOW! Can't say it any better than that. :smile: I'm very fortunate to have an academy kid. These young people ROCK! The Comfort doesn't sail everyday so I soooo hope that more KP kids can get on her or even on the Mercy someday. The experience makes minds as broad as any ocean. :thumb: He's been back at KP for two days now & I haven't heard a peep. I'll leave him alone for a while as I feel sure he's playing "Father Goose" to any Plebe who comes near.
 
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