Special Report - USNS Comfort Underway

Learn more about USNS Comfort

The USNS Comfort left Miami April 6, 2009, on a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission to Latin America and the Caribbean region. The Navy hospital ship will provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering assistance in seven countries, Antigua and Barbuda, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama as part of Continuing Promise 2009.

Navy Ens. Kathleen Kostka checks Neritza Dor's vital signs, Sept. 12, 2009, after undergoing anoplasty surgery to correct an imperforated anus. Neritza was the first patient to be brought aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort during its Continuing Promise 2009 mission.

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U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Edwin Alvarez, left, and Canadian army Sgt. Robert Roy move a Haitian patient at a clinic set up in the Cite Soleil district of Port au Prince, Haiti, during Continuing Promise 2009, April 15, 2009. Canadian Air Force photo by Maj. Marguerite Dodds-Lepinski

Clinton Observes Continuing Promise at Work in Haiti

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 17, 2009 – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton got a first-hand look yesterday at the humanitarian assistance a military, interagency and nongovernmental team is providing here as she toured a medical clinic set up during Continuing Promise 2009. Story»

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Castle plays for Haitian music students at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 15, 2009. Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission to Latin America and the Caribbean region in support of Continuing Promise 2009. U.S. Navy photo

Air Force Band Member Enjoys Audience Interaction

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 17, 2009 – For Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Castle, the opportunity to play for Haitian children at the U.S. Embassy here April 15 was a privilege. Story»

Teamwork Brings Blend of Skills, Mutual Commitment

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 16, 2009 - USNS Comfort’s Continuing Promise tour through Central and South America is far more than a military mission. “This is a combined team,” its commander says. “It’s joint. It’s international. It’s coalition. It’s U.S. Public Health Service." Story»

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Peters, assigned to Maritime Civil Affairs Squadron 2, moves pallets of food and supplies donated by nongovernmental humanitarian organizations and delivered to Haiti by USNS Comfort, to be loaded onto trucks for distribution to needy Haitians, April 15, 2009. DoD photo by Donna Miles

Humanitarian Volunteers Help to Fuel Partnership

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 16, 2009 – Several dozen pallets stretched across a docking area here yesterday – a fraction of those waiting to be loaded onto trucks for distribution throughout Haiti -- providing a tangible symbol of evolving partnerships officials call key to Continuing Promise 2009’s success. Story»

U.S. Public Health Service Lt. Mivoyel Jean Paul visits with his family in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, April 10, 2009, during a break in his staff duties for Continuing Promise 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric J. Cullen

Comfort Staff Finds No Language Barrier

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 15, 2009 – Eighty-five-year-old Simone Alexis arrived at a medical clinic set up by the crew of USNS Comfort wearing her Sunday best in anticipation of getting new eyeglasses.Story»

David Phanor, a student at the University of Haiti School of Dentistry, watches as Capt. Dominik Rudecki, a dentist in the Canadian Army, cleans the teeth of a patient in Killick, Haiti, April 11, 2009. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Marcus Suroez

Medical Care Sign of U.S. Commitment to Haiti

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 14, 2009 – A massive white ship with a big red crosses on its superstructure anchored off Haiti’s capital city is bringing hope – and tangible proof of a continued U.S. commitment -- to the Haitian people, the ship’s commodore told American Forces Press Service. Story»