The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is hosting five midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy during the humanitarian-civil assistance mission Continuing Promise 2015 (CP-15) to Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
The midshipmen are serving aboard Comfort to further their professional development as future leaders of the fleet by learning about the various aspects of the Continuing Promise humanitarian mission and working alongside crew members both aboard the hospital ship and ashore.
The midshipmen have been shadowing medical officers, who provide mentorship as well as share experiences about underway operations and life in the Navy as a medical provider.
Thus far in the CP-15 mission, the midshipmen have scrubbed into surgeries, triaged patients at medical sites ashore, and worked in the ship’s sick bay.
In addition to Navy medical providers, the midshipmen are interacting with partner nation military medical providers, as well as medical professionals from several non-governmental organizations.
Continuing Promise is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet-conducted deployment to conduct civil-military operations including humanitarian-civil assistance, subject-matter expert exchanges, medical, dental, veterinary and engineering support and disaster response to partner nations and to show the United States’ continued support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Image: US Navy