Commanding officer, Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) embarked onboard USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), Capt. Christine Sears, relieved the MTF’s senior enlisted leader following an alcohol-related incident while on liberty in Panama.
Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala has been temporarily reassigned to Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, Virginia pending the completion of an investigation.
There is no impact to USNS Comfort’s ongoing Continuing Promise deployment.
USNS Comfort is crewed by approximately 70 civil service mariners who operate the ship and supports 700 military personnel in the Medical Treatment Facility. Comfort and the embarked MTF are currently deployed in the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet areas of responsibility supporting Continuing Promise, a humanitarian-civil assistance mission, visiting 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries.
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Image: US Navy