The naval hospital ship the USNS Comfort is headed to Puerto Rico.
The announced deployment of the ship was part of a package that included an increase in federal and military aid for the island, still in the early stages of recovery from Hurricane Maria.
The USNS Comfort will aid in the effort with its 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms, a CT scan, and radiology capabilities. On Tuesday the Navy said the ship would be ready in 96 hours.
Preparing the ship takes time since qualified staff have to be transported to the ship, and the ship has to be readied for the journey. The ship also has to be outfitted with medical and staff supplies.
Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Allen said via Military Times that it would take five days for the ship to arrive once it departs from port in Norfolk, Virginia.
The USNS Comfort will join two other ships already deployed for rescue and aid operations in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Dominica.
The government is also getting air traffic communications systems back in place so that an increasing number of planes can land and depart from the island carrying needed aid.
The ship’s primary purpose is to provide medical support to deployed members of the Marines, Army, and Air Force who are land based, along with military forces at sea. Mobile hospital function for disaster and humanitarian relief is a secondary function.
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