View source for USNS Comfort

{{short description|Hospital ship of the United States Navy}}
{{Other ships|USS Comfort}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=USNS ''Comfort'' (T-AH-20)}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:US Navy 110602-N-RM525-201 The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is anchored off the coast of Tumaco, Colombia, during (cropped).jpg
|Ship caption=USNS ''Comfort'' in Trinidad and Tobago waters in September 2019
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag}}
|Ship name=*1975–1987: ''Rose City''
* 1987–present: ''Comfort''
|Ship operator=
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|Ship builder=[[National Steel and Shipbuilding]]
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|Ship laid down=1 May 1975 (as [[San Clemente-class oil tanker|''Rose City'' MA-301]])
|Ship launched=1 February 1976
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|Ship in service=1 December 1987 (with the U.S. Navy)
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|Ship homeport=[[Naval Station Norfolk]]
|Ship identification=* [[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: NCOM
* {{IMO Number|7390478}}
* {{MMSI Number|368817000}}
|Ship motto= ''Curare Aegra Permarinum (Care of the Sick on the Sea)''<ref>{{Cite tweet |user= ameeicsnavy|number=125197934944 |title=America's Navy — Curare Aegra Permarinum means "Care of the Sick on|date=4 November 2010}}</ref>
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|Ship status=Active
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|Ship badge=[[File:USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) crest.png|150px]]
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class= {{sclass|Mercy|hospital ship}}
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship capacity = 1,000 patient beds
|Ship displacement=69,360 tons (70,470 [[metric ton|t]])<ref name="Inv"/>
|Ship length={{convert|894|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|105|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draft={{convert|33|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=Two boilers, two GE turbines, one shaft, 24,500 hp (18.3 MW)
|Ship speed={{convert|17.5|knot|mph km/h}}
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|Ship complement=63 civilian, 956 naval hospital staff, 258 naval support staff
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|Ship time to activate=5 days
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|Ship aircraft facilities=A flight deck that can handle military helicopters ([[CH-53D]], [[CH-53E]], [[MH-53E]], [[Mil Mi-17|Mi-17]], [[UH 60]])
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|}

'''USNS ''Comfort'' (T-AH-20)''' is a {{sclass|Mercy|hospital ship}} of the [[United States Navy]].

''Comfort''{{'}}s duties include providing emergency, on-site care for U.S. combatant forces deployed in war or other operations. Operated by the [[Military Sealift Command]], ''Comfort'' provides rapid, flexible, and mobile medical and surgical services to support [[Marine Air-Ground Task Force|Marine Corps Air-Ground Task Forces]] and Army and Air Force units deployed ashore, and naval amphibious task forces and battle forces afloat. Secondarily, she provides mobile surgical hospital service for use by appropriate U.S. government agencies in disaster or humanitarian relief or limited humanitarian care incident to these missions or peacetime military operations. ''Comfort'' is more advanced than a [[field hospital]] but less capable than a traditional hospital on land.<ref name="Robert Little / The Baltimore Sun">{{cite news |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.comfort25jan25,0,2271109,full.story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117171220/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.comfort25jan25,0,2271109,full.story |archive-date=17 January 2013 |title=Comfort's ability to help stretched to limit |author=Little, Robert |date=25 January 2010 |work=The Baltimore Sun |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

From 30 March to 30 April 2020, ''Comfort'' was stationed in [[New York City]] to help combat the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City|city's coronavirus pandemic]] by treating non-coronavirus, and later on, coronavirus-positive patients.<ref name=covidallowed/> She had been stationed there previously following the [[September 11 attacks|attacks of 9/11]] in 2001, to bolster the city's civilian medical services in the aftermath.

== Complement ==
The [[USNS]] prefix identifies ''Comfort'' as a non-commissioned ship owned by the U.S. Navy and operationally crewed by civilians from the [[Military Sealift Command]] (MSC). A uniformed naval hospital staff and naval support staff is embarked when the ''Comfort'' is deployed, consisting primarily of naval officers from the Navy's [[Medical Corps (United States Navy)|Medical Corps]], [[United States Navy Dental Corps|Dental Corps]], [[Navy Medical Service Corps|Medical Service Corps]], [[U.S. Navy Nurse Corps|Nurse Corps]], and [[Navy Chaplain Corps|Chaplain Corps]], and naval enlisted personnel from the [[Hospital Corpsman]] rating and various administrative and technical support ratings (e.g., [[Yeoman (United States Navy)|Yeoman]], [[Personnel Specialist (United States Navy)|Personnel Specialist]], [[Information Systems Technician (United States Navy)|Information Systems Technician]], [[Religious Program Specialist]], etc.).{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In accordance with the [[Geneva Conventions]], ''Comfort'' and her crew carry no offensive weapons. Firing upon ''Comfort'' would be considered a [[war crime]] as the ship only carries weapons for self-defense.<ref>Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949 {{cite web|url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/COM/370-580040?OpenDocument|title=Chapter III: Hospital ships, Article 35 – Conditions not Depriving Hospital Ships of Protection|access-date=21 January 2012|archive-date=12 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112215755/http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/COM/370-580040?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}</ref> In keeping with her status as a non-combatant vessel, naval personnel from the combat specialties are not assigned as regular crew or staff. Underway [[Embarkation|embarks]] by Navy [[Unrestricted line officer|Unrestricted Line officers]] (e.g., warfare qualified combat specialties), enlisted Naval Aviation, Surface Warfare, Submarine Warfare, Special Operations or Special Warfare/[[United States Navy SEALs|SEAL]] personnel, or any [[United States Marine Corps|Marine Corps]] officers or enlisted personnel, are typically limited to official visits, helicopter or [[tilt-rotor]] flight operations or as patients.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Construction and conversion==

Like her sister ship {{USNS|Mercy|T-AH-19|6}}, ''Comfort'' was built as a {{sclass|San Clemente|oil tanker|0}} [[oil tanker]] in 1976 by the [[National Steel and Shipbuilding Company]]. Her original name was '''SS ''Rose City''''' and she was launched from [[San Diego, California]].<ref name="Inv">{{Cite news|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=USNS-Comfort-TAH20|title=USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) – Military Hospital Ship / Support Vessel|work=Military Factory|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424083718/https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=USNS-Comfort-TAH20|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the third [[United States Navy]] ship to bear the name ''Comfort,'' and the second ''Mercy''-class hospital ship.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} Her career as an oil tanker ended when she was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 1 December 1987.

After a quarter-century in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], ''Comfort'' changed her homeport to [[Naval Station Norfolk]] in [[Norfolk, Virginia]] in March 2013. The move placed the ship closer to supplies, much of which come from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, and to medical crew. Savings to the U.S. Navy are estimated at $2 million per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/usnscomfort/Pages/default.aspx|title=USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) website|work=United States Navy |access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426120150/http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/usnscomfort/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=26 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/02/16/usns-comforts-move-from-baltimore-to-norfolk-to-save-navy-time-money|title=USNS Comfort's Move From Baltimore To Norfolk To Save Navy Time & Money « CBS Baltimore|work=cbslocal.com|date=16 February 2012|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-date=11 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611092443/http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/02/16/usns-comforts-move-from-baltimore-to-norfolk-to-save-navy-time-money/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Deployments==
===Persian Gulf War (1990–91)===
{{Main|Gulf War{{!}}Persian Gulf War}}
During the [[Gulf War]], ''Comfort'' received a call to activate for Desert Shield/Desert Storm 9 August 1990 and left Baltimore on 11 August. ''Comfort'' took station just off the coast of [[Saudi Arabia]] near [[Khafji]] and [[Kuwait]]. On 12 March 1991, ''Comfort'' headed home, arriving in Baltimore on 15 April 1991. She had traveled more than {{convert|30000|nmi|mi km|lk=in}} and consumed almost {{convert|3|e6U.S.gal|impgal L}} of fuel. More than 8,000 outpatients were seen, and 700 inpatients were admitted, including four sailors injured in a high-pressure steam leak on {{USS|Iwo Jima|LPH-2|6}}. 337 surgical procedures were performed. Other notable benchmarks include: more than 2,100 safe helicopter activities; 7,000 prescriptions filled; 17,000 laboratory tests completed; 1,600 eyeglasses made; 800,000 meals served and 1,340 radiographic studies, including 141 [[CT scan]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Operation Sea Signal (1994)===
[[Image:USNS Comfort Statue of Liberty.jpg|thumb|right|The USNS ''Comfort'' passes the [[Statue of Liberty]] en route to Manhattan to provide assistance to victims of the [[September 11 attacks]] on the World Trade Center.]]
{{Main|Operation Sea Signal}}
In 1994, ''Comfort'' was ordered to serve as a processing center for [[Haiti]]an migrants, the first ship to act as such a center. She set out for the Caribbean with 928 military and civilian personnel from various federal government and international agencies. On 16 June 1994 the first Haitian migrants were taken aboard. Over the months, her population swelled to 1,100. Shortly thereafter, ''Comfort'' sailed for [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base]], Cuba, to drop off the remaining 400 migrants.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Operation Uphold Democracy (1994)===
{{Main|Operation Uphold Democracy}}
On 2 September 1994, ''Comfort'' was directed to activate for an unprecedented second deployment in a year.{{clarify|reason=no other hospital ship had been deployed twice?|date=April 2019}} ''Comfort'' was tasked to provide a 250-bed medically intensive patient capability for the 35,000 [[Cubans|Cuban]] and [[Haiti]]an migrants supported by Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ''Comfort'' departed Naval Base Norfolk, Virginia, with a specially configured crew of 566 personnel. Following the diplomatic agreement reached between the United States and [[Haiti]], ''Comfort'' took up a position off [[Port-au-Prince]] ready to receive casualties that might result from the transfer of U.S. and allied forces ashore. From 16 September through 2 October 1994, ''Comfort'' personnel provided both medical and surgical support to U.S. and allied forces ashore and afloat, emergency humanitarian care to injured Haitian citizens, and participated in various aspects of the Civil Affairs Program in an effort to aid the rebuilding effort of the local healthcare system. She returned to Norfolk on 14 October 1994.

===Operation Noble Eagle (2001)===
{{Main|Operation Noble Eagle}}

''Comfort'' was activated the afternoon of 11 September 2001, in response to the terrorist attack on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] and sailed the next afternoon to serve as a 250-bed hospital facility at Pier 92 in midtown [[Manhattan]]. The ship arrived at Pier 92 in Manhattan about 8:30&nbsp;p.m. 14 September. That evening a small number of relief workers arrived aboard the ship. As word about the ship spread, more workers began arriving over the next few days. The ship's clinic saw 561 guests for cuts, respiratory ailments, fractures, and other minor injuries, and ''Comfort''{{'}}s team of Navy psychology personnel provided 500 mental health consultations to relief workers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=9108 |title=Hospital Ship Receives Humanitarian Medal for September 11 Mission |author=Maurer, Ellen |date=22 August 2003 |website=United States Navy |access-date=9 October 2009 |archive-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522132255/http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=9108 }}</ref> ''Comfort'' also hosted a group of volunteer New York area massage therapists who gave 1,359 therapeutic medical massages to ship guests.

===Iraq War (2002–03)===
{{Main|2003 invasion of Iraq}}
[[File:Dean Bradford and Princess Anne.jpg|right|thumb|
Capt. Dean Bradford, master of ''Comfort'', greets [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] on 11 July 2002 while the ship was docked in [[Southampton]], UK]]
[[File:US Navy 030423-N-6967M-235 Hospital Corpsman Wade Henry gives a passdown to the night shift in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) aboard USNS Comfort (T-AH 20).jpg|thumb|[[Intensive care unit]] (ICU) aboard ''Comfort'' in 2003]]
''Comfort'' was ordered to activate on 26 December 2002, and set sail for the [[U.S. Central Command]] area of operations on 6 January 2003. After stopping in [[Diego Garcia]] to embark additional medical personnel flown in from the National Naval Medical Center, the ship proceeded to the [[Persian Gulf]] to serve as an afloat trauma center in support of [[2003 invasion of Iraq|Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. ''Comfort'' remained in the [[Persian Gulf]] for 56&nbsp;days providing expert medical care to wounded U.S. military personnel as well as injured [[Iraq]]i civilians and enemy prisoners of war. When ''Comfort'' returned to [[Baltimore]] on 12 June 2003, it marked the completion of a nearly six-month activation. During this time, the ship conducted more than 800 helicopter deck landings to bring aboard personnel, patients, and cargo. ''Comfort''{{'}}s Medical Treatment Facility had also performed 590 surgical procedures, transfused more than 600 units of blood, developed more than 8,000 radiographic images, and treated nearly 700 patients, including almost 200 Iraqi civilians and enemy prisoners of war.

===Hurricane Katrina (2005)===
{{Main|Joint Task Force Katrina}}
[[File:FEMA - 16869 - Photograph by Win Henderson taken on 10-06-2005 in Louisiana.jpg|thumb|USNS ''Comfort'' in [[New Orleans]] after [[Hurricane Katrina]]]]
[[File:USNS Comfort (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|USNS ''Comfort'' takes on supplies at [[Mayport, Florida]] en route to the [[Gulf Coast]] for victims of Hurricane Katrina.]]
''Comfort'' deployed on 2 September 2005, after only a two-day preparation, to assist in Gulf Coast recovery efforts after the devastation of [[Hurricane Katrina]]. Starting in [[Pascagoula, Mississippi]] and then sailing to [[New Orleans]], ''Comfort'' personnel saw 1,956 patients total. She returned on 13 October 2005 after a 7-week deployment.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

===Partnership for the Americas (2007)===
''Comfort''{{'}}s Partnership for the Americas humanitarian mission, which began on 15 June 2007, was a major component of the President's "Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere" initiative. ''Comfort'' visited 12 Central American, South American, and Caribbean nations where her embarked medical crew provided free health care services to communities in need. The missions objective was to offer valuable training to U.S. military personnel while promoting U.S. goodwill in the region. In all, the civilian and military medical team treated more than 98,000 patients, provided 386,000 patient encounters and performed 1,100 surgeries.
The embarked medical crew was made up of more than 500 military and [[non-governmental organization]] (Project Hope and Operation Smile) doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals. Their primary focus was to support medical humanitarian assistance efforts ashore. A secondary mission was outpatient shipboard health service support.
Also supporting ''Comfort''{{'}}s medical mission was a [[Seabee (US Navy)|SEABEE]] detachment from the East Coast-based Mobile Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202, which performed civic action repair and minor construction projects in the host countries. Also on the deployment was the U.S. Navy Showband from [[Norfolk, Virginia]], which performed in each port.

''Comfort'' was operated and navigated by a crew of 68 civil service mariners (CIVMARS) from the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC).
This mission incorporated various non-government organizations and government agencies, such as Operation Smile, Project Hope, [[LDS Humanitarian Services]], the Atlanta Rotary Club, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Health and Human Services and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Patient encounters included a single patient receiving multiple treatments, students in training sessions, and even veterinary care services.
Dentists and staff treated 25,000 patients, extracting 300 teeth, and performing 4,000 fillings, 7,000 sealings, and 20,000 fluoride applications. In addition to treating patients, bio-medical professionals fixed about a thousand pieces of medical equipment at local health facilities. The ship's crew also delivered nearly $200,000 worth of donated humanitarian aid.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

===Operation Unified Response (2010)===
{{Main|2010 Haiti earthquake}}
[[File:USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is anchored off the coast of La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago. (48677005558).jpg|thumb|right|USNS ''Comfort'' in Trinidad and Tobago waters]]
On 13 January 2010, ''Comfort'' was ordered to assist in the humanitarian relief efforts following the [[2010 Haiti earthquake]] as part of [[Operation Unified Response]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://navydads.com/forum/topics/uss-carl-vinson-and-6-other |author=Bacon, Lance M. |title=USS Carl Vinson and 6 Other Ships Head to Haiti to Provide Aid |work=Navy Times |date=13 January 2010 |access-date=13 January 2010 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319232858/https://navydads.com/forum/topics/uss-carl-vinson-and-6-other |url-status=live }}</ref> Three days later on 16 January ''Comfort'' left the [[Port of Baltimore]] bound for [[Haiti]]. She arrived Wednesday, 20 January 2010 and began medical treatment early that day.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/57565/ |author=Garamone, Jim |title=Top Navy Doc Predicts Long USNS Comfort Deployment |date=16 January 2010 |website=US Department of Defense |format=American Forces Press Service|access-date=16 January 2010|url-status= live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301104035/http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=57565|archive-date=1 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50653 |title=Comfort Receives First Patients |date=20 January 2010 |author= Matthew Jackson |website=United States Navy |access-date=5 December 2010 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629193226/http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50653 }}</ref> The deployment marks the first time the ship has reached full operational capacity, utilizing all 12 operating rooms and 1,000 beds, since she was delivered to the Navy in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/haiti-earthquake/2010/01/for_usns_comfort_a_chance_to_p.html |author=Little, Robert|work=The Baltimore Sun |title=For USNS Comfort, a chance to prove something |date=18 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531080043/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/haiti-earthquake/2010/01/for_usns_comfort_a_chance_to_p.html|archive-date=31 May 2012 |access-date=26 January 2010}}</ref> The mission also saw the ship's first on-board delivery, of a 4-pound, 5-ounce [[premature baby]] named Esther.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/haiti-earthquake/2010/01/a_baby_for_the_usns_comfort.html |author=Little, Robert |work=The Baltimore Sun |title=A baby for the USNS Comfort |date=22 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531080200/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/haiti-earthquake/2010/01/a_baby_for_the_usns_comfort.html|archive-date=31 May 2012 |access-date=26 January 2010}}</ref> Although the ship is less capable than a traditional hospital on land, she offered the most advanced medical care available in Haiti following the earthquake.
Between 19 January and 28 February 2010 the ship's staff treated 1,000 Haitian patients and performed 850 surgeries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2010-01-usns_comfort_to_aid_haiti_eart_1-story.html |author1=Rosenthal, Dave |title=USNS Comfort to aid Haiti earthquake victims |work=[[Baltimore Sun]] |date=17 January 2010 |access-date=19 March 2020 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319223749/https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2010-01-usns_comfort_to_aid_haiti_eart_1-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By 8 March 2010, ''Comfort'' had discharged the last patient.<ref name=Haiti_Complete>{{cite news|work=United States Navy|url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=51807|title=Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Completes Important Relief Mission in Haiti|date=9 March 2010|access-date=8 March 2010|archive-date=15 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615145437/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=51807}}</ref> On 10 March 2010, the ship ended her mission in the [[Joint Task Force Haiti]] area as part of [[Operation Unified Response]], and returned to her home port.<ref name="Return">{{cite news |work=NBC4 Washington |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/hospital_ship_to_return_home_to_baltimore_from_haiti/1863690/ |title=Hospital Ship To Return Home To Baltimore From Haiti |date=9 March 2010 |access-date=30 June 2011 |author1=Ben-Achour, Sabri |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319230559/https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/hospital_ship_to_return_home_to_baltimore_from_haiti/1863690/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Operation Continuing Promise (2011)===
In 2011, the ship deployed on [[Operation Continuing Promise]]. The ship deployed for five months providing medical and surgical services to nine locations in the Caribbean and Latin America – Jamaica, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Haiti.<ref>{{cite news |last=Griggs |first=Travis |title=USNS Comfort Heading To Peru |work=[[Pensacola News Journal]] |date=17 April 2011}}</ref> The ship's crew set up medical and surgical civil action program sites. These temporary medical clinics included primary care, internal medicine, obstetrics, and pediatric physicians as well as optometry, physical therapy, dental, radiology, laboratory, and pharmacy services. On board the ship general surgery, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial, and orthopedic surgeries were performed on pre-screened patients.<ref name="2011_Promise">{{cite news |last=William |first=Kim |title=USNS Comfort to Arrive in Norfolk After Humanitarian Mission to Caribbean, Central and South America |url=https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=62522 |work=United States Navy |date=2 September 2011 |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706025014/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=62522 }}</ref>

The mission included a Navy [[SeaBee]] (Construction Battalion) Unit, a Navy helo squadron, the [[United States Navy Band]] and a Navy Security Force unit. US Army veterinarians and veterinary technicians, US Air Force biomedical repair technicians, and dentists and dental technicians from the Canadian Navy also participated.

Although it was primarily a medical/humanitarian mission, several programs and projects, commonly referred to as Community Relations (COMREL) projects were also provided to the local populace throughout the mission. Veterinarians worked with local farmers on pest control and vaccinations, SeaBees completed building improvements in local schools and other facilities, Navy Band was a staple in all programs involving US military personnel and local government officials.

===Hurricane Maria (2017)===
On 29 September 2017, the ship set sail for Puerto Rico to bring assistance to the island after [[Hurricane Maria]] had hit it nine days earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usns-comfort-departs-for-puerto-rico/|title=USNS Comfort leaves for Puerto Rico|author1=Watson, Kathryn|date=29 September 2017|website=CBS News|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214305/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usns-comfort-departs-for-puerto-rico/|url-status=live}}</ref> She arrived the evening of 3 October 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wgntv.com/2017/10/03/enormous-hospital-ship-usns-comfort-arrives-in-puerto-rico/|title=Enormous hospital ship USNS Comfort arrives in Puerto Rico|date=4 October 2017|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119173703/https://wgntv.com/2017/10/03/enormous-hospital-ship-usns-comfort-arrives-in-puerto-rico/|url-status=live}}</ref> While in San Juan, ''Comfort'' hosted a summit with key stakeholders to synchronize efforts for the ship's mission throughout the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wtkr.com/2017/10/03/usns-comfort-arrives-in-puerto-rico/|title=USNS Comfort arrives in Puerto Rico|date=4 October 2017|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119133300/https://wtkr.com/2017/10/03/usns-comfort-arrives-in-puerto-rico/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ship's 835 personnel partnered with Federal DMAT teams DMAT/''COMFORT'' partnership and evaluated 6,003 patients, 1,912 patients were sent to ''Comfort'' 290 patients admitted, and 192 surgeries performed. She provided over 40,000 lab tests, over 16,000 prescriptions, 343 CT scans, and 1,169 radiology studies. Dental services provided acute dental care for 312 patients. However, she was there to support the sickest patients on the island. ''Comfort''{{'}}s 50-bed ICU had the highest acuity patients of any military hospital in the world. The ship acted as a support structure for all the island's hospitals taking their sickest ICU patients, the only oxygen producing plant on the island, she filled every hospital's oxygen tanks to help them support their patients. Additionally her sterilizers were used to sterilize, clean, and wrap surgery kits for multiple hospitals, using her ability to be a force multiplier allowing other hospitals to continue to provide care, and surgeries while they stabilized their power and facilities. She provided life saving care, including dialysis as well as fixed dialysis shunts and placed portacath shunts as the only working interventional radiology capability. This along with partnering with Puerto Rico's Health Department was able to diagnose cancers and assist in getting patients started on cancer therapy. She even had two births on board after receiving mothers who had been in labor in hallways for days. Her skilled providers provided necessary orthopedic surgeries, provided CT scans for her patients or ones referred from one of the other over 60 hospitals on island. This was at a cost of about $180,000 a day. As the island infrastructure improved the admission rate to the ship declined to 1% of patients presenting, she was ordered home on 17 November.<ref name=nyt12dec17>{{cite news|last1=Robles|first1=Frances|last2=Fink|first2=Sheri|title=Amid Puerto Rico Disaster, Hospital Ship Admitted Just 6 Patients a Day|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-hospital-ship.html|access-date=12 December 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 December 2017|page=A16|archive-date=12 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212025347/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-hospital-ship.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Operation Enduring Promise (2018) ===
{{Main|Venezuelan refugee crisis}}

In October 2018, ''Comfort'' departed for an eleven-week operation in [[Latin America]], with a primary mission being to assist countries that received refugees who fled the [[crisis in Venezuela]]. The main goal was to relieve health systems in [[Colombia]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]] and Honduras, which faced the arrival of thousands of Venezuelan migrants.{{refn|<ref>{{Citation|last=Luzi|first=Iacopo|title=USNS Comfort Hospital Ship on Humanitarian Mission in South America|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usns-comfort-hospital-ship-on-humanitarian-mission-in-south-america/4608890.html|work=[[Voice of America]]|date=11 October 2018 |language=en|access-date=7 November 2018|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107145128/https://www.voanews.com/a/usns-comfort-hospital-ship-on-humanitarian-mission-in-south-america/4608890.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Parkin Daniels, Joe |location=Bogotá |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/18/usns-comfort-us-navy-hospital-ship-venezuelan-refugees-tension |title=US navy hospital ship stokes tensions by giving Venezuelan refugees free care |work=The Guardian |date=18 November 2018 |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209205626/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/18/usns-comfort-us-navy-hospital-ship-venezuelan-refugees-tension |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/10/23/special-report-enduring-promise/|title=Special Report: Enduring Promise|website=Navy Live|date=23 October 2018|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=23 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223123046/http://navylive.dodlive.mil/2018/10/23/special-report-enduring-promise/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southcom.mil/News/PressReleases/Article/1650011/hospital-ship-to-depart-norfolk-oct-11-for-enduring-promise-mission-in-latin-am/|title=Hospital ship to depart Norfolk 11 Oct. for Enduring Promise mission i|website=U.S. Southern Command|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208115705/http://www.southcom.mil/News/PressReleases/Article/1650011/hospital-ship-to-depart-norfolk-oct-11-for-enduring-promise-mission-in-latin-am/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wtkr.com/2018/10/02/u-s-navy-hospital-ship-set-to-deploy-for-11-week-medical-assistance-mission/|title=U.S. Navy hospital ship set to deploy for 11-week medical assistance mission|date=2 October 2018|access-date=10 December 2018|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119092050/https://wtkr.com/2018/10/02/u-s-navy-hospital-ship-set-to-deploy-for-11-week-medical-assistance-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/military/hospital-ship-usns-comfort-heads-to-central-and-south-americas/291-602842270 |title=Hospital ship USNS Comfort heads to Central and South Americas |publisher=13newsnow.com |date=10 October 2018 |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132621/https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/military/hospital-ship-usns-comfort-heads-to-central-and-south-americas/291-602842270 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} She provided care for nearly 27,000 patients and performed 599 surgeries in 23 clinical days in five stops in four countries.
[[File:USNS Comfort in Peru 2018.jpg|thumb|Hospital beds inside ''Comfort'' while in [[Peru]] in 2018]]
=== New York COVID-19 response (2020) ===
{{Main|Hospital ships designated for the COVID-19 pandemic}}{{see also|COVID-19 pandemic in New York City}}

''Comfort'' began deployment from [[Norfolk, Virginia]], to [[New York Harbor]] on 28 March to help deal with the impact of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.usni.org/2020/03/28/trump-gives-usns-comfort-a-send-off-as-hospital-ship-departs-for-new-york|title=Trump Gives USNS Comfort a Send-Off as Hospital Ship Departs for New York|first=Sam|last=LaGrone|publisher=USNI News|date=28 March 2020|access-date=28 March 2020|archive-date=28 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328211608/https://news.usni.org/2020/03/28/trump-gives-usns-comfort-a-send-off-as-hospital-ship-departs-for-new-york|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.usni.org/2020/03/26/usns-comfort-departs-for-new-york-on-saturday-with-trump-modly-in-attendance|title=USNS Comfort Will Depart for New York on Saturday with Trump, Modly in Attendance|last=Eckstein|first=Megan|date=26 March 2020|work=USNI News|access-date=27 March 2020|archive-date=27 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327030303/https://news.usni.org/2020/03/26/usns-comfort-departs-for-new-york-on-saturday-with-trump-modly-in-attendance|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Comfort'' arrived in New York on 30 March 2020.<ref name=comfortarrives>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/usns-comfort-arrives-in-nyc-monday-to-help-hospital-with-non-coronavirus-patients/2350317/|title=Crowds Greet USNS Comfort in NYC Monday; Ship to Help Hospitals With Non-Coronavirus Patients|date=30 March 2020|website=NBC New York|access-date=30 March 2020|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425021052/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/usns-comfort-arrives-in-nyc-monday-to-help-hospital-with-non-coronavirus-patients/2350317/|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially, her mission was to treat patients who did not have the virus, freeing up land-based hospitals to focus on patients with [[COVID-19]].<ref name=comfortarrives/> But later half of the ship's 1000 beds were removed so that she could isolate and treat coronavirus patients.<ref name = wpvi>{{cite news|url=https://6abc.com/usns-comfort-philadelphia-coronavirus-philly-phila/6110210/|title=USNS Comfort hospital ship ready for Philly COVID-19 patients|date=17 April 2020|work=WPVI-TV|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422184755/https://6abc.com/usns-comfort-philadelphia-coronavirus-philly-phila/6110210/}}</ref> On 6 April 2020, COVID-19 patients were allowed onto the ship.<ref name=covidallowed>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/cuomo-will-ask-trump-to-allow-coronavirus-patients-on-comfort.html|title=Trump allows coronavirus patients on Navy ship Comfort in New York after Cuomo asks|website=[[CNBC]]|date=6 April 2020|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406234216/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/cuomo-will-ask-trump-to-allow-coronavirus-patients-on-comfort.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One day later, the Navy announced that one crew member aboard ''Comfort'' had tested positive for the coronavirus and that several other crew members were put into isolation.<ref>{{cite web |work=The New York Times |date=7 April 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/nyregion/usns-comfort-crew-coronavirus.html |first=Michael |last=Schwirtz |title=Crew member aboard U.S.N.S. Comfort is infected with coronavirus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429072904/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/nyregion/usns-comfort-crew-coronavirus.html |archive-date=29 April 2020 }}</ref>

On 17 April the [[U.S. Northern Command]] announced that "the USNS ''COMFORT'' is prepared to admit patients within a one-hour traveling radius from the ship", and preparations were made to receive coronavirus patients from the Philadelphia area.<ref name = wpvi/> On 21 April, Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] told President [[Donald Trump]] that the ship was no longer needed in New York. ''Comfort'' departed on 30 April, having treated 179 patients.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/cuomo-tells-trump-usns-comfort-no-longer-needed-in-nyc/2384637/|title =Gov. Cuomo Tells Trump USNS Comfort No Longer Needed in NYC|date =22 April 2020|website =NBC New York|access-date =24 April 2020|archive-date =26 April 2020|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20200426043321/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/coronavirus/cuomo-tells-trump-usns-comfort-no-longer-needed-in-nyc/2384637/|url-status =live}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Awards and decorations==
* [[Combat Action Ribbon]] – (26 Feb 1991)
* [[Joint Meritorious Unit Award]] – (Apr 1991–Dec 1996) [[Operation Provide Comfort]]
* [[Navy Unit Commendation]] – (Aug 1990–Mar 1991, May–Jul 1994)
* Navy [[Meritorious Unit Commendation]] – (Sep 1994–Mar 1995, Sep 2001–Jun 2005, Jun–Oct 2007)
* [[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]] – (Sep–Oct 1994)
* [[Southwest Asia Service Medal]] – (Aug 1990–Mar 1991)
* [[Humanitarian Service Medal]] – (Sep–Oct 2001, Sep–Oct 2005, Jan–Feb 2010, Sep–Nov 2017)

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Combat Action Ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Joint_Meritorious_Unit_Award-3d.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy_Unit_Commendation_ribbon, 2nd award.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy_Meritorious_Unit_Commendation_ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Battle Effectiveness Award ribbon, 2nd award.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon, 2nd award.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Armed Forces Expedtionary Medal ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Southwest Asia Service Medal ribbon (1991-2016), 3rd award.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Global_War_on_Terrorism_Expeditionary_Medal_ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Global_War_on_Terrorism_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Humanitarian_Service_Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) ribbon.svg{{!}}border|width=106}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
!1st Row
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Combat Action Ribbon]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Joint Meritorious Unit Award]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Navy Unit Commendation]] w/1 [[service star]]
|-
!2nd Row
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation]] w/2 [[service star]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Navy E Ribbon]] 2nd award
| style="text-align:center;"|[[National Defense Service Medal]] w/1 [[service star]]
|-
!3rd Row
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Southwest Asia Service Medal]] w/3 [[campaign star]]s
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal]]
|-
!4th Row
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Global War on Terrorism Service Medal]]
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Humanitarian Service Medal]] w/3 [[service star]]s
| style="text-align:center;"|[[Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)]]
|}

In 2008, the United Seamen's Service at its annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (AOTOS) event honored the masters and crews of hospital ships ''Comfort'' and ''Mercy'' with special Humanitarian Service Recognition Mariner's Plaques for their respective four-month humanitarian deployments to Latin America and the Caribbean in 2007 and Southeast Asia and the Pacific in 2008.<ref name="Sealift">{{cite web |url=https://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/December/aotos.htm |title=Special AOTOS awards given to hospital ships |author1=Patrick Henderson, Meghan |date=December 2008 |website=Military Sealift Command |publisher=United States Navy |access-date=22 March 2020 |format=MSC Public Affairs|archive-date=22 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322234011/https://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2008/December/aotos.htm }}</ref>

==General characteristics==
[[File:Image-USNS Comfort - Engine Room.jpg|right|thumb|USNS ''Comfort''{{'}}s engine room]]
* Specifications<ref>Norman Polmar, ''The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U. S. Fleet'', Eighteenth Edition, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2005 ({{ISBN|1-59114-685-2}}), pp. 264-266.</ref>
** Displacement:
*** Full Load: 69,390 Tons
*** Light: 24,275 Tons
** Length:
*** Overall: 894 Feet (272.6 Meters)
*** Waterline: {{frac|854|5|6}} Feet (260.6 Meters)
** Beam: {{frac|105|3|4}} Feet (32.25 Meters)
** Draft: {{frac|32|5|6}} Feet (10.0 Meters)
** Propulsion: 1 Steam Turbine, 2 Boilers, 1 Shaft, {{convert|24500|shp}}
** Speed: 17.5 Knots
** Range: 13,400 Nautical Miles (24,817 Kilometers) at {{convert|17.5|kn|km/h}}
** Personnel:
*** Merchant Marine: 16 ROS; 61 Active
*** Navy Communications & Support: 58 (6 Officers, 52 Enlisted)
*** Medical and Dental (Active Only): 1,156
** Aviation: Helicopter Landing Platform, 1 Spot
** Radars: SPS-67 Surface Search
* Patient capacity:
** Intensive care wards: 80 beds
** Recovery wards: 20 beds
** Intermediate care wards: 280 beds
** Light care wards: 120 beds
** Limited care wards: 500 beds
** Total Patient Capacity: 1000 beds
** Operating Rooms: 12
* Departments and facilities:
** Casualty reception
** Intensive care unit
** Radiological services
** Main laboratory plus satellite lab
** Blood bank
** Central sterile receiving
** Medical supply/pharmacy
** Physical therapy and burn care
** Dental services
** Optometry/lens lab
** Morgue
** Laundry
** Oxygen producing plants (two)
** Medical Photography
** Four distilling plants to make drinking water from sea water ({{convert|300000|gal}} per day)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

''Notice: This article incorporates material taken from the [[public domain]] website of USNS'' Comfort ''at [https://web.archive.org/web/20040811011611/http://www.comfort.navy.mil/ Comfort.navy.mil].''

==External links==
{{Commons category|USNS Comfort (T-AH-20)}}
* [https://www.msc.usff.navy.mil/Ships/Comfort// USNS ''Comfort''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525131717/https://www.msc.usff.navy.mil/Ships/Comfort/ |date=25 May 2022 }} Command Home Page
* {{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=T-AH-20|title=Naval Vessel Register entry for USNS ''Comfort''}}

{{Mercy class hospital ship}}
{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comfort, T-Ah-20}}
[[Category:1976 ships]]
[[Category:2010 Haiti earthquake relief]]
[[Category:Hurricane Katrina disaster relief]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Baltimore]]
[[Category:Mercy-class hospital ships|Comfort 3]]
[[Category:Ships built in San Diego|Comfort 3]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Tankers of the United States]]
[[Category:COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]]
[[Category:Hospital ships involved in the COVID-19 pandemic]]