Man Overboard Incident on USNS Comfort Explained

Occurred during a scheduled transfer to the USNS Comfort

The USNS Comfort is a ship that “provides afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facilities when called upon to the US military. Additionally, it offers hospital services to support US disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.” The USNS Comfort is a US Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds commissioned in 1986. The crew consists of roughly eight Officers, 53 Enlisted personnel, and a 15-person civilian mariner cadre crew. [i]

On Dec. 12, 2022, at approximately 7:17 pm local time, a man overboard incident occurred during the USNS Comfort’s (T-AH 20) military deployment in the US 4th Fleet area of operations near Jeremie, Haiti. [ii]

How Did the Rescue Operation Unfold During the Haiti Mission?

According to the US Department of the Navy, 19 personnel went over the side “during transfer from a small boat to Comfort.” All personnel involved were recovered and returned to the USNS Comfort. This was done with support from the US Coast Guard Cutter Harold Miller (WPC 1138). The Harold Miller fast response cutter is currently underway. It can deploy independently with enhanced response time and a minimum top speed of 28 knots or 32 mph. [iii] [iv] [v]

The personnel returning to Comfort had been ashore at Wharf de Jeremie, “providing medical care during a Continuing Promise 2022 mission stop.” Since the incident, the USNS Comfort has temporarily paused its ship-to-shore operations in Haiti. Operations will resume once “a safe alternative for personnel transfer has been identified.” [vi]

Captain Bryan Carmichael, commodore of Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 4, shared that Continuing Promise 2022 is centered around “building relationships that will have lasting impacts.” He further describes Continuing Promise 2022 as,

Reflect[ing] America’s commitment to strengthening friendships, partnerships and solidarity with our Caribbean, Central and South American neighbors. [vii]

Most recently, the USNS Comfort finished its fourth mission stop of Continuing Promise 2022 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Dec. 6, 2022. During the visit, they “provided care for 4,435 patients at the medical sites [and] filled 7,446 prescriptions. They conducted 209 x-rays and 78 ultrasounds, and performed 87 surgeries aboard the ship.” [viii]

References

[i] US Navy’s Military Sealift Command, USNS Comfort – Steaming to Assist (2022)

[ii] US Department of the Navy, USNS Comfort Man Overboard Incident During Continuing Promise 2022 Mission Stop in Haiti (Dec. 13, 2022)

[iii] Id.

[iv] US Coast Guard, Fast Response Cutter(2022)

[v] Cruising Earth, CGC Harold Miller – Military Ship Tracker (2022)

[vi] US Department of the Navy, USNS Comfort Man Overboard Incident During Continuing Promise 2022 Mission Stop in Haiti (Dec. 13, 2022)

[vii] Petty Officer 2nd Class Juel Foster, USNS Commences Continuing Promise 2022 in Miami (Oct. 26, 2022)

[viii] Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sophia Simons, USNS Comfort Completes Its Fourth Mission Stop of Continuing Promise 2022 in the Dominican Republic (Dec. 8, 2022)

If you have any questions or want to report a tip or other concern, please do not hesitate to message DOPE Quick Reads.

[Article Note: This piece was originally published on NewsBreak and has been archived and transferred to DOPE Quick Reads to preserve its informational value. Original publication date: 2022-12-18]