Comfort Begins Medical Services in Trinidad and Tobago Following Opening Ceremony

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Martinez | U.S. Navy Capt. Brian J. Diebold, commander, task force 49, delivers a speech during the opening ceremony to welcome the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) to La Brea, Trinidad, Sept. 5, 2019. Comfort is working with health and government partners in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean to provide care on the ship and at land-based medical sites, helping to relieve pressure on national medical systems strained by an increase in Venezuelan migrants. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Julio Martinez Martinez)  

LA BREA (BRIGHTON), TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

09.05.2019

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Bobby Siens 

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. 4th Fleet

LA BREA, Trinidad and Tobago – Senior leadership from the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) alongside partner and host nation representatives attended an opening ceremony to mark the beginning of the ship’s sixth medical mission stop in Trinidad and Tobago, Sept. 5.

The purpose of this mission is for U.S. service members and medical professionals to work alongside partner and host nations to provide medical assistance and demonstrating the commitment to strengthen regional medical capacity by providing side-by-side medical assistance with host and partner nations.

“It is my honor to welcome the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort to the shores of Trinidad and Tobago,” said Charmaine Jennings, deputy permanent secretary of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Health. “What an apt name for a vessel that brings with it so much relief and hope, this visit is the latest gesture in an ongoing bilateral relationship between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America.”

Comfort’s team consists of more than 900 personnel, including medical specialists from the military, from non-governmental organizations volunteers and personnel from partner nations.

“I can’t emphasize enough, the significance of this partnership and the impact it will have on many people residing in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Joseph Mondello, U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. “Standing together to respond to needs in our region is what the United States and Trinidad and Tobago’s bilateral relationship is all about.”

This marks the second Comfort visit to Trinidad and Tobago and the seventh to the region since 2007. The embarked medical teams will provide care aboard Comfort and at two land-based medical sites.

This mission stop is part of the U.S. Southern Command’s Enduring Promise initiative and reflects the United States’ ongoing commitment to friendship, partnership, and solidarity with partner nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/NAVSOUS4THFLT, www.dvidshub.net/feature/comfort2019, and www.navy.mil.

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• Date Taken: 09.05.2019
• Date Posted: 09.06.2019 16:00
• Story ID: 338745
• Location: LA BREA (BRIGHTON), TT