USNS Comfort hospital ship completes Dominican Republic mission

Santo Domingo.- The military hospital ship USNS Comfort completed its mission in Santo Domingo on SaturdayAugust 22 after a 10-day sojourn inthe country as part of the Continuing Promise (CP-15) civic military assistanceprogram organized by the United States Navy and the Dominican Republic Ministryof Defense.

During its mission in the country a total of 112 surgicalprocedures were carried out on board the ship and 10,289 people received medicalattention at the points established in the Parque del Este and the Hermandad dePensionados premises.

Medical training and exchanges of experiences also tookplace with 123 meetings between local and foreign experts. The veterinaryoperation involved treating 850 animals with surgery and vaccinations.

USNS Comfort crew members also carried out repair works atthe Nuestra Señora del Carmen Polytechnic where they installed desks forcomputers, water purification filters and repairs to the electricity system. At the National Special Education Directorate NationalResource Center they concentrated on improving the infrastructure.

Other community support andaid activities included reforestation and beach cleaning, donations of toys andsports exchanges in softball and football. The USNS Comfort band alsointeracted with the local community through its eight free performances.

At the end ofthe mission, the crew of Comfort donated 52 palettes with RD$250,000 ofmaterials and medicines to the Public Health Ministry.

During its ten days on Dominicanshores, USNS Comfort military and civilian personnel worked together with theirDominican counterparts to provide medical services in the areas ofophthalmology, dentistry, general medicine, pediatrics, cardiology anddermatology totally free of charge to the Dominican people.

USNS Comfort arrived in Santo Domingo on August 14 as partof the Continuing Promise 2015 (CP-15) civic-military aid program organized bythe United States Navy and the Dominican Republic Ministry of Defense.

This is the third visit the hospital ship has made to theDominican Republic. Its last visit to the country was in 2009. ContinuingPromise is an initiative by the US Southern Command and the US Navy with theaim of carrying out civic-military operations, including civil humanitarianaid, professional interchanges, medical and dental support, veterinary andengineering services and disaster response in member countries. ContinuingPromise highlights the sustained support of the US and its commitment towardsCentral American, South American and Caribbean countries.