Description
Two hospital ships operated by Military Sealift Command are designed to provide emergency, on-site care for U.S. combatant forces deployed in war or other operations.

Features
USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) each contain 12 fully-equipped operating rooms, a 1,000 bed hospital facility, digital radiological services, a diagnostic and clinical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, a cat scan and two oxygen producing plants. Both vessels have a helicopter deck capable of landing large military helicopters, as well as side ports to take on patients at sea.

Background
Both hospital ships are converted San Clemente-class super tankers. Mercy was delivered in 1986 and Comfort in 1987. Normally, the ships are kept in a reduced operating status in Baltimore, Md., and San Diego, Calif., by a small crew of civilian mariners and active duty Navy medical and support personnel. Each ship can be fully activated and crewed within five days. Mercy went to the Philippines in 1987 for a humanitarian mission. Both ships were used during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.

Comfort twice operated during 1994 ? once for Operation Sea Signal's Cuban/Haitian migrant interdiction operations, and a second time supporting U.S. forces and agencies involved in Haiti and Operation Uphold Democracy. On 12 September 2001, Comfort set sail for New York City and provided housing, laundry, food, medical and other services to volunteers and rescue personnel for nearly three weeks in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Comfort was activated again in December 2002 and sailed to the Persian Gulf to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

General Characteristics, Mercy Class

Builder: Conversion by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, CA.
Propulsion: 2 GE turbines; two boilers; 24,500 hp (18.3MW); one shaft.
Length: 894 feet (272.6 meters).
Beam: 105.6 feet (32.2 meters).
Displacement: 69,360 tons (70,473.10 metric tons) full load.
Speed: 17.5 knots (20.13 mph).
Crew: 61 civilian mariners, 956 Naval medical staff, and 259 Naval support staff.
Aircraft: Helicopter platform only.
Homeport: No homeports assigned.
Ships:
USNS Mercy (T-AH 19)
USNS Comfort (T-AH 20)