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Navy Hospital Ship Provides Comfort to Injured Enemy POWs

Friday, April 11, 2003
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

The ship's medical staff has currently performed 274 surgical procedures, Jones pointed out, noting that 88 percent of these cases involved treating combat wounds. Twelve percent of surgical cases, he added, were non- combatant injury related. Each surgery represents treatment performed on one patient, the commander explained, noting that other same-patient treatments were often administered concurrently or sequentially.

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Plying the Arabian Sea, she's an oasis of medical care and hope for sick or wounded U.S. and coalition troops, Iraqi civilians – and enemy prisoners of war.

The USNS Comfort is a U.S. Navy hospital ship outfitted to handle 1,000 patients. The ship's mission in Operation Iraqi Freedom is twofold, said Capt. Charles Blankenship, the commander of the Comfort's medical treatment facility, today during a Pentagon news satellite-teleconference: to provide combat medical support and humanitarian, disaster relief assistance.

The hospital ship's staff sees U.S. and coalition "patients who need to be [medically] stabilized who have fairly serious injuries," Blankenship, a general surgeon, explained, noting the staff is "also taking care of Iraqi prisoners of war and civilians."

The captain said his staff operates under the Geneva Conventions, which, among other things, specify that POWs must receive appropriate medical treatment.
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2003 © United States Department of Defense.

Dan