USA: CP11 Mission Team to Return to Haiti After Hurricane Irene

The Continuing Promise 2011 (CP11) mission team, embarked aboard USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), is scheduled to return to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Aug. 24 to resume medical, dental, veterinary and engineering operations.

The ship weighed anchor and got underway the evening of Aug. 21 in anticipation of the approaching Tropical Storm Irene. Comfort was directed by Commander, United States Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO) to depart the area and seek safe haven until the storm had passed. Comfort waited as Hurricane Irene passed north of Haiti and then made her way back towards Haiti Aug. 23.

Haiti is the ninth and final stop of the CP11 deployment, a five-month humanitarian assistance mission providing medical, dental, veterinary and engineering support to the Caribbean Basin and Central and South America.

Comfort initially arrived in Port-au-Prince Aug. 18 and treated approximately 1,450 patients and performed 15 surgeries over two days of operations.

COMUSNAVSO is the naval component command for USSOUTHCOM and is responsible for all naval personnel and assets in the area of responsibility. COMUSNAVSO conducts a variety of missions in support of the U.S. Maritime Strategy, including Theater Security Cooperation, relationship building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, community relations, and counter-illicit trafficking operations.

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Source: navy, August 25, 2011;