USNS Comfort ( T - AH - 20 ) USNS " Comfort " ( T - AH - 20 ) is the third United States Navy ship to bear the name " Comfort " , and the second to join the navy fleet . The USNS prefix identifies the " Comfort " as a non - commissioned ship owned by the U . S . Navy and crewed by civilians from the Military Sealift Command ( MSC ) . In accordance with the Geneva Conventions , USNS " Comfort " and her crew do not carry any offensive weapons . Firing upon the " Comfort " would be considered a war crime as the ship only carries weapons for self - defense . Like her sister ship USNS " Mercy " , " Comfort " was built as a San Clemente Class oil tanker in 1976 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company . Her original name was SS " Rose City " and she was launched from San Diego , California . Her career as an oil tanker ended when she was delivered to the Navy on December 1 , 1987 . As a hospital ship , " Comfort " ' s duties include providing emergency , on - site care for U . S . combatant forces deployed in war or other operations . Operated by the Military Sealift Command , " Comfort " provides rapid , flexible , and mobile medical and surgical services to support Marine Corps Air / Ground Task Forces deployed ashore , Army and Air Force units deployed ashore , and naval amphibious task forces and battle forces afloat . Secondarily , she provides mobile surgical hospital service for use by appropriate U . S . government agencies in disaster or humanitarian relief or limited humanitarian care incident to these missions or peacetime military operations . " Comfort " is more advanced than a field hospital but less capable than a traditional hospital on land . < ref name = " Robert Little / The Baltimore Sun " > < / ref > When not actively deployed , " Comfort " is kept in a state of reduced operations in Baltimore harbor . She has been used many times over the years and kept ready to ship out of Baltimore with five days notice . After a quarter - century in Baltimore , MD , USNS Comfort changed her homeport to Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk , VA in March 2013 . The move placed the ship nearer supplies , much of which come from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth , and to medical crew . Savings to the Navy are estimated at $ 2 million per year . Deployments . Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm . During Operation Desert Storm , " Comfort " received a call to activate for Desert Shield / Desert Storm Aug . 9 , 1990 and departed Baltimore Aug . 11 . " Comfort " was positioned in proximity to Kuwait , just off the coast of Saudi Arabia near Khafji . On March 12 , 1991 , " Comfort " was under way on her return trip home . She arrived in Baltimore on April 15 , 1991 . While deployed , " Comfort " traveled more than and consumed almost 3 million U . S . gallons ( 2 , 500 , 000 imp gal ; 11 , 000 , 000 L ) of fuel . More than 8 , 000 outpatients were seen , and 700 inpatients were admitted including four sailors injured in a high - pressure steam leak on . 337 surgical procedures were performed . Other notable benchmarks include : more than 2 , 100 safe helicopter evolutions ; 7 , 000 prescriptions filled ; 17 , 000 laboratory tests completed ; 1 , 600 eyeglasses made ; 800 , 000 meals served and 1 , 340 radiographic studies , including 141 CT scans . Operation Sea Signal . " Comfort " was ordered to activation to serve as migrant processing center for Haiti an migrants . During this mission , " Comfort " served as the first afloat migrant processing center . She set out for the Caribbean with a crew of 928 military and civilian personnel from various federal government and international agencies . On June 16 , 1994 the first Haitian migrants were taken aboard . Over the months deployed , the population onboard swelled to 1 , 100 . Shortly after , " Comfort " was ordered to discontinue processing and sailed for Guantanamo Bay Naval Base , Cuba to drop off its remaining 400 migrants . Operation Uphold Democracy . On September 2 , 1994 , " Comfort " was again directed to activate for an unprecedented second deployment . " Comfort " was tasked to provide a 250 - bed medically intensive patient capability for the 35 , 000 Cuban and Haiti an migrants supported by Naval Station Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . Comfort departed Baltimore , with a specially configured crew of 566 personnel . Following the diplomatic agreement reached between the United States and Haiti , " Comfort " took up a position off Port - au - Prince ready to receive casualties that might result from the transfer of U . S . and allied forces ashore . From September 16 through October 2 , 1994 , " Comfort " personnel provided both medical and surgical support to U . S . and allied forces ashore and afloat , emergency humanitarian care to injured Haitian citizens , and participated in various aspects of the Civil Affairs Program in an effort to aid the rebuilding effort of the local healthcare system . She returned to Baltimore on October 14 , 1994 . Operation Noble Eagle . " Comfort " was activated the afternoon of September 11 , 2001 , in response to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and sailed the next afternoon to serve as a 250 - bed hospital facility at Pier 92 in midtown Manhattan . The ship arrived at Pier 92 in Manhattan at about 8 : 30 p . m . September 14 . That evening a small number of relief workers arrived aboard the ship . As word about the ship spread , more workers began arriving over the next few days . The ship ' s clinic saw 561 guests for cuts , respiratory ailments , fractures and other minor injuries , and " Comfort " ' s team of Navy psychology personnel provided 500 mental health consultations to relief workers . " Comfort " also hosted a group of volunteer New York area massage therapists who gave 1 , 359 therapeutic medical massages to ship guests . Operation Iraqi Freedom . " Comfort " was ordered to activate on December 26 , 2002 , and set sail for the U . S . Central Command area of operations on January 6 , 2003 . After stopping in Diego Garcia to embark additional medical personnel flown in from the National Naval Medical Center , the ship proceeded to the Persian Gulf to serve as an afloat trauma center in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . " Comfort " remained in the Persian Gulf for 56 days providing expert medical care to wounded U . S . military personnel as well as injured Iraqi civilians and enemy prisoners of war . When " Comfort " returned to Baltimore on June 12 , 2003 , it marked the completion of a nearly six - month activation . During this time , the ship conducted more than 800 helicopter deck landings to bring aboard personnel , patients and cargo . " Comfort " ' s Medical Treatment Facility had also performed 590 surgical procedures , transfused more than 600 units of blood , developed more than 8 , 000 radiographic images and treated nearly 700 patients including almost 200 Iraqi civilians and enemy prisoners of war . Joint Task Force Katrina . " Comfort " deployed on September 2 , 2005 , after only a two - day preparation , to assist in Gulf Coast recovery efforts after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina . Starting in Pascagoula , Mississippi and then sailing to New Orleans , " Comfort " personnel saw 1 , 956 patients total . USNS " Comfort " returned on October 13 , 2005 after its 7 week deployment . Partnership for the Americas . USNS " Comfort ' s " Partnership for the Americas humanitarian mission , which began on June 15 , 2007 , was a major component of the President ' s " Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere " initiative . " Comfort " visited 12 Central American , South American and Caribbean nations where its embarked medical crew provided free health care services to communities in need . The missions objective was to offer valuable training to U . S . military personnel while promoting U . S . goodwill in the region . In all , the civilian and military medical team treated more than 98 , 000 patients , provided 386 , 000 patient encounters and performed 1 , 100 surgeries . The embarked medical crew was made up of more than 500 military and non - governmental organization ( Project Hope and Operation Smile ) doctors , nurses and healthcare professionals . Their primary focus was to support medical humanitarian assistance efforts ashore . A secondary mission was outpatient shipboard health service support . Also supporting " Comfort ' s " medical mission was a SEABEE detachment from the East Coast - based Mobile Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202 , which performed civic action repair and minor construction projects in the host countries . Also on the deployment was the U . S . Navy Showband from Norfolk , Va , which performed in each port . " Comfort " was operated and navigated by a crew of 68 civil service mariners ( CIVMARS ) from the U . S . Navy ' s Military Sealift Command ( MSC ) . This mission incorporated various non - government organizations and government agencies , such as Operation Smile , Project Hope , LDS Humanitarian Services , the Atlanta Rotary Club , U . S . Air Force , U . S . Coast Guard , U . S . Army , U . S . Health and Human Services and the Canadian Armed Forces . Patient encounters included a single patient receiving multiple treatments , students in training sessions and even veterinary care services . Dentists and staff treated 25 , 000 patients , extracting 300 teeth , and performing 4 , 000 fillings , 7 , 000 sealings , and 20 , 000 fluoride applications . In addition to treating patients , bio - medical professionals fixed about a thousand pieces of medical equipment at local health facilities . The ship ' s crew also delivered nearly $ 200 , 000 dollars worth of donated humanitarian aid . Operation Unified Response . On January 13 , 2010 , the " Comfort " was ordered to assist in the humanitarian relief efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake as part of Operation Unified Response . Three days later on January 16 the " Comfort " left the Port of Baltimore bound for Haiti . It arrived Wednesday , January 20 , 2010 and began medical treatment early that day . The deployment marks the first time the ship has reached full operational capacity , utilizing all 12 operating rooms and beds , since it was delivered to the Navy in 1987 . The mission also saw the ship ' s first on - board delivery , of a 4 - pound , 5 - ounce premature baby named Esther . Although the ship is less capable than a traditional hospital on land , it offered the most advanced medical care available in Haiti following the earthquake . Between January 19 and February 28 , 2010 the ship ' s staff treated 1 , 000 Haitian patients and performed 850 surgeries . As of March 8 , " USNS Comfort " had discharged its last patient . On March 10 , the ship ended its mission in the Joint Task Force Haiti area as part of Operation Unified Response , and returned to its home port . 2011 . In 2011 , the ship deployed on Operation Continuing Promise . For the operation , the ship deployed for five months providing medical services to locations in the Caribbean and Latin America . References . " Notice : This article incorporates material taken from the public domain website of the USNS " Comfort " at http : / / www . comfort . navy . mil . "