Mission- USNS Comfort Exercise

On April 25, 2006, the U.S. Navy Ship Comfort will depart Baltimore Harbor to participate in an international exercise in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the Canadian and British military. The ship will return to Baltimore on May 15, 2006. The U.S. Navy Bureau of Medical Affairs has invited the Commissioned Corps to participate in this exercise. Corps officers will be expected to report to Baltimore Harbor the morning of April 25, 2006.

Officer skill sets mentioned by the Navy as highly desired are physicians skilled in preventive medicine, infectious diseases, and trauma; environmental health officers; disaster engineers; nurses; pharmacists; and dieticians. A maximum of 6 Corps officers will participate in this exercise.

Participating officers will be expected to use their monthly subsistence allowance to pay a mess bill on board ship. There will be no charge for any other aspect of the exercise. However, the Navy will not reimburse officers for any costs related to travel, parking, or other incidentals. In fact, because there is extremely limited parking, participants are encouraged to make arrangements to have someone drop them off and pick them up at the Harbor. Required uniforms are: SDBs for ceremonies on board involving the U.S., Canadian, and British forces, and Summer Whites (cotton) for ceremonies in Norfolk on return, and woodland camo BDUs for daily shipboard wear.

If you meet one of the skill sets mentioned above, and your supervisor will allow your participation for the 21 days of this exercise, please go to http://ccrf.hhs.gov/ccrf/missions/comfort_exercise.htm and indicate your availability as soon as possible.