Press Release - President Bush Orders the USNS Comfort to Latin America and the Caribbean on Humanitarian Mission

The USNS Comfort will begin a four-month deployment to the region, visiting 12 ports in Central and South America and the Caribbean. President Bush ordered the deployment of the Comfort on this humanitarian mission to aid the people of Latin America and the Caribbean as part of his initiative on "Advancing the Cause of Social Justice in the Western Hemisphere." The President highlighted the Comfort's deployment in his March 5, 2007 speech on Western Hemisphere policy.

The USNS Comfort medical crew will be accompanied by staff from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and volunteers from U.S. non-governmental organizations such as Project Hope and Operation Smile. They will provide free health care services to communities in need. The Comfort's deployment is expected to treat tens of thousands of patients.