The Comfort, a 900-foot U.S. Navy hospital ship, will conduct a four-month deployment to the Caribbean and Central and South America, providing specialized medical aid. General and specialized surgical care, primary care for adults and children, dental, ophthalmologic and optometric services can be provided by the staff.

The Comfort’s embarked Medical Treatment Facility is among the largest trauma facilities in the United States, featuring 12 operating rooms. Offering a full spectrum of medical and surgical services, the Comfort can be configured to accommodate up to 1000 beds. When in full operating status, the ship can expand to 1,215 Navy medical and non-medical personnel; additional medical staff primarily comes from medical facilities on the East Coast of the United States.

NPS and the Center for Hastily Formed Networks is being funded by... the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration) OASD (NII,) Integrated ICT Support Directorate (IIS) to participate in this mission.

The HFN Center will conduct real-world research at remote medical facilities on:

• Mobile, Lightweight, Deployable Communications Systems that include:
  • SatCom (Inflatable GATR vs BGAN terminals)
  • WiFi
  • WiMax
  • VoIP

• Civil-Military Collaboration in SSTR and HA/DR Operations
  • How well do Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Communications assets integrate side-by-side with a military contingent?
  • What recommendations for improvement can be made for civil-military medical operations in an OCONUS environment?

There are several opportunities for NPS Faculty and Students to participate in this exercise. Students and faculty with a technical background in communications, as well as those conducting research in Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) or Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) are encouraged to apply. Basic Training on the operation of the fly-away comms gear will be provide prior to departure.

Rotations have been established to create opportunities for three-week research missions. If there are special scheduling requirements that will require adjustments to this rotation plan, exceptions may be accommodated. Please see the full Comfort Deployment Schedule and map by clicking the image above.

Rotation 1: June 19- July 10, 2007, Belize, Guatemala, Panama

Rotation 2: July 17- August 13, 2007, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru

Rotation 3: August 14- September 8, 2007, Ecuador, Columbia, Haiti

Rotation 4: September 15- October 8, 2007, Trinidad/Tobago, Guyana, Suriname

If you are interested in participating in this research mission, please contact:

Brian Steckler
steckler@nps.edu
831-402-1584 (mobile)
831-656-3837 (office)

Scott McKenzie
samckenz@nps.edu
831-241-1376 (mobile)
831-656-3514 (office)

Time and availability are limited.