The Hospital Ship: A Mixed Blessing for the Operational Commander.

Abstract

The hospital ship is a mixed blessing for the operational commander. Undeniably, the ship provides an exceptional theater medical asset with it's highly advanced equipment and specialized practitioners. Unfortunately, however, there are numerous constraints and limitations associated with the hospital ship and its employment in support of combat, humanitarian and disaster relief missions. The purpose of this paper is to provide the operational commander with "need to know"information regarding the capabilities and the limitations of our nation's hospital ships, MERCY and COMFORT, so that he may use the hospital ship platform more efficiently and prevent it from becoming a liability and possible casualty. The hospital ships' mission(s), recent employments, and future utility are also discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 13, 1995
Accession Number
ADA293351

Entities

People

  • Darlene M. Burke

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combat Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Geneva Conventions
  • Governments
  • Handbooks
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Medical Evacuation
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • Naval Operations
  • Personnel Management
  • Security
  • Therapy
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.