Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived off the coast of Jeremie, Haiti, in support of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet’s Continuing Promise 2022 (CP22) mission, December 11. This visit marks the final mission stop of CP22 and the sixth time the Continuing Promise mission has visited Haiti since 2007. Since the announcement of CP22, Hospitalman Christie Guerrier, from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has been looking forward to this mission stop. From December 12 to December 15, Comfort is scheduled to provide medical services on the Wharf de Jeremie, which will include general adult care, pediatric care, dental, and optometry.
In August of 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck in the vicinity of Jeremie, killing at least 3,000 people and injuring more than 12,000. In response, U.S. Southern Command created Joint Task Force Haiti (JTF-Haiti) to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. JTF-Haiti rescued hundreds of people and distributed almost 600,000 relief supplies in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Due to the recent humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission in Jeremie, the U.S. Country Team in Haiti and Commander, U.S. Southern Command, chose to conduct a CP 2022 mission stop in Jeremie, Haiti, in coordination with Haitian officials.
The Continuing Promise 2022 team includes U.S. and partner nation medical personnel from Canada, Chile, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, U.S. Coast Guardsmen, U.S. Marines, and U.S. National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana, Haiti’s State Partnership Program partner. Additionally, multiple non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and personnel from academic institutions volunteered to serve on the Continuing Promise 2022 team. Since its inaugural mission in 2007, Continuing Promise missions have treated more than 582,000 patients and conducted over 7,000 surgeries in the region.
Hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) current mission will be the 12th Continuing Promise mission conducted in the Caribbean, Central and South America. U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Command’s joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region.
