USNS Mercy (T-AH-19)

SECNAV Del Toro Names New Class of Medical Ships After Bethesda Medical Center

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

The Navy’s new class of expeditionary medical ships will be named after a Maryland military medical center, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced Friday.

The future USNS Bethesda (EMS-1) will be the first in the class for the new line of expeditionary medical ships.

Bethesda is named after Naval Support Activity Bethesda, home to naval and military medical facilities including the Walter Reed National Military Hospital.

“The name ‘Bethesda’...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/15/secnav-del-toro-names-new-class-of-medical-ships-after-bethesda-medical-center

Solomon Islands Blocks All Naval Port Visits After U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Denied Entry

Sentinel-class fast response cutter USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC-1140) crew arrives in Port Moresby for a port visit on Aug. 23, 2022. US Coast Guard Photo

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare has announced a temporary moratorium on visits by foreign naval vessels after turning away a U.S Coast Guard Cutter last week.

Speaking at a ceremony welcoming hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) to Honiara, Sogavare said that bureaucratic issues were behind the denial of diplomatic clearance to USCGC Oliver...

https://news.usni.org/2022/08/30/solomon-islands-blocks-all-naval-port-visits-after-u-s-coast-guard-cutter-denied-entry

Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group Now in South China Sea

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) steams through the Balabec Strait and into the South China Sea on July 12, 2022. US Navy Photo

The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the South China Sea, according to a 7th Fleet release on Wednesday.

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-77) began operating in the South China Sea around the same time USS Benefold (DDG-65) made a Freedom of Operation navigation around islands in the body of water, drawing ire from Beijing, USNI News reported.

The strike group will...

https://news.usni.org/2022/07/13/ronald-reagan-carrier-strike-group-now-in-south-china-sea

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 19, 2021

USNI News Graphic

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of April 19, 2021, based on Navy and public data. In cases where a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship.

Total U.S. Navy Battle Force:297Ships Underway

Deployed Ships UnderwayNon-deployed Ships UnderwayTotal Ships Underway
601272

Ships Deployed by Fleet

Fleet Forces3...

New Details of Austal’s EPF Hospital Ship Emerge

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

After the Navy last week issued a $235-million contract modification to Austal USA to build its latest multi-purpose Expeditionary Fast Transport ship, new details of the ambulance variant have come to light.

A spokesman for Naval Sea Systems Command told USNI News this week that the ambulance variant of the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) will have both an intensive care unit and other healthcare accommodations.

“Beginning with EPF 14, the EPF...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/05/new-details-of-austals-epf-hospital-ship-emerge

Hospital Ship USNS Mercy Tied Up in Maintenance, Can’t Deploy for COVID Relief

USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrives in San Diego on May 15, 2020. US Navy Photo

Despite worsening COVID-19 infection rates on the West Coast and discussion among local leaders in California about the state requesting a Navy hospital ship to ease the strain on area hospitals, the Navy’s West Coast hospital ship is in maintenance and unavailable for tasking for the next couple months.

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) has been undergoing major structural work since July, with the ship ripped wide open at times during...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/05/hospital-ship-usns-mercy-tied-up-in-maintenance-cant-deploy-for-covid-relief

LA County Supervisor Requests USNS Mercy Return To Los Angeles After COVID-19 Surge

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) departs Los Angeles on May 15, 2020. US Navy Photo

A Los Angeles County supervisor is appealing to California’s governor to request a Navy hospital ship return to the city’s port to help hospitals battling COVID-19.

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, LA County’s fourth district Supervisor Janice Hahn said hospitals in Los Angeles are reaching a “breaking point” due to the amount of coronavirus cases and asked Newsom to request hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) come...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/31/la-county-supervisor-requests-usns-mercy-return-to-los-angeles-after-covid-19-surge

Top Stories 2020: COVID-19 Pandemic

Sailors prepare to man the rails as the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), returns to Yokosuka, Japan following a six-month underway period. US Navy Photo

This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic affected almost everything the Navy did in 2020, from the way the service deploys forces, to the way its contractors built ships and weapons, to the way sailors and officers were educated and...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/28/top-stories-2020-covid-19-pandemic

Proposed COVID-19 Relief Package Includes $2.2B for Shipbuilding, 4 Hospital Ships

Austal USA EPF medical concept. AUSTAL USA Image

Republican senators want to include $2.2 billion for Navy shipbuilding in the latest round of relief funds meant to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the text of the bill, lawmakers would allot $1.45 billion of that money so the service could buy four “expeditionary medical ships.”

The proposed funds for medical vessels come after the Navy dispatched its two hospital ships, USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), earlier this...

https://news.usni.org/2020/07/28/gop-covid-19-relief-package-includes-2-2b-for-shipbuilding-4-hospital-ships

Panel: COVID-19 Pandemic Could Prompt Changes to National Security Spending

Coronavirus 2019

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. CDC Image

The Pentagon’s budget will fall in the future as Congress sees how little the Department of Defense’s spending was able to protect against the global COVID-19 pandemic, three national...

https://news.usni.org/2020/06/15/panel-covid-19-pandemic-could-prompt-changes-to-national-security-spending

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