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USNS Comfort

President Bush is dispatching the hospital ship USNS Comfort on a mission of goodwill to Caribbean and Latin American countries. In this file photo, the Comfort pulls into Naval Station Mayport, Fla., on Sept. 5, 2005, to take on supplies in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations. U.S. Navy photo

“The United States military is a symbol of strength for this nation, but it’s also a symbol of the great compassion of the American people and our desire to help those in our neighborhood who need help,” Bush told members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The Baltimore-based hospital ship’s doctors, nurses and support personnel expect to treat 85,000 patients and conduct up to 1,500 surgeries during its voyage, Bush said.

The USNS Comfort will depart in June and make port calls in Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Haiti, Trinidad, Tobago, Guyana and Suriname, Bush said.

Bush said the United States has nearly doubled the amount of foreign aid to Latin America and the Caribbean region since he took office, noting that $1.6 billion was spent last year. The United States also is launching several new medical, economic and educational initiatives to assist poverty-stricken Latin Americans and Caribbean citizens, the president said.

“These are people who need help. These are people who might not otherwise get the basic health care they need to realize a better tomorrow,” Bush said. “The Comfort is also going to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services on a new initiative to provide all care to the region’s poor. Dentists and hygienists will fill cavities and treat infections and provide treatment for the young children.”

He added that military medical teams will be operating inland to help bring care to other communities. “These teams do everything from vaccinating people against disease to building new medical clinics,” Bush said.

He highlighted a current humanitarian mission in Nicaragua, where 250 U.S. airmen, soldiers and Marines are partnering with 30 Nicaraguan army soldiers to build a new medical clinic.

Through the deployment of the Comfort and the work of military medical teams throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, “we’re making it absolutely clear to people that we care,” Bush said.

There you all go......

It isn't the best picture because it is a pic of a pic.....

Remember ladies.... he's single

I'm still alive. I haven't forgot about all you that still use xanga.  I have successfully made the transition from RTC, (recruit training command) to NTC, (Naval Training Command)  For those of you who don't know, I pretty much just moved across the street.  I been over there now for about a month and it has been really nice.  Right now, I am going to ATT, (Appretice Technical Training)  Starting to sound like the SA with all the acronyms.  Anyways, all you high school students complain about going to school from like 7 am to about 3 pm. You have no room to talk.  I go to school from 4 pm to 2 am Monday through Friday.  Try staying awake.  It sucks.  On top of that, I normally get about 4 hours of sleep on a good day.  And you think your day is rough.....  School is still good.  Right now I am learning about basic circuits, transistors, capacitors, inductors, troubleshooting, all that good stuff. I haven't gotten into the more advanced stuff like Radar systems and base math. I'll be on leave for about another week, I have to go back on base at 1600 on Jan 4th. Merry Christams......

For all of you writers,

SN Brickson, Jeffrey A

320A Dewey Ave.

BEQ: 835 Room # 4312

Great Lakes, IL 60088-3127

and if any of you would like to talk to me, I finally got a cell phone....

 1 (309) 235-9376