The U.S. Navy owns the oceans, ensuring freedom of navigation for allies and fighting fiercely when called upon.
But the Navy has a softer side too, filled with humanitarian relief and medical missions.The crown jewels of this effort are the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort — hospital ships with a thousand beds each.
1. The USNS Mercy and her sister ship were converted from massive supertankers. Each is 70,000 metric tons.
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2. The Mercy is a mobile hospital, complete with 12 operating rooms as well as pediatric, trauma, and orthopedic areas.
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3. While the Navy maintains hospital ships to provide mobile care to soldiers and Marines fighting ashore, the USNS Mercy has been primarily deployed on humanitarian missions in the Pacific.
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4. Mercy is often deployed to Pacific areas where clinics, like the one below, provide basic care. Doctors can refer the patients to the USNS Mercy, which will then provide hospital-level services.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292242/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
5. Patients are transported to the ship by helicopter or by “band-aid” boats.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292244/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
6. When patients arrive, they are sent to the receiving area. Their medical needs will be diagnosed and they are then sent elsewhere on the ship for care.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292246/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
7. When doctors need a better look at an injury, the use the onboard CT scanner.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292247/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
8. For patients that require surgery, the 12 operating bays provide a modern, sterile environment for procedures.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292248/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
9. Here, a doctor puts the final sutures in a patient after removing a six pound tumor from her.
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10. The ship regularly trains for mass casualty events. This helps them support military operations where a lot of troops may be wounded and respond to humanitarian crises.
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11. Children are welcome on the ship where onboard pediatricians treat them.
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12. A pre-dental society sophomore student from the University of California-San Diego plays with a Timorese child during Pacific Partnership 2008.
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13. A hospital corpsman gives a surgical screening to a child onboard the USNS Mercy in 2010.
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14. Humans aren’t the only patients for the USNS Mercy. The ship deploys with U.S. Army veterinarians and veterinary assistants for treating livestock and pets as well.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292255/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
15. Pets and nearby wildlife can be a vector for disease, so the services of the veterinary staff help protect the human population.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292256/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
16. The Mercy maintains its own combat search and rescue helicopter and crew.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292258/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
17. Sailors launch and recover the birds from the upper deck of the ship.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292260/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
18. Even foreign military doctors help out aboard the USNS Mercy. In this photo, an Australian Navy dentist treats patients onboard.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292261/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
19. A dentist with the South Korean Navy treats a patient onboard the Mercy.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292262/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
20. The USNS Mercy crew also goes ashore to help partner nations. Here, an environmental health officer tests a water well that was just dug by Navy Seabees.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292263/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
21. The Mercy has its own firefighters who ensure the safety of the other sailors and patients on the ship.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292264/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)
22. Check out the infographic below to learn more about the ship and its mission in the Pacific Partnership.
![](https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17292265/origin.jpg?strip=all&quality=95)