Hospital Ship Holds Training for New Crew
Nearly 100 Sailors regularly assigned to the National Naval Medical Center deployed to Navy Hospital Ship USNS COMFORT (T-AH 20) Sept. 15-16 for a regular pierside practice exercise. The training is necessary to teach the new Comfort crew members shipboard safety, and ship and workplace orientation. The training focused on various topics, including mass casualty and abandon ship drills; lifeboat and litter bearer training; Chemical, Biological and Radiological defense training; repair locker training, and finally, life raft commander training for officers. According to Capt. Charles Blankenship, commanding officer of the Comfort’s Medical Treatment Facility, this year’s Comfort Exercise training is different than previous training periods.
SecDef Announces Flag Officer Nominations
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced July 6 that President George W. Navy Rear Adm. (selectee) Adam M. Robinson Jr. has been nominated for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Surgeon General, Washington, D.C. Robinson is currently serving as commander, Navy Medicine Capital Area/commander, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. Navy Vice Adm. John D. Stufflebeem has been nominated for reappointment to the grade of vice admiral and assignment as director, Navy Staff, N09B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Stufflebeem is currently serving as commander, Sixth Fleet/commander, Striking and Support Forces NATO/commander, Joint Headquarters Lisbon, Portugal.
