Rear Adm. Jim Aiken, U.S. 4th Fleet Commander, (right) speaks to the crew of the U.S. Burlington before it embarks on its 2-month "Operation Continuing promise" to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on July 2, 2024 at 5:36 pm
A U.S. Navy ship heads into Central America from Naval Station Mayport this week on a summertime deployment to help with medical needs and support reconstruction projects as part of Operation Continuing Promise.
The 2-month-long mission marks the 14th time the U.S. Navy has sent advisors and supplies to Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia and Panama since 2007, and the second aboard the USNS Burlington.
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Calling it an “amazing mission” after talking to the ship’s crew and military specialists as it sat docked on Tuesday at Mayport, Rear Admiral James Aiken said that their job really isn’t just to show up and help people.
“This is an opportunity for us to work side by side with some of our partners and area allies in the Central America area,” said Aiken, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and the Navy’s Fourth Fleet. “This is our neighborhood, and we are excited about being part of our neighborhood, and being able to contribute.”
Operated by the Navy’s Sealift Command, the USNS Burlington is a non-combat transport ship with a cavernous cargo hold in its huge catamaran-style hull. It can transport up to 1,000 troops or 600 tons of cargo over 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots. The cargo deck is accessed with a huge folding ramp at the rear, able to handle something as big as a fully combat-loaded Abrams Main Battle Tank.
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Its humanitarian mission this and next month will take Navy sailors, medical professionals and civilians to provide medical care for communities in need. The teams will also work to build partnerships with medical officials in other countries and discuss humanitarian aid and disaster relief and security issues.
“We have the side-by-side medical that you would expect with this mission, but we have expanded it to so much more. We also have vet services on board so we can take care of animals,” Aiken said. “We also have Seabees and bio-med techs, sort of the superpower on this trip. They can go into hospitals, they can work side by side, but they can fix and repair stuff and maybe X-ray equipment that hasn’t worked in a while.”
With Category 5 Hurricane Beryl continuing to plow through the Caribbean and projected to pass near or directly over Jamaica on Wednesday, the Navy said its mission to that country could change with the storm’s impact, though the Burlington has limited capability to provide direct humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
“It does not have a helicopter for search and rescue,” Aiken said. “But it does have all those folks over here who are medical providers, Seabees, who are biomed techs, and vets who can provide health care-type services. if the opportunity affords us, we will will work with the host nation to provide the services that we can.”
Thirty U.S. Navy medical professionals, including general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, radiologists, dentists, optometrists, and biomedical technicians from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command in Jacksonville and elsewhere, are part of this year’s Operation Continuing Promise.
