Tour of the USNS Comfort: Our Premier Mercy-Class Hospital Ship
Details
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Some of the most comforting words that can be spoken to a wounded military man or woman are: It's okay, we're bringing you on the Comfort.
The USNS Comfort is our premier hospital ship. It is an amazing vessel, that has saved many, many lives. It comprises a fully staffed 1,000 bed hospital that travels all over the world to render medical assistance.
The Comfort is now ready to head out on a mission, but she will be back in Baltimore at the end of September.
Comfort's duties include providing emergency care for all US combatant forces deployed in war or other operations. She provides rapid, flexible, and mobile medical and surgical services to all our military services, and she also provides mobile surgical hospital service in disaster or humanitarian relief in peacetime military operations.
When she returns to Baltimore at the end of September, we will get a private tour after she gets ready for visitors. The 1,277-member crew can have her ready for us mid-morning. And it will be free, as your taxes paid for it already. Of course, all attendees will need to have a profile photo posted for for identification purposes.
In the corollary question that will appear when making an RSVP, I need everyone who is going to provide one's full legal name as it appears on a driver's license or on an official government ID.
After the tour, we will have a meal at Amicci's in Little Italy at about 1 PM. When we are aboard the Comfort, I will ascertain how many are actually eating at this first-rate casual Italian restaurant, and I will then get us a room after the tour. We have reservations, but I will need an actual head count. Amicci's is at:
231 South High Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202
The distance between the Comfort at 4209 Newgate Avenue and Amicci's at 231 South High Street is about 4 miles and comprises a 15 minute drive.
If you park in the residential section behind Saint Leo's Church at 227 South Exeter Street on the other side of South Central Avenue you will find free parking.
After our pasta at Amicci's, if we still have any room left, we can have espresso and cannoli across the street at Vaccaro's:
Here is parking in Little Italy if one wants to use pay parking:
http://littleitalymd.com/parking.htm
For the journey, make sure you print and read and keep with you the following two documents located in the Files section of our web site.
DETAILED PARKING DIRECTIONS ON PIER 11-3:
http://files.meetup.com/1415650/DETAILED%20PARKING%20DIRECTIONS%20ON%20PIER%2011-3%20.pdf
USNS COMFORT VISITOR GUIDELINES & DIRECTIONS:
http://files.meetup.com/1415650/USNS%20COMFORT%20VISITOR%20GUIDELINES%20%26%20DIRECTIONS.pdf
There is a Starbuck's in Canton close to where the Comfort is docked (you would still have to drive there as it is 3 miles away from the dock):
http://www.starbucks.com/store/8046/
And, finally, here she is, docked at Baltimore's Canton Pier 11, waiting for us:
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