Hospital Ship USNS Mercy Departs On COVID-19 Mission

Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) navigates the San Diego channel on March 23, 2020. Mercy was deployed in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts, and will serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals. This allows shore base hospitals to focus their efforts on COVID-19 cases. One of the Department of Defense’s missions is Defense Support of Civil Authorities. DOD is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency,