The LHA has a great set of characteristics for this proposed mission. The questions I would ask about this effort are, is the COH qualified to operate and maintain a large ship and can they get the requisite financial and logistical resources. They haven't been around very long, and don't seem to have the Naval experience of a Dr. Walsh who led Project Hope. Is this the best way to respond to traumatic events. Speed to get to an event any place on the littoral of the world ocean may not be adequate in the critical time period. Use of the same amount of resources to deploy emergency depots via air using old cargo planes might be more effective. I note that Project Hope transitioned to a land based extended deployment after the SS Hope was decommissioned. I would hope that COH works with Project Hope to learn from their experience. Also, how will the COH ship supplement and coordinate with active USN ship deployments such as that being done for the Operation Damayan relief effort. Seems that the manpower, helicopters, VSTOL aircraft V22, and LCAC's make the ship effective in relief efforts, and would be beyond COH capabilities if they operated the ship.
Hospital Ship Activates to Support Typhoon Relief Mission
U.S. readies Navy hospital ship after Philippines typhoon | Reuters
 |
| HADR-V Excelsior |
Timothy Keegan and The Coalition of Hope (COH)
Project Excelsior
The Coalition of Hope Foundation's Project Excelsior focuses on acquiring the former USS Nassau and rebuilding it as a dedicated HADR/V. The ship is currently in inactive storage at the Department of Transportation (DOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) Central Region Beaumont Reserve Fleet (BRF) near Beaumont, Texas (30° 1'32.88"N 94° 0'26.28"W).
In
1958, Dr. Walsh persuaded U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to donate
a U.S. Navy hospital ship, the USS Consolation. With $150, a dream and
the support of corporations and individuals, the ship was transformed
into the SS HOPE, and the organization known as Project HOPE was born. -
See more at:
http://www.projecthope.org/about/history.html#sthash.Z4O5PED0.dpuf
In
1958, Dr. Walsh persuaded U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to donate
a U.S. Navy hospital ship, the USS Consolation. With $150, a dream and
the support of corporations and individuals, the ship was transformed
into the SS HOPE, and the organization known as Project HOPE was born. -
See more at:
http://www.projecthope.org/about/history.html#sthash.Z4O5PED0.dpuf
The United States Government last released a former US Navy vessel
for humanitarian missions in 1960. In
1958, Dr. William B Walsh, a veteran Naval medical officer from a World War II Hospital ship, persuaded U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to donate
a U.S. Navy hospital ship, the USS Consolation. Dr. Walsh had become a leading cardiologist after the war, and consulted on Ike's treatment after he had a heart attack. With $750,000, a dream and
the support of a wide network of corporations and individuals, the ship was transformed
into the SS HOPE, and the organization known as Project HOPE was born. -
See more From 1960 through 1974, the People to
People Health Foundation through Project Hope operated the former USS Consolation (AH-15) as the SS HOPE, cruising to bring medical relief to underdeveloped areas of the world, including South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil.Halo Corp - Getting Serious about Disaster Relief
Brookings Institution scholar Elizabeth Ferris calls the COH plan to re-commission a converted military ship into civil relief responder “impressive,” but is concerned that it might overpromise and under deliver. For example, the critical window of opportunity for saving lives and responding to mass casualties after the initial January 12th, 2010 Haiti earthquake was measured in hours. It took the Baltimore-based USNS Comfort almost four weeks to station in Port-au-Prince harbor.
Elizabeth Ferris is the co-director of the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement and a senior fellow in Foreign Policy, where her work encompasses a wide range of issues related to internal displacement, humanitarian action, natural disasters and climate change. Her book, The Politics of Protection, examines the challenges—and limitations—of protecting vulnerable populations from the ravages of war and natural disasters.
USS Nassau (LHA-4)
I was serving with NavSea at the time period the TARAWA class was being constructed at the Litton shipyard in Pascagoula. One of my duties was to ensure test and delivery of the Combat Direction System computers (AN/UYK-7) for these ships to the Litton Data Systems Division Integration Facility where the software was developed. I remember being impressed with the capabilities of these ships as compared with their amphibious predecessors.
USS NASSAU was the fourth ship in the TARAWA - class and like her sister
ships, NASSAU integrated complex weapons systems, automated cargo
handling, and state-of-the-art propulsion into a huge hull, forming a
ship with a wide range of mission capabilities, including amphibious
warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, and power projection
ashore, utilizing helicopters and Very Short Take-Off and Landing
(VSTOL) Aircraft.
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