Why the Navy is getting fast new medical ships

[rangerrebew]

 :silly:Story by Kelsey D. Atherton • Yesterday 6:06 PM
 

The Navy's existing hospital ships are lumbering former oil tankers. New ambulance-like vessels will be different.
 
The US Navy is adding more medical vessels to its fleet, to better meet the needs of the force across theaters. The next produced Expeditionary Fast Transports, a vessel type already in production, will be built with modifications to serve as medical ships when needed.
 
After the medically modified transports are constructed, the next ship built will be a new dedicated medical vessel. This Expeditionary Medical Ship will be designed to offer medical care where larger hospital ships cannot go. Before the Navy builds this newer class, it will learn to fill the role by adapting a familiar frame.

Tucked away in the Navy’s 2023 Justification Book, a document that outlines the why and what of its budget requests, are two notes about the medical adaptation of these ships. Expeditionary Fast Transports (confusingly abbreviated EPF) “will have modifications to conduct a Role 2 Enhanced (R2E) Medical Transport mission which will include enhanced medical capabilities to support embarked Medical Military Detachment (MILDET) teams while retaining the ability to perform high-speed intra-theater sealift.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-the-navy-is-getting-fast-new-medical-ships/ar-AA16smul?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=8b3585dcd7104bfcb07455cf6840a84a

[Smokin Joe]

Neat idea, in the sense that troops or others could receive surgeries to stabilize them (often the first in a series) and be transferred to one of the larger ships for further treatment.
It would be closer to the 'golden hour'.
Bed capacity is low on these, but they could perform a role that would save lives.