Re: Hospital ship preps for a novel mission

Hospital ship preps for a novel mission:

"People were saying, 'Why do they need the hospital ships? What purpose do they serve?'" said Navy Capt. Bruce R. Boynton, commander of the ship's 1,000-bed medical facility. "But what we've seen is they can be a very, very powerful platform for projecting America's goodwill."

"Obviously we're going to have an immediate effect on some people's lives, but I think the real impact will be measured after we leave, in six months to a year from now," Kapcio said. "Hopefully we'll be able to show that we're committed to the region and committed to lasting relationships in the region."