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The reconfigurable 20,000-square-foot mission bay
area can be quickly adapted to support a number of different missions.
Anything from transporting portable hospitals to support humanitarian
assistance-disaster relief (HADR) to transporting tanks and troops.
"When the COCOM [combatant commander] requires a hospital, we can
employ the JHSV to quickly move an EMU from point A to point B,"
said Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Weikel, NEMSCOM design director.
Weikel went on to explain that an advantage the JHSV brings over the
current hospital ships in the Navy is the mission bay's area of adaptability
to almost any type of use along with its reduced on-station response
time.
"For the scope of this exercise, we are looking for a vessel of
opportunity," said Weikel. "We want to see how this [EMU]
can fit on the JHSV in its current configuration."
The EMU proof of concept is in the early stages of development and experimentation,
and is not solely reliant on the JHSV platform to succeed. Weikel explained
the JHSV is an appropriate platform for this type of experiment. As
long as sea state can support movement of the vessel, the JHSV could
be quickly loaded to transport an EMU and be met on station by NEMSCOM
and fleet hospital personnel to unpack and set up the EMU.
"Comfort and Mercy are full up round hospitals, but slow in transit,"
said Weikel.
Although not ready to conduct such tasks as operations that are conducted
on hospital ships, the JHSV with an EMU setup could potentially serve
as rapid medical response.
Choctaw County's crew of 22 civil service mariners works for MSC, which
operates, navigates and maintains the ship. JHSVs are capable of transporting
approximately 600 tons of military troops, vehicles, supplies and equipment
1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots, and are designed
to operate in shallow ports and waterways, providing added flexibility
to U.S. warfighters worldwide.
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