MEDICAL OPERATIONS DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM 9 NOV 91

File: 123096_sep96_decls2_0020.txt
Page: 0020
Total Pages: 57

Subject: MEDICAL OPERATIONS DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM 9 NOV 91       

Unit: VAR. BUMED  

Parent Organization: BUMED       

Box  ID: BX303801

Folder Title: VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6                                                                

Document Number:          2

Folder Seq  #:         10









                    Al Jubayl on 20 January. Its air detachment, advance party, and main body arrived
                    on 25, 28, and 30 January, respectively. FH-15 went operational with 200 beds on
                    9 February and reached a 500-bed capability on 12 February. Afimini.-trative delays
                    to work diplomatic issues and arrange transportation were experienced and are
                    expected to occur in future operations. Delays may be shortened by development of
                    standard operating procedures (SOPS) and contingency labor and shipping contracts.

                          Table 6 summarizes the elapsed time between the issuance of orders to move
                    the deployable medical platforms and their operational date in theater (transit times
                    are also provided).



                             Table 6. Summary of time to achieve required operational capability in theater (days)


                                              Pre-transh delay                   In-thoater delay
                                                 (notff ication     Time in       arrival to start     Time under
                                                to departure)       transit      of construction)     construction     Totala


                             FH-5                       1                a                 8                is          35
                             FH-6                     1 0             34                   7                1 1         62
                             FH-1 5                   27              20                   9                1 4         70

                             USNS Me@                   5             33                   -                -           38
                             USNS Comfort               4             25                                                29


tion order and the date a
                                 500-bed capability was achieved. For hospitw ships, total time is the time between the (late of the
                                 aedvabon order and the date of a@ on station.




                         The elapsed time for the hospital ships was simply the transit time plus the
                    four or five days to achieve operational status. T-rqn.-.it time for USNS Mercy was
                    lengthened somewhat by mechanical problems en route. Setup of the MTFs was
                    accomplished en route.


                         For FH-6 and FH-15, pre-transit and in-theater delay included arranging labor,
                    transportation, loading (and unloading), and time to work out diplomatic issues.
                    The transit time for FH-6 was lengthened by the diplomatic requirement to reload
                    onto different flagged carriers en route. Locating FH-5 aboard a prepositioned ship
                    in Diego Garcia not only reduced transit time, but also avoided the delays attributed
                    to diplomatic requirements, loading, and arranging transportation for FH-6 and
                    FH-15. For this reason, consideration should be given to the need for a second fleet
                    hospital prepositioned afloat.




                                                                           -11-

Document 57 f:/Week-37/BX303801/VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6/medical operations during operation desert storm:1217961126393
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-37
Box ID = BX303801
Unit = VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization = BUMED
Folder Title = VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6
Folder Seq # = 10
Subject = MEDICAL OPERATIONS DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM
Document Seq # = 2
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 17-DEC-1996