"U.S. Southern Command Needs a Permanently-Assigned Hospital Ship"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
The Southern Tide
Center for International Maritime Security
09 September 2021
Originally published: https://cimsec.org/u-s-southern-command-needs-a-permanently-assigned-hospital-ship/
Written by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, The Southern Tide addresses maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It discusses the challenges regional navies face including limited defense budgets, inter-state tensions, and transnational crimes. It also examines how these challenges influence current and future defense strategies, platform acquisitions, and relations with global powers.
“We focus on partnerships…Our partners want to work with us. They want the advantage of the United States education, training, exercises and military equipment. It’s the best in the world. And so it’s up to us to deliver that in a way that’s relevant and also provides a return on investment for American taxpayer. So that is our focus.” –Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 9, 2019.
By Wilder Alejandro Sánchez
The variety of extreme natural disasters that annually hit U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibilities, exacerbated by climate change, demonstrates the Command’s need for a permanently-assigned hospital vessel. While the Command can obtain assets if needed in case of a crisis, like the current deployment of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD-24), among other naval units, to Haiti after the deadly earthquake on August 14, there are benefits to having a permanently-assigned hospital vessel.
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