Great Lakes Naval base personnel headed for Haiti
As the death toll from the Haitian earthquake rises, nurses, technicians and corpsmen from the Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago are headed for the devastated Caribbean island to help survivors.
Twenty-two active-duty Navy personnel departed from the suburban base for O'Hare International Airport on Tuesday morning. After a stop in Jacksonville, Fla., they will serve on the USNS Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship.
The ship should arrive off the Haitian coast Wednesday, Great Lakes spokesman Rhonda Burke said.
The personnel now work at the base's medical clinic. Some have served in combat zones, including in the Middle East. None have assisted with natural-disaster relief efforts, Burke said.
Capt. Susan Lichtenstein, executive officer at the Great Lakes clinic, wished them good luck at the facility's chapel Tuesday morning.
"You're going out on a very important mission," she told the group. "You're trained. You're ready."
Lichtenstein closed with some important advice: "Be safe," she said.
Some of the personnel volunteered for the assignment, while others were chosen.
Petty Officer Second Class Charles Ward, an X-ray technician, was among the volunteers.
"It was a good opportunity," Ward explained.
Ward said he was nervous about leaving his wife, Lauren, and their 5-month-old daughter, Carlee.
Hospital Corpsman Second Class Timothy Baker served in Iraq in 2007 and 2008. He expects to be treating traumatic and crush injuries.
He's eager to help.
"It's one world, and we all have to be here for everyone," Baker said.
Assignments like this one are why he and other Navy personnel joined the medical corps, Baker said.
"To not do harm, but good," he added.
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