JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – USNS Burlington, with over 100 mission personnel, returned to Jacksonville Thursday from a Humanitarian Assistance Deployment.
This year’s Continuing Promise 2024 visited five countries: Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama. Continuing Promise 2024 marks the 14th mission to the region since 2007 and the second aboard the USNS Burlington, DVIDS said.
At each stop, U.S. Navy medical personnel, Seabees, musicians, Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Initiative experts, and U.S. Army veterinarians collaborated with the host nation on patient care, knowledge exchanges, and joint projects, according to a release.
“Very fulfilling,” Dennis Begley said. “I actually volunteered with this deployment.”
Begley is one of the over 100 people who went on the mission.
He said it’s something his wife helped him decide to do, and he’s glad she did.
“It just, it means the world,” Begley said. “It’s just the ability to have the certain skill set to, as an x-ray technician take these images and help people out. It was just a big deal for me to be able to do that.”
The U.S. Fourth Fleet/U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command said during the nearly two months the Continuing Promise team: treated 4,875 patients, filled 15,640 prescriptions, repaired $1.6 million of medical equipment, treated 2,047 animals, staged 32 band concerts and conducted Community Relations Projects with 548 man-hours of team participation.
Jackson Bauer, who was also on board said what they did while deployed is life-changing.
“To those families, it can be huge you know,” Bauer said. “With all the equipment that we fixed, you know and maintained and calibrated down there, over all it was over $1.6 million worth of equipment, all that equipment it’s going to all the medical providers to help see these patients more efficiently, effectively and treat more patients throughout the day and getting quality care they deserve.”