Fleet Aid

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), moors at the Port of Pascagoula.

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From the landing pad of this 894-foot naval hospital ship docked in Bayou Casotte, the horizon of browned treetops hid the devastation Hurricane Katrina unleashed on the Coast.

Only a few hours after docking Friday afternoon in the Port of Pascagoula, all was quiet. No helicopters orbited the ship, and no stretcher-bearers rushed out to meet the injured or ill. At least, not yet.

State and federal health officials have reported that since the storm, routine health problems such as skin infections, lacerations, sprains and gastrointestinal illnesses have spiked, but diseases associated with post-storm conditions have been held in check.

On Saturday morning, patients began to arrive.

Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss. (Sept. 10, 2005) - Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen, left, is briefed by Lt. Cmdr. Scott Sanders on Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Biloxi, Miss. The CNO and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott are traveling the gulf coast to get a personal assessment of damages caused by the hurricane and to thank the Sailors on ships and at naval facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi. Truman is operating off the Gulf Coast in support of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.