further examples of bureaucracy in action

So the USNS Comfort, U.S. Navy hospital ship, is on a 4-month goodwill tour of South America. In fact, it was in Peru just last week, and arrived Wednesday in Ecuador. It has its full medical staff aboard, as well as a detachment of Seabees (naval Construction Battalion) whose training, among other things, includes rescue from collapsed buildings.

Is it headed back to Peru? Not so fast...

"The U.S. Navy said it would be prepared to send the hospital ship USNS Comfort, staffed with hundreds of doctors, if asked."

Shades of Katrina... they have to ask before we'll send help.

What makes it worse is that they had a PR moment yesterday where they allowed reporters onto the ship (in Ecuador) and waxed rhapsodic about the success of their humanitarian efforts in all the countries they'd visited.

Ah yes, I'm sure the indigent to whom they provided free medical care and surgical services to in Peru are thrilled. Assuming they're still alive...

Update (from AP):

"The U.S. government released US$150,000 in emergency funds for emergency supplies and was sending in medical teams — one of which is already on the ground. It also sent two mobile clinics and loaned two helicopters to Peruvian authorities.

But the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort, now docked in Ecuador, won't make the three-day trip to Pisco because both governments decided it wasn't needed. The Comfort carries 800 medical personnel, but Peru needs supplies more than doctors, U.S. Embassy spokesman Dan Martinez said."

which I guess makes sense, so I'm less annoyed now.