The US Navy is evaluating the operability of the Expeditionary Medical Unit (EMU) aboard the USNS Cody (EPF 14) Spearhead-class fast transport vessel.
The trial supports the service’s objective to improve medical care capabilities for combat and humanitarian missions from sea to shore.
Being held at the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, the evaluation focuses on the EMU’s Role 2 (R2) level healthcare function, which covers patient decontamination, biomedical repair, sterile supply, information technology, and command and control tasks.
Utilities under the R2 hospital model include radiology, pharmacy, laboratory services, an intensive care unit, acute care ward, dentistry, and combat operational stress control.
New Hospital Ship
Delivered in January, the USNS Cody is the first ship with augmented medical solutions and corresponding facilities under the Spearhead program.
Additional EMU assets integrated into the vessel, including authorized medical and dental allowance lists and other commercial off-the-shelf items, are stored within 10 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit standard shipping containers.
They have environmental control systems to sustain their availability and security during warfare and diverse naval operations.
“The EMU onboard the USNS Cody is crucial because it provides a mantle for agile and enhanced surgical intervention,” Expeditionary Missions Deputy Assistant Program Lead Mabinty Chapman explained.
“The union of dexterity and military medicine is embedded in our Navy’s newest vessel, fulfilling the future standard of damage control surgical care in a distributed maritime environment.”
US Navy’s Spearhead Vessel
The Spearhead-class expeditionary transport ship is a 337-foot (103-meter) long vessel that can accommodate more than 300 personnel.
It is powered by four MTU diesel engines for a speed of 43 knots (49 miles/80 kilometers per hour) and a range of up to 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 kilometers).
The vessel can deploy lightweight rigid hull inflatable boats, carry helicopters such as the CH-53 Super Stallion, CH-53K King Stallion, and MH-60 Seahawk, and be mounted with multiple weapons, including heavy machine guns.