US delivers field hospital to Turkey

According to a recent statement by the US Department of Defense, a field hospital has been delivered from the continental United States to the Incirlik Air Base in Adana as part of the US’s continued efforts in disaster relief following the Maras centered earthquakes which caused over 44,000 people to lose their lives.

Commenting on the delivery of the hospital to Hatay, one of the provinces most hard-hit by the earthquake, Brig. Gen. Andrew Priddy said, “I am proud of the professionalism with which the team has responded to assist our Turkish allies and friends who are suffering from the earthquake’s devastation.”

US service members are working in coordination with USAID and the Turkish Ministry of Health to establish the hospital, which has an emergency room, two operating rooms, an intensive care unit, and other critical medical supplies, according to the Department of Defense’s statement.

Once the US service members, the Marines of Task Force 61/2, and airmen from the 39th Air Base Wing complete the set-up of the hospital and ensure that it is fully functional, its operation will be turned over to the Turkish Ministry of Health.

In the days following the earthquake, the US had already sent emergency assistance to the earthquake-hit area by dispatching search and rescue teams, heavy machinery, technicians, and physicians. A US aircraft carrier had also been put on standby to provide logistical and medical support.