Comfort/Mercy

[Perrotfish]

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Navy Question here, very academic:

The Comfort and Mercy both have a CO and an Executive Officer from the MC. Neither one is a line officer and neither one has a surface warfare badge. So... who drives the ship? Is the Captain in this situation below both the CO and the Executive Officer? Also why would they make the CO someone who is not in command of the ship?

I got politely corrected by a more experienced Navy guy earlier today for thinking that the CO was actually in command of the ship, which is apparently impossible since he's not a line officer. So who is in charge here?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Navy Question here, very academic:

The Comfort and Mercy both have a CO and an Executive Officer from the MC. Neither one is a line officer and neither one has a surface warfare badge. So... who drives the ship? Is the Captain in this situation below both the CO and the Executive Officer? Also why would they make the CO someone who is not in command of the ship?

I got politely corrected by a more experienced Navy guy earlier today for thinking that the CO was actually in command of the ship, which is apparently impossible since he's not a line officer. So who is in charge here?

The ship crew is U.S. Merchant Marine or contract-hired, IIRC. The medical contingent is Navy.

 

[crazybrancato]

The ship crew is U.S. Merchant Marine or contract-hired, IIRC. The medical contingent is Navy.

that's correct. the Captain of the Ship (whether is be a USN CAPT, or a USMM CAPT, or a Civilian CAPT) is always in charge of the ship. Even if the MC CO outranks him (say is an RDML)

 

[backrow]

The ship is part of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) which is basically the Navy's commercial shipping outfit. The ships range from oilers, to ammo ships, to the hospital ships. The deck and engine departments are manned by civilian merchant mariners who are employed by MSC. The officers (Captain, Chief Engineer, Chief Mate, First Assistant Engineer, Second Mate, 2 A/E, Third Mate, 3rd A/E) will usually wear a khaki uniform or appropriate engine room wear while on duty.

 

[NavyFP]

The "CO" of the Mercy and the Comfort is in charge of the Military Treatment Facility and only the medical operations. All matters relating to the physical plant and ship ops are run by the Military Sealift Captain who is a Merchant Marine.