U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Lynne Blankenbeker in front of the USNS Comfort, at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on March 26, 2020The 1,000-bed medical ship was in port in Norfolk undergoing repairs after a six-month tour in South America and wasn’t slated to be ready to arrive in New York until “mid-April,” at the earliest. But top Pentagon officials said they expedited measures to ready the vessel.
President Trump announced on Thursday that he would travel to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Saturday as the ship embarks on its mission.
“I’ll kiss it goodbye,” the president said at a news conference.
TRUMP SAYS HE’LL PERSONALLY SEE THE USNS COMFORT OFF AS IT EMBARKS FOR NYC
Besides being a military nurse and reserve officer, Blankenbeker’s also a congressional candidate. The Concord, N.H., resident is making her second straight run for the Republican nomination in the state’s Second Congressional District. The seat is held by four-term Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.
But the bid for Congress is taking a backseat to the mission at hand.
“I’m 100 percent focused on my mission with United States Navy. The nation needs me in uniform right now and as a reservist, this is exactly what we do. This is what we are trained to do and this is the commitment we make,” she told Fox News.
And she added that her campaign team also has a new mission, saying: “I still have a campaign team back in New Hampshire and they are focusing on supporting our community at this point.”
Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report
Original Article : HERE ;
from MetNews https://metnews.pw/military-reservist-nurse-running-for-congress-takes-on-mission-aboard-usns-comfort-in-coronavirus-response/
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