Migration
USNS Comfort senior NCO relieved after alcohol-related incident
Stars and Stripes
July 10, 2015
USS Comfort Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala was relieved from the ship's Medical Treatment Facility July 9, 2015. (U.S. Navy)
USS Comfort Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala was relieved from the ship's Medical Treatment Facility July 9, 2015. (U.S. Navy)
Medical Treatment Facility Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala, assigned to Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort speaks with patients at a medical site established at Colon, Panama, on May 31, 2015, during a civil-military operation. Ayala was relieved of his duties July 9, 2015, following an alcohol-related incident. (Kameren Guy Hodnett/U.S. Navy)
NORFOLK, Va. — Navy hospital ship Comfort’s senior enlisted leader has been relieved of his duties Thursday following an alcohol-related incident in Panama, Military Sealift Command said.
Command Senior Chief Aurelio Ayala has been temporarily reassigned to Military Sealift Command in Norfolk, Va., pending an investigation.
A statement from the command did not provide specifics on what led to Ayala’s removal.
Comfort is on a humanitarian mission to 11 countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, where the 700-member crew is conducting medical clinics, performing on-board surgeries and taking part in charity work.
Ayala’s removal will not impact the Comfort’s mission, the statement said.