181024-N-GN619-1140 ESMERALDAS, Ecuador (Oct. 24, 2018) – Ambassador Liliana Ayalde, civilian deputy to the commander, foreign policy advisor, U.S. Southern Command, holds a press conference for Ecuadorian news agencies aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) with Capt. William Shafley (left), commander, Task Force 49, and Capt. Kevin Buckley (right), commanding officer of Comfort’s Medical Treatment Facility. Comfort is on an 11-week medical support mission to Central and South America as part of U.S. Southern Command’s Enduring Promise initiative. Working with health and government partners in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Honduras, the embarked medical team will provide care on board and at land-based medical sites, helping to relieve pressure on national medical systems caused partly by an increase in cross-border migrants. The deployment reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with the Americas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kris R. Lindstrom/Released)