Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Felix Perez, left, and Lt. Samuel McJuckin prepare for a surgical operation aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort in the Caribbean Sea, Oct. 6, 2017. Perez is a hospital corpsman. The Comfort arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 3 to provide medical services with additional visits being planned around the island to residents impacted by Hurricane Maria. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Puerto Rico Department of Health representatives are prioritizing patients. The Defense Department is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Maria to minimize suffering and is one component of the overall whole-of-government response effort. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Danny Ray Nunez Jr.