kudos to the us navy

Navy Saves Gravely Ill Girl on Cruise
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 2:23 PM EST The Associated Press
By ALLISON HOFFMAN Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A teenager who underwent surgery at sea after her appendix ruptured on a Mexican cruise returned to the mainland Tuesday aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier that came to her rescue. Laura Montero, 14, fell ill aboard the Dawn Princess off the coast of Baja California. The Bahamian ship sent out a distress call Friday that was answered by the USS Ronald Reagan, which was on training maneuvers about 500 miles away.
The nuclear carrier was the closest ship with a hospital facility, according to a news release from the Navy. It steamed overnight toward the cruise ship, which was about 250 miles northwest of Cabo San Lucas when the call went out. A helicopter took off from the Reagan around 5 a.m. Saturday to close the final 175-mile gap between the ships. The crew arrived after a 45-minute flight and lowered a medic onto the cruise ship deck in a basket because there wasn't space to land, said Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Leland, the pilot.
Montero, who was on an antibiotic drip, was loaded into a litter basket, lifted into the helicopter and flown back to the Reagan for surgery. Her mother stayed aboard the cruise ship. "We practice this all the time, but this is the first time I've pulled a civilian off a cruise ship," Leland said. Montero, of Albion, Ill., is expected to make a full recovery. The Dawn Princess returned to San Diego over the weekend. The Reagan, which carries up to 6,000 crew and costs about $2.5 million a day to operate while under way, returned Tuesday morning, its scheduled return from the training tour. (This version CORRECTS to rescue happening Saturday, not Sunday)

several things worth mentioning here....permission to move an aircraft cruiser off their patrol comes from a very very high level.(musta confused the heck out of the russians, chinese and indians :D ) civilians generally don't get to go on nuclear powered aircraft cruisers, and i'm willing to bet less then a handful of civilians ever see the inside of a navy surgical suite at sea. big time props to Chief Of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead, (he's the military head of the United States Navy) Rear Admiral Martoglio,( he's in charge of that battle group,) Captain Terry Kraft Captain of the USS Reagan, Executive Officer Captain Kevin Kraft, Master Chief James Delozier, Commander Airwing 14 Captain Richard Butler.....GO NAVY. nice job sailor, nice job