Military reservist nurse running for Congress takes on mission aboard USNS Comfort in coronavirus response

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USNS Comfort embarks to NYC to help hospitals dealing with COVID-19 pandemic

Commanding Officer Captain Patrick Amersbach, Ship Master Captain Andrew Lindey speak on the ship's mission.

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Lynne Blankenbeker says she’s ready for the battle ahead.

“This is a mission that we’ve trained for. As a reservist, we train all the time so I’m well prepared,” the captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, who also is running for Congress, told Fox News.

The veteran military emergency room nurse who was deployed in the Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan now has a new mission – serving aboard the USNS Comfort as the naval hospital ship heads this weekend to New York City, the U.S. epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Blankenbeker says once the Comfort docks in New York, it will be taking on non-coronavirus patients so that the inundated hospitals in the metropolitan area can free up beds for patients with COVID-19, the disease spread by the virus.

She embraces her mission.

“This is honestly a distinct honor and privilege to be able to step up for America,” Blankenbecker told Fox News. “I have always run toward a fight and this is an opportunity for us to steam towards the epicenter of this invisible enemy and do our part for helping America ... and I’m just grateful to be able to offer my skillset and do my part.”

U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Lynne Blankenbeker in front of the USNS Comfort, at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on March 26, 2020

The 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