The hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and joint high speed vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3) arrived in Da Nang Vietnam Aug. 17 for their last mission stops of Pacific Partnership 2015.
While in Da Nang, U.S. and partner nation service members as well as non-governmental organizations will work together to conduct subject matter expert exchanges on various medical and disaster relief topics, dental engagements, and engineering civil action programs. Personnel aboard both ships will also have the opportunity to volunteer for community outreach events.
The mission in Vietnam will culminate in a disaster medicine drill where both U.S. and Vietnamese medical personnel will participate both on and off Mercy.
Other engagements for the PP15 crew on this mission stop include orthopedic surgical cases, where Navy surgeons will work side-by-side with the host nation health providers.
Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, PP15 has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through the completion of more than 180 engineering projects.
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Image: US Navy