USNS Mercy Deploys in Support of Pacific Partnership 2018

Sarah Burford, DVIDS (press release)

Image (in its vertical position, as shown in the article) with caption: A Navy crew member of Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy [JB note: Is the ship sinking?]

Excerpt:

Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed San Diego today in support of the humanitarian mission to Southeast Asia, Pacific Partnership 2018. ...

Mercy will provide medical, dental, veterinary, public health services, engineering and disaster response to host countries who have invited the ship to visit and provide services to the local population.

Mercy is joined on the Pacific Partnership mission by MSC expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4). Fall River 2018will make separate mission stops in Yap, Palau, Borneo-Malaysia, and Thailand, supporting public diplomacy, community outreach, and theater security cooperation initiatives.

“Being a part of the Pacific Partnership mission is really an amazing experience,” said civil service mariner Barron Garvey, Mercy’s cargo officer. “What we do touches so many lives and you can’t walk away from this deployment without having been impacted by the people we help and the experiances [sic]of the mission. People always talk about making a difference, but this is where that really happens; on a Pacific Partnership mission. I think about the other PP missions I have been on, and I look forward to the next one. This really is one of the best things I have been a part of since coming to MSC.” ...