USNS Mercy to offer aid to Pacific nations

The last time the Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy was used in a war zone was in 1991 for Operation Desert Storm.

On Wednesday, the 894-foot white ship with red crosses painted on its side stopped in Pearl Harbor en route from San Diego to the Western Pacific for one of its reincarnated uses — medical and humanitarian aid and disaster relief planning as part of “Pacific Partnership 2016.”

This year the Mercy will make a brief stop in Guam and then head to Timor Leste, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia, the Navy said. Between 700 and 1,000 personnel from multiple nations, including military and nongovernmental organizations, will provide a variety of assistance during the 4-1/2-month mission.

With U.S. Navy warships increasingly tied up in deployments, and medical air evacuation taking the place of hospital ships, the Mercy, via Pacific Partnership, has been a visible demonstration of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s “soft power” diplomacy in the region. China also uses the approach with its hospital ship Peace Ark.

Pacific Partnership is in its 11th year. Last year Mercy visited Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam, providing health care and surgical procedures, engineering projects and community relations events. The 2015 mission was budgeted at $39 million, the Navy said.

A partner ship, the Joint High Speed Vessel USNS Millinocket, visited Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, the Philippines and Vietnam.

A total of 2,090 patients were seen in Fiji, 6,331 in Papua New Guinea, 5,184 in the Philippines and 657 in Vietnam, the Navy said. Some 649 surgeries were performed aboard the Mercy. Dental care was provided to more than 3,800 patients.

Capt. Tom Williams, the Pacific Partnership 2016 mission commander, said a key focus is on disaster relief planning with host nations. “Disasters happen all the time (in the Pacific). Let’s work together to learn how to better prepare,” he said during Mercy’s Pearl Harbor stop.

In Papua New Guinea last year, Pacific Partnership officials were able to bring together community civic leaders who had not met together before, said Capt. Melanie Merrick, medical treatment facility commander.

“So we were able to bring them all on board the ship, have a sit-down, basically a tabletop exercise discussing their area of expertise and how they would respond in an emergency or disaster,” Merrick said. “So for the first time ever they were able to talk to one another and to find that commonality.”

The mission also relies on regional partners. Capt. Mike Spruce, deputy mission commander, is part of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve. The chief of staff is from New Zealand. Britons, Canadians, Japanese and Singaporeans are aboard as well.

As part of Pacific Partnership this year, a search and rescue exercise will be conducted with Malaysia, Williams said. In Indonesia, earthquake and tsunami scenarios will be examined, and in the Philippines officials will look at typhoon and volcano disaster planning.