SAN DIEGO – Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) departed San Diego, May 3, marking the beginning of Pacific Partnership 2022 (PP22).

Now in its 17th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. The Pacific Partnership 22 team will work with host nation counterparts and regional partners to provide tailored medical, dental, and veterinary care and conduct bilateral engineering civic actions, and exchange information related to disaster response processes and procedures.

As part of PP22, Mercy and the mission team will conduct missions throughout Oceania and the Western Pacific. Typical Pacific Partnership events include the building of schools, medical and engineering expert exchanges, and host nation outreach events.

“Pacific Partnership is a unifying mission that builds trust among nations to work efficiently together in preparing to respond in crisis,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Hank Kim, Pacific Partnership 22 mission commander. 

“I look forward to exchanging experiences and expertise with our host and partner nations to collectively build skills that will last well after the mission.”

For more information about Pacific Partnership and USNS Mercy, visit www.facebook.com/USNSMERCY, www.facebook.com/pacificpartnership, or https://www.msc.usff.navy.mil/ships/mercy/ .

Commander, Task Force 73 public affairs can be reached via email at CTF73_Public_Affairs@fe.navy.mil.