Pacific Partnership 2010

In August 2010, I will be volunteering with Latter-day Saint Charities and serving as part of the Pacific Partnership 2010 with the U.S. Navy on the USNS Mercy hospital ship. I will record my experiences on this blog for family, friends, and colleagues.

The partnerships developed during Pacific Partnership missions help ensure first responders have had the opportunity to collaborate in an environment that would come close to resembling real-world natural disasters. It also helps organizations such as LDS Charities become familiar with working together with the US Navy to provide humanitarian assistance so as to better offer service to those in need in the event of a natural disaster.

WHERE IS EAST TIMOR?

East Timor or Timor-Leste is one of the world's newest countries and the first independent country of the 21st century. Along with the Philippines, it is one of only 2 predominantly Christian countries in Asia. It is located 400 miles NW of Darwin, Australia. To get there, I will fly to Sydney and then on to Darwin.

Pacific Partnership will travel to Timor-Leste for 13 days, conducting a variety of medical, dental, veterinary and engineering civic action projects at the

Nu-Laran Primary School.

This school serves the central Dili Region with a population of 160,000. Pacific Partnership will renovate the 438 sq. meter auditorium building, renovate five classroom buildings, two kitchen areas and the teachers’ lounge.

WHAT IS PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP 2010?

Pacific Partnership 2010 is the fifth in a series of US Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance endeavors aimed at strengthening regional relationships with host and partner nations in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

The mission is made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Pacific nations as well as non-governmental organizations (including LDS Charities) and military personnel.

Pacific Partnership 2010 will visit six nations during the five-month deployment. USNS Mercy is the lead ship and will visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste, while two additional Navy ships will visit Palau and Papua New Guinea.

At each of the visits, military and civilian personnel will participate in civic action projects and community service engagements, all part of the goodwill the ships will bring to the nations.

This is a mission that develops partner nation capabilities, operating with host nations and our allies to provide assistance in developing the ability to respond during a time of crisis.

Pacific Partnership works by, with and through host and partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. Government agencies to execute its activities. Partners this year include:

Host Nations: Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Palau.

Partner Nations: Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

NGOs/Others: LDS Charities, East Meets West, Civic Force, international Relief Teams, Nour International, Islamic Relief Society of North America, Hope World Wide, HUMA, Operation Smile, Operacion Unies, Peace Winds America/Japan, Project Handclasp, Project HOPE, Surgical Eye Expeditions, Vets Without Borders, UCSD Pre-Dental Society, and World Vets.

Interagency: U.S. Embassy Country Teams, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Public Health Service.

WHAT IS THE USNS MERCY?

USNS Mercy was originally built and used as an oil supertanker but was subsequently delivered to the Navy`s Military Sealift Command in Dec. 1986. It has since been outfitted as a fully functional hospital ship.

The ship has a full spectrum of surgical and medical services, is capable of maintaining up to 5,000 units of blood, and has a total patient capacity of 1,000 beds.

At each visit the ship makes, teams of military and civilian specialists will deliver medical, dental, biomedical repair, engineering, and veterinary services based on the needs, as identified by the host nations.

A majority of these services are done at sites in the country, however some services, such as surgery, are done onboard the Mercy.

Equally important are subject matter expert exchanges, where those deploying with Mercy will work closely with personnel from the host and partner nations to learn from one another. This will greatly serve all parties involved, as they are preparing and practicing in a time of calm should a natural disaster occur.

I look forward to the opportunity to serve the people of East Timor.

Steven M. Grover, M.D.