Samoans Making the Most of Pacific Partnership

A recent Samoa Newsline article provides some examples of the impact of the Pacific Partnership mission on individuals there.

Hundreds of people have been receiving free, basic medical services each day this week as part of the mission that has also included a number of engineering, dental and veterinary civic action programs.

Samoa is the first stop on the four-month Pacific Partnership mission, operating from USNS Richard E. Byrd. The ship arrived July 1.

Mirroring U.S. Pacific Command’s emphasis on collaboration across multiple agencies and organizations, as well as multilateral cooperation, the team for Pacific Partnership 2009 includes military and government personnel from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States, as well as civilian volunteers from organizations such as Project Hope, the Loloma Foundation, International Aid and the Shriners.

The Pacific Partnership website includes news and photos, and links to the mission’s several social media sites and blog.