Prime Minister Appreciates Partnership in Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Dr. Derek Sikua praised the Pacific Partnership mission as the Solomons Islands phase of the humanitarian civic assistance mission concluded Tuesday.

During a ceremony marking the end of 14 days of medical, veterinary and engineering projects, Dr. Sikua said the mission has further strengthened the long relationship between the governments and people of the Solomon Islands and the U.S., according to the Solomon Star. More than 4,500 patients received basic medical and dental care, engineers completed projects at three schools, and a variety of other assistance was provided, including the return of a stranded fishing vessel.

The Prime Minister’s appreciation was echoed by his Deputy Peter Tolia, during a dedication ceremony for one of the engineering projects last week.

The 2009 Pacific Partnership mission, which has already visited Somoa and Tonga in addition to Solomon Islands, is strengthening relationships at a variety of levels, as the mission includes multinational and multi-agency partners.

Military and government professionals from countries such as Australia, Canada, Chili, France, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea have provided support, as have civilian volunteers from organizations such as International Aid, Project HOPE, International Relief Teams and the University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society.

Each has played a critical role during the mission, and the type of coordination required between these various organizations during Pacific Partnership provides practical experience that could prove valuable in the case of a future humanitarian crisis or relief effort in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

The four-month Pacific Partnership mission continues on to Kiribati and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

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Australia Joint Operations Chief Lauds Collaboration in Pacific Partnership

Australian Defence Force (ADF) Chief of Joint Operations, Lt. Gen. Mark Evans, helped kick off the Solomon Islands phase of Pacific Partnership Aug. 6 during a ceremony on board the destroyer USS Mustin, which is visiting there during the humanitarian mission.

The General said Pacific Partnership is an excellent example of the synergy that comes from working collaboratively with the U.S. military, according to an Australian Department of Defence release. Indeed, a goal of Pacific Partnership from the U.S. perspective is strengthening alliances and civil-military relationships to help ensure the U.S. military is able to rapidly respond in support of emergency relief efforts in the future.

There are numerous opportunities to do just that during Pacific Partnership, which includes military and government personnel from Australia, Canada, Chile, France, South Korea and the United States, and civilian volunteers from International Relief Teams, Project Hope and University of California San Diego Pre-Dental Society, who are working alongside their local counterparts. The Loloma Foundation and Interplast will accept surgical referrals from embarked medical civic action programs.

The ADF is contributing twelve Australian Army Engineers, a Royal Australian Air Force Dental hygienist and two Royal Australian Navy Landing Craft to the Pacific Partnership mission this year.

U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Pacific Partnership mission, operating this year from USNS Richard E. Byrd, works by, with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. government and international agencies to provide humanitarian assistance in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

Pacific Partnership has already visited Samoa and Tonga, where more than 8,000 patients have received basic medical care, and more than 2,000, dental care. Veterinarians have treated more than 300 animals. Numerous engineering projects were completed in those two locations, including a work effort of more than 400-man days in Tonga alone.

The Solomon Islands mission will run for 14 days and will be followed by missions in Kiribati and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Connect with Pacific Partnership via the mission’s website, which includes social media links.

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Multiple Pacific Partnership Projects Ongoing in Tonga

As the mission team took a break with their hosts this past Sunday at the midway point of the 13-day Pacific Partnership mission Tonga, multiple engineering projects were ahead of schedule, with further medical, dental, and veterinary outreach on tap for the remainder of the visit.

As noted in a weekend update on the Pacific Partnership Facebook Page, the multinational team made up of Tongans, Australians, New Zealanders and Americans, are ahead of schedule on their engineering projects, which include repairs and enhancements at schools, a community center, and a medical clinic.

The Pacific Partnership website provides an overview of the type of work being done at each location during the mission in Tonga. Roof and floor replacements are a couple of examples of the projects designed to increase structural integrity and quality in the various locations.

While the engineers were going about their business through the first week of the Tonga mission, a number of other efforts were underway. For instance, while the multinational medical and dental team was seeing 300 or more patients per day, veterinarians were working with local farmers, the preventive medicine team was teaching food safety courses, biomedical technicians were repairing hospital equipment, and the band and various mission team members took part in community service and outreach activities.

Pacific Partnership is the U.S. Navy’s dedicated humanitarian and civic assistance mission conducted with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. and international government agencies to execute a variety of humanitarian civic action missions in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

This year, Pacific Partnership includes stops in five nations in the South Pacific. In addition to Tonga and the first mission stop in Samoa, outreach and assistance is still to follow in the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati.

Follow the mission on the Pacific Partnership website, which includes links to the mission's numerous social media sites.

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Pacific Partnership Mission Reaches Tonga

The Pacific Partnership team, aboard USNS Richard E. Byrd, arrived in Tonga July 13 for the humanitarian and civic assistance mission’s second Oceania stop.

Following an opening ceremony on the island of Lifuka, a number of engineering projects are underway at various locations, including schools, medical clinics and community centers. Medical and dental outreach services will be provided in a number of locations as well.

Pacific Partnership is the U.S. Navy’s dedicated humanitarian and civic assistance mission conducted with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. and international government agencies to execute a variety of humanitarian civic action missions in the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.

The mission recently completed its first stop in Samoa, and upcoming nations include Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Solomon Islands.

Follow the mission on the Pacific Partnership website, which includes links to the mission's numerous social media sites. Also, visit the website of mission partner Australia.

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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.

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Pacific Partnership Mission Reaches First Stop in Samoa

Pacific Partnership, an annual humanitarian assistance-focused training mission sponsored by U.S. Pacific Fleet is underway in Samoa, the first of five Oceania locations the mission will visit over the next several months.

USNS Richard E. Byrd, the mission’s enabling ship, arrived off the coast of Samoa July 1. A ceremony to mark the opening of the mission there is scheduled for July 3.

Since arriving, the focus has been logistics as materials have been moved ashore to the locations where engineering and medical civic action projects will take place. One such location is Sasina Village on Savail’l Island, where a group of U.S. Navy civil engineers began work on a project to renovate a community hall there as medical professionals prepared to provide services in partnership with a local clinic. A ‘host nation’ section on the Pacific Partnership website provides a brief overview of the locations and nature of the various projects that will take place in Samoa and other mission locations, including the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tonga.

Pacific Partnership, in its fourth year, works by, with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. government and international agencies to conduct a variety of humanitarian civic assistance missions.

In line with the U.S. Pacific Command strategy, Pacific Partnership is designed to strengthen regional partnerships and improve multi-national readiness.

Keep up with the mission on the Pacific Partnership website, which includes news, photos, and links to a variety of social media sites and networks dedicated to the mission.

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Regional Medical Exchanges Increase Expertise, Collaboration

U.S. military medical professionals from commands throughout the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) area of responsibility work regularly with counterparts from other nations to share expertise in a range of areas that ultimately benefit both military forces and civilian communities.

A 13th Air Force article about a medical laboratory surveillance workshop highlights one recent engagement that brought 40 interagency medical professionals from Laos, Thailand and the U.S. together to exchange ideas and lessons learned to collectively increase their capacity to effectively manage infectious diseases.

In the past year, PACOM medical professionals have conducted multiple workshops with partner nations on such topics as pandemic/avian influenza and HIV/AIDS. In April, military medical representatives from the U.S. and 18 Asia-Pacific nations met at the 19th Annual Asia-Pacific Military Medicine Conference in Seoul.

Through medically-oriented missions such as Pacific Partnership 2009, in conjunction with military exercises such as Balikatan, or in standalone events such as the Cambodian Interoperability Program, medical professionals are providing care to those in need, while also building important professional relationships and providing invaluable training opportunities.

In the coming months, workshops in various nations will focus on blast injury management and emerging infectious diseases.

By collaborating with regional partners, PACOM medical teams and their host-nation counterparts increase regional stability by more effectively identifying and responding to pressing medical issues and enhancing the ability to respond to crises if required.

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Pacific Partnership Gearing Up Social Media for Mission

As Pacific Partnership makes its way through Oceania over the next four months, social media will play a key role in telling the story of the annual, U.S. Pacific Fleet-sponsored humanitarian mission.

Set to begin later this month and conducted from USNS Richard E. Byrd, Pacific Partnership will travel to Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga.

Through the Pacific Partnership blog, and with a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr (including a Flicrk group), and its portals on the Pacific Fleet and Navy websites, new audiences will be introduced to the mission and will have an opportunity to interact with the mission staff and participants.

Pacific Partnership works by, with and through host and partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. Government agencies to execute a variety of humanitarian civic assistance projects.

Thousands have benefitted from Pacific Partnership since its inception in 2006 when it operated from the hospital ship USNS Mercy, and was known as the Mercy Mission.

In addition to providing humanitarian civic assistance, missions such as Pacific Partnership provide valuable opportunities to build relationships and to learn from mission partners. These types of experiences also help ensure a smoother assimilation of U.S. military support into disaster and civil relief efforts when the need arises.

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Pacific Partnership 2009 to Bring Engineering and Medical Assistance to Oceania Region

U.S. Pacific Fleet announced plans March 3 for its next annual humanitarian civic assistance mission, Pacific Partnership 2009, which is slated to conduct engineering projects and provide medical, dental, and veterinary assistance to Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands.

Pacific Partnership 2009 is the fourth in the series of humanitarian missions that work in concert with partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. Government agencies.

This year’s mission will be based on board USS Dubuque (LPD 8), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship home ported in San Diego. USS Dubuque’s unique ability to transport and expeditiously unload heavy equipment and supplies make it the ideal platform from which to conduct engineering projects and provide humanitarian assistance.

The ship will carry humanitarian civic assistance equipment and a robust team of preventive medicine personnel, veterinarians, medical and dental teams who will conduct medical and civic action programs ashore.

The Pacific Partnership campaign originated from unprecedented international disaster response for countries involved in the 2004 Asia tsunami.

Humanitarian and civic campaigns such as Pacific Partnership help to improve the lives of the people in which it comes in contact. They also build regional capacity by strengthening relationships and improving security cooperation between national governments, militaries, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations during disaster relief operations.

Collaborative efforts such as Pacific Partnership support U.S. Pacific Command’s (USPACOM) focus on partnership, readiness, and presence. USPACOM maintains a constant presence throughout the Asia-Pacific region and works with its friends and allies to be better prepared to face challenges and crisis together.

See Pacific Fleet Announces Pacific Partnership 2009.

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