Pacific Partnership Starts Mission in Samoa
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS090702-18
Release Date: 7/2/2009 7:21:00 PM
By U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
APIA, Samoa (NNS) -- Pacific Partnership 2009 began its mission in Apia, Samoa as part of a four-month mission when USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4) arrived July 1.
Pacific Partnership works by, with and through partner nations, non-governmental organizations and other U.S. government and international agencies to execute a variety of humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) missions in the Pacific Fleet Area of Responsibility from a ship dedicated to this HCA mission. This year's mission will be focused ashore with a variety of engineering, medical and dental and veterinary civic action programs providing humanitarian civic assistance to communities in Samoa.
In his Rat-Pac Report podcast this week, Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, noted that this year's mission is being led aboard Richard E. Byrd, a "replenishment ship but with great capacity to assist us, I think, in the medical, dental, veterinary and engineering efforts that this Pacific Partnership calls for."
Willard said that using the replenishment ship "will cause us to be a little more expeditionary, but I think, nonetheless, we'll be very effective in meeting what our ambassadors and what these countries hope to gain in this year's Pacific Partnership mission."
Building on partnerships forged in previous missions, the team for Pacific Partnership 2009 includes military and government personnel from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States and civilian volunteers from International Aid who will work alongside their Samoan partners.
Pacific Partnership will conduct medical, dental, veterinary and engineering civic action programs ashore at locations on Apolima, Savai'i and Upolu.
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