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Mercy Arrives in San Diego After Participating in RIMPAC

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS140809-06
Release Date: 8/9/2014 4:26:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Pyoung K. Yi, USNS Mercy Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) arrived in its homeport Naval Base San Diego after its inaugural participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, Aug. 9.

During the 37-day exercise conducted in and around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of California, Mercy's medical personnel participated with partner nations in medical symposiums, subject matter expert exchanges, drills, demonstrated patient transfer capabilities, exchanged ship riders with China and participated in a series of RIMPAC sporting events.

'We've had the opportunity to speak the common medical language with our partner nations and have worked toward everyone having a better understanding of one another,' said Capt. Jeffery Paulson, commanding officer of the medical treatment facility aboard Mercy.

Throughout the many symposiums and subject matter expert panels, Mercy's medical personnel gave various presentations on range of topics.

'[The exchanges] showed what we do globally during humanitarian missions, when there's a crisis in another nation or if we have to be the first casualty receiving area,' said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Andrew Kim.

Mercy Sailors participated in the first ever personnel exchange between the U.S. Navy and the People's Republic of China, People's Liberation Army (Navy) [PLA(N)] when medical personnel from Mercy and the PLA(N) hospital ship Ark Peace spent several days at sea aboard one another's ships.

'We did everything together,' said Lt. Jessica Naranjo, a nurse aboard Mercy who participated in the exchange. 'We had breakfast together, discussed the differences in the food aboard Mercy compared to aboard Peace Ark and we worked together and trained together.'

While underway Mercy received two medical evacuations and conducted numerous mass casualty, fire and abandon ship drills. The mass casualty drills were fast-paced and included unexpected scenarios and patients, some of whom were wearing special cut suits that allowed surgeons to simulate different surgical procedures. This helped Mercy's medical team understand what a real-life trauma situation entail, said Kim.

'It helped us recognize which processes we needed to change and which ones we should continue implementing,' said Kim. 'It was a wonderful teaching experience for us and our partner nations.'

Throughout the mission the performance of the crew repeated exceeded expectations of the ship's leadership.

'The crew we had during RIMPAC came from a number of disciplines. They didn't quite know what might be expected of them as we headed out to Hawaii,' said Paulson. 'The crew members showed a great deal of flexibility, adaptability and the highest degree of professionalism across the board.'

Mercy is scheduled to return to a reduced operating status crew of approximately 60 Sailors, but will remain on a 5-day activation status ready to respond to a crisis in the region.

RIMPAC, having recently completed its 24th iteration, is a biennial exercise which included 22 nations, 49 ships and submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel. It is the world's largest international maritime exercise whose purpose is to provide training opportunities that help its participants initiate and build cooperative relationships critical to ensuring safety and security on the world's oceans.