USNS Mercy Transports Injured from Bougainville

ARAWA, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (June 30, 2015) A U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter lands aboard USNS Mercy T-AH19 following a search and rescue mission. The mission rescued six stranded mariners from an island. The rescued patients were brought to the hospital ship Mercy for observation during Pacific Partnership 2015. Mercy is in Arawa, Papa New Guinea for its second mission port of PP15. Pacific Partnership is in its tenth iteration and is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided real world medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through more than 180 engineering projects. (U.S. Air Force video by Staff Sgt. Shawn Bryant /RELEASED)