Navy vessels in formation during a passing exercise in support of Pacific Partnership 2018. Credit: US Navy by mass communication specialist 2nd class Kelsey L Adams / Released.

The 13th iteration of the annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA / DR) preparedness mission Pacific Partnership 2018 has successfully concluded.

The multi-service exercise saw representatives from participating countries collaborate in eight Indo-Pacific nations in order to improve disaster response preparedness and facilitate better relationships across the region.

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Pacific Partnership 2018 originally commenced in May on-board the US Navy’s Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Brunswick (T-EPF-6).

"We set out to strengthen the bonds with our host and partner nations, and we achieved this with resounding success."

Pacific Partnership 2018 deputy mission commander Royal Navy captain Peter Olive said: “USNS Brunswick proved to be an incredibly valuable platform for Pacific Partnership.

“The versatility of the ship allowed us to transit shallow waters and visit ports like Yap and Palau, places that wouldn’t be able to accommodate Mercy.”

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) conducted mission stops in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Japan during the event.

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USNS Brunswick (T-EPF 6) also made separate mission stops in Yap, Palau, Malaysia and Thailand.

Pacific Partnership 2018 mission commander captain David Bretz said: “We set out to strengthen the bonds with our host and partner nations, and we achieved this with resounding success.”

Personnel participating in the exercise partnered with more than 8,000 host nation medical staff to conduct 546 medical events, as well as hold cooperative health engagements and subject matter expert exchanges.

More than 12,700 patients were treated and around 62 surgeries were conducted on-board USNS Mercy during the mission.

Pacific Partnership was conducted in Pattaya, Thailand, for the first time since its inception in 2006.

The mission involved more than 130 military personnel from the US, UK and Australia.

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