Photo By Sarah Cannon | Capt. Jeffery Feinberg, commanding officer of Mercy’s Medical Treatment Facility...... read more read more
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Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) played host to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro yesterday onboard the ship in San Diego.
Del Toro toured the ship and spoke with senior members of the crew including Capt. Peter Nolan, Mercy’s civilian master, and Capt. Jeffery Feinberg, commanding officer of Mercy’s Medical Treatment Facility (MTF). During the 45-minute visit, Del Toro was given an overview of the ship’s medical treatment capabilities and was able to discuss issues related to the ship’s mission.
In addition to the tour, Del Toro took the opportunity to shake hands with and chat with members of the MTF.
“I am so happy to be here with all of you today and to welcome you home from your recent Pacific Partnership deployment,” said Del Toro. “I believe that everyone in uniform is a hero, but you are all saints. You are saints because you heal people. You work in adverse conditions and you train in adverse conditions, and you bring comfort to those in need. It’s been great being on Mercy, meeting all of you and seeing this great ship’s capabilities and hearing how she fits into the big picture of Navy operations.”
Del Toro’s visit comes on the heels of Mercy’s Pacific Partnership humanitarian mission homecoming this past Monday. Over four months, more than 800 service members and civilian mariners participated in Pacific Partnership, a multinational humanitarian mission in the Indo-Pacific that focuses on strengthening capacity of host nations to respond to crisis and fostering enduring bonds of friendship and multinational cooperation. During the mission, Mercy visited the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, the Republic of Palau and two states in the Federated States of Micronesia, Pohnpei and Chuuk. Mercy’s medical personnel, host nation medical teams and partner nations performed over 410 surgeries both aboard USNS Mercy and at the local host nation hospitals. The dental team saw 3,665 patients and the optometry team saw 7,025 patients. In addition to medical services, the team also provided continuing medical education.
Mercy is under the operational control of MSC who directs and supports operations for approximately 140 civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, perform a variety of support services, and move military equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations, with a workforce that includes approximately 6,000 Civil Service Mariners and 1,100 contract mariners, supported by 1,500 shore staff and 1,400 active duty and reserve military personnel.
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2024 14:26 |
| Story ID: | 464133 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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