MERCEX 19-4 Concludes

PACIFIC OCEAN

09.27.2019

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Harley Sarmiento 

USNS MERCY (T-AH 19)

PACIFIC OCEAN – (Sept. 27, 2019) Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy’s (T-AH 19) quarterly Mercy Exercise (MERCEX) concluded Sept. 27 after completing 5 days underway.

The underway period consisted of 322 embarked Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen who participated in the exercises, trainings, and drills throughout the week.
“It is critical for the Mercy to get underway for these exercises,” said Capt. John Rotruck, Mercy’s commanding officer. “Being underway provides the right mindset for our entire crew that helps us ‘train like we fight’ in order to provide the best health service support to our joint warfighters.”

Mercy conducted medical readiness trainings (MRT), Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive material (CBRN-E) decontamination drills, and a range of trainings and lectures to prepare the ship in case of a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) situation.

“Going underway for MERCEXs like this one is important for the ship because it brings all of the members assigned to the platform together and puts them through the motions and pressure’s they could face if the ship was activated for a combat or HA/DR response,” said Capt. William Scouten, Mercy’s executive officer. “Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen can complete online training all day, but until they are put in the real life situations, they might not fully grasp the concepts. MERCEXs help them with that.”

When called upon, the Mercy is expected to deploy within five days to provide scalable role three medical and surgical care across a broad range of specialties. Mercy does so while serving as an afloat theater hospitalization capability, all in support of the joint warfighter engaged in the full range of military operations.

MERCEX keeps both the MSC merchant mariners and service members up to par on their skills and keeps them ready to deploy in a moments call to anywhere in the world.

Mercy is currently operating off the coast of San Diego for Mercy Exercise 19-4 (MERCEX). Mercy is one of two hospital ships owned and operated by Military Sealift Command. Mercy conducts operations in the Pacific area of responsibility under the guidance of U.S. Pacific Command and Commander Pacific Fleet.

• Date Taken: 09.27.2019
• Date Posted: 09.27.2019 17:46
• Story ID: 344427
• Location: PACIFIC OCEAN