Floating hospital embarks on mission

A naval hospital ship carrying several relief organizations and medical supplies will leave Pearl Harbor today to provide humanitarian aid in Southeast Asia and the Pacific during a four-month mission.

The USNS Mercy is scheduled to visit the Philippines, Vietnam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.

Also aboard the USNS Mercy will be Aloha Medical Mission, a Hawaii-based nonprofit organization, and other relief organizations that will offer medical care to various countries.

The Aloha Medical Mission is seeking permission from Myanmar's government to send an emergency mission there after a devastating cyclone, but the country will not be visited by the Mercy.

The Mercy's mission is part of Pacific Partnership 2008, a humanitarian civic assistance mission that brings together an international team, including nongovernmental organizations, that provides medical, dental and construction services to several countries.

For more information on USNS Mercy or Pacific Partnership 2008, visit www.cpf.navy. mil.