8/7/2019 Press Release 014 - Pacific Partnership Arrives in Tonga

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Public Affairs OfficePacific Partnership 2011Onboard USS Cleveland

Public Affairs Officer (N00PA)Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet250 Makalapa Dr.

Pearl Harbor, HI 96860-3131(808) 471-3769

-- For Release --

Pacific Partnership Team Arrives in TongaBy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class R. David Valdez, Pacific Partnership 2010

Public Affairs

VAVAU, TONGA The Pacific Partnership team pulled into port off the coast of VavauApril 13, to begin the first phase of the 2011 mission with representatives from Australia,Canada, France, New Zealand, and the United States.

The majority of the team arrived aboard amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland(LPD 7), which is housing the command staff, the crew, representatives from non-government organizations (NGOs), Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen from each ofthe partner nations participating in Pacific Partnership 2011.

The entire Pacific Partnership team is very excited to get our mission started, saidCapt. Jesse A. Wilson, Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 23 and missioncommander of Pacific Partnership 2011. The servicemen and women and all of thevolunteers from the NGOs are finally able to execute this mission after months ofplanning. All of us are eager to meet and work side by side with our friends in Tonga.

New Zealand has multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury (L421) anchored off of Tonga aswell, conducting operations simultaneously with Cleveland. Midway through the Tonganportion of Pacific Partnership, Wilson will shift his command and a portion of his staff toCanterbury in order to have a first-hand look at operations conducted from there.

The partner nations and NGOs of Pacific Partnership will engage in engineering, dental,

medical and veterinary civil assistance projects and subject matter expert exchangesdesigned to increase interoperability between host nations and partner nations. Thecombined team of Pacific Partnership and host nations will also develop sustainablesolutions for environmental and social challenges in the region.

We are all going to gain from this experience, from seamen on the deckplates to theTongans on the shore, said Royal Australian Navy Cmdr. Ashley Papp, Commander

8/7/2019 Press Release 014 - Pacific Partnership Arrives in Tonga

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Australian Contingent, Pacific Partnership 2011. This mission is truly aboutpartnership, understanding and mutual benefit. I am positive we will all learn valuablelessons from our experiences in Tonga.

Pacific Partnership 2011 will deliver humanitarian and civic assistance, along with

environmental sustainability missions from USS Cleveland to the nations of Tonga,Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The Pacific Partnership mission was born out of the aftermath of the 2004 tsunamiwhich devastated Indonesia. Following that mission, Pacific Partnership began in 2006and has gone to many countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, treated210,000 patients, and continued to enhance interoperability with partner nations.

For more news from Pacific Partnership, visit:

www.cpf.navy.mil/pp11

www.facebook/pacificpartnership/http://twitter.com/pacificpartner

- USN -

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