VUDAL, Papua New Guinea (July 6, 2015) Col. Howard

VUDAL, Papua New Guinea (July 6, 2015) Col. Howard Gobble, an Army veterinarian, arrives at a cattle pen at the Papua New Guinea University of Natural Resources and Environment to examine its stock as part of a veterinary clinic during Pacific Partnership 2015. The hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) is currently in Papua New Guinea for its second mission port of PP15. Pacific Partnership is in its 10th iteration and is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided real world medical care to approximately 270,00 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,999 animals. Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through more than 180 engineering projects. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Christopher E. Tucker/Released)