By Ashley Craig, Navy Office of Community Outreach
MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Ensign Alden Porcadas, a native of Spring Valley, California, is serving aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy as part of Pacific Partnership 2024 (PP24-1).
Mercy departed its homeport in San Diego on Oct. 10 with more than 800 military medical personnel and support staff and more than 70 civil service mariners aboard the afloat medical treatment facility to participate in the 19th iteration of the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific.
Porcadas, a 2018 graduate of Monte Vista High School, joined the Navy one year ago.
“I joined the Navy because I come from a long line of U.S. Navy sailors and I thought it would be a great opportunity to combine my role as a nurse with serving the country,” said Porcadas.
Porcadas serves as a nurse in Ward 1 supporting Pacific Partnership 2024.
“As a nurse, I make sure that all the patients who come down to the ward are treated properly and receive the care they need,” said Porcadas. “I also participate in events out in the host nations to interact with and further assist the local people.”
This annual maritime humanitarian and civic assistance mission focuses on improving disaster response preparedness, resiliency and capacity while enhancing partnerships with participating nations and civilian humanitarian organizations throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
“I think the most exciting aspect of this mission is being able to travel to all of these countries that I’d never heard of,” said Porcadas.
Host nations invite the U.S. Navy and its mission partners to visit and conduct tailored humanitarian civic action activities in areas such as engineering, disaster response, host nation outreach events and public health. Additional criteria are also taken into consideration such as U.S. Navy and partner nation regional interests as well as host nation objectives and desires.
“This mission reflects the continued commitment to the region and dedication to disaster- response-readiness from the United States, our partners and allies, and the host nations,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Quin, the mission commander for Pacific Partnership 2024.
The Pacific Partnership mission team aboard Mercy will make stops in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. Experts in the fields of engineering, medicine and disaster response will partner with each host to conduct civic-action projects, community health exchanges, medical symposiums and disaster response training activities.
“I had never been on a mission before but it’s definitely an eye-opening experience to see what we are doing first-hand,” said Porcadas.
Pacific Partnership began in response to one of the world’s most catastrophic natural disasters, the December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Southeast Asia. The mission has evolved over the years from an emphasis on direct care to an operation focused on enhancing partnerships through host nation subject matter experts and civil-military exchanges.
“PP24 has changed me and my outlook by helping me realize how much work the U.S. Navy is doing to keep good relations with these host nations,” added Porcadas.
