Naval Hospital Oak Harbor Sailors join USNS Mercy

Naval Hospital Oak Harbor (NHOH) sent off the first five of 12 Sailors, March 28, to assist USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during their
upcoming humanitarian efforts.
Mercy will be underway for approximately five months providing assistance to people in countries such as Vietnam, the
Republic of the Philippines, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor during Pacific Partnership ‘08.
NHOH will be sending the remaining seven Sailors in two waves April 15 and May 24. Mercy and USNS Comfort (T-AH 20)
conduct this mission yearly, alternating which ship deploys each year. Mercy is also expecting to enjoy four liberty port calls
during the underway period.
“You’ve got a very important mission coming up right now; it’s a new mission for Navy Medicine doing humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief,” said Capt. Colin Chinn, NHOH commanding officer. “It’s called Medical Diplomacy and it’s just as vital in the
Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). As what everyone’s doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, you are medical diplomats.”
NHOH personnel will also be providing support to Mercy in various ship’s company assignments when not in port. As well as
assistance in the Medical Department, members will be participating as food service attendants, cooks and flight deck crew.
“We’re going to be busy, it’s going to be 10-, 12-, 14-hour workdays with a lot of reaching out to different communities; they
average about 160,000 patients per deployment,” said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW/AW/FMF) Emanuel Montenegro, of
NHOH. “They’re also going to be busy (underway) with the aircraft arriving with equipment and supplies all the way down to the
galley and workspaces. It’s going to be an ongoing evolution, the only time we’re going to get rest is during our (liberty) port calls.”
Those involved feel that this deployment is going to provide good training while being confronted with some issues they’ve never
seen before and have only read about in books.
“They’re going to have the best experience of their lives taking care of someone who’s not an American citizen, hands-on on a
day-to-day basis,” said Montenegro. “It’s going to be an eye opener for a lot of our young Sailors.”
The deploying Sailors are grateful for this opportunity and are thankful to the crew remaining at NHOH for putting forth the extra
effort to allow them to deploy.
“I just want to thank the staff left behind for picking up the slack for these
Sailors,” said Montenegro. “Losing 12 people means their shipmates and coworkers need to be doing their jobs. It’s a two-way street
providing support to the country while, at the same time, their fellow workers maintain the same patient care and mission
accomplishment locally.”
Chinn feels his Sailors are getting a head start on the future of the Navy and is confident they will perform up to the standards set
for them.
“In the next several decades this is going to be the battleground for the GWOT, this is the future and this is what the leadership thinks
we need to send naval forces out and Navy Medicine in particular,” said Chinn. “You’re the vanguard of this new mission and it’s extremely
important what you are doing, and I know you guys are going to do an outstanding job. I wish all of you the best of luck, Godspeed,
and we’re looking forward to your return.”