Teams From Mercy Treat Thousands in Timor

Medical teams from the hospital ship Mercy spent 13 days in July treating 9,800 patients in the Pacific island nation of Timor-Leste, as part of an international goodwill mission called Pacific Partnership 2008. The aid, which included surgery performed on 270 patients, came at the request of Timor-Leste government. Other units provided services to the nation known commonly as East Timor, which achieved its independence from Indonesia in 1999. Crews from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 and Amphibious Construction Battalion 1 repaired a community center and school; the Pacific Fleet band played concerts in local towns.