150616-N-HY254-077
TARAWA, Kiribati (June 16, 2015) – Commodore, Task Force Forager, Capt. James Meyer, delivers a speech during a ribbon cutting ceremony June 16 at Bikenibeu Primary School. The ribbon cutting commemorates the renovation of Bikenibeu Primary School. Task Force Forager is embarked aboard the Military Sealift Command joint high speed vessel USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3). Millinocket is serving as the secondary platform for Pacific Partnership, led by an expeditionary command element from the Navy’s 30th Naval Construction Regiment (30 NCR) from Port Hueneme, Calif. Now in its 10th iteration, Pacific Partnership 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 have provided medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary service to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, Pacific Partnership has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through the completion of more than 180 engineering products. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jonathan Kulp/Released)