Careful students of history may be surprised that a US naval vessel recently became the first foreign military ship to stop in the port of Nha Trang, Vietnam. Not only did the US not win the Vietnam War, but the thaw in relations between the US and Vietnam has not been sufficient to justify joint military exercises. Yet the USNS Mercy sailed safely to Vietnam, and the sailors were warmly welcomed in Vietnam.

Chris Gullick described the Mercy's mission of mercy in Enterprise-Record. "Its peacetime mission is to bring medical and dental assistance to areas where such care is in demand and build trust between governments and medical professional communities. The ship's first stop on this trip, after taking on supplies and personnel in Hawaii and Guam, was a 14-day visit to the Philippines, where about 200 surgeries were performed and about 5,000 people seen in clinic."

This mission is called the Mercy Pacific Partnership, and it is commanded by Captain Bill Kearns who further described what was accomplished in Vietnam. "Since Mercy's arrival, medical personnel have treated over 8,000 Vietnamese citizens, 6,000 at medical sites and 2,000 at dental sites throughout the Kai Gwa (ph) province. Mercy conducted over 200 surgeries onboard the ship and these surgeries include 90 Operation Smile cases, which are generally cleft palate and cleft lip repair surgeries, other plastic surgeries that typically included burn, scar therapy and replacement, ophthalmology surgeries and endoscopy procedures."

The ship is now scheduled to proceed to Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Micronesia. This act of generosity obviously generates good will between the United States and the people who are being helped. It is also increasing collaboration between civillians from many nations and the military.

John J. Kruzel wrote "The crew’s composition -- with representatives from more than 50 nations aboard -- is an example of effective multilateralism, as U.S. personnel operate alongside their counterparts from Australia, Canada, India, South Korea and Singapore, to name a few.

"[Navy Vice Adm. Doug] Crowder said that the Mercy’s Pacific Partnership mission also is a cornerstone of the Defense Department’s overall maritime strategy.

“'Building relationships and trust, understanding each other, these are the underpinnings to ensuring security and stability in Asia-Pacific,' he said. 'That's why this mission is so very important.'”

The mission is also an example of inter-service collaboration, as members of the US Air Force and Army are also participating on the mission.

While it is difficult to argue against so positive a mission, not everyone belives this ought to be a priority. D/C argued "We are up to our eyeballs in debt, fighting a war.. Hey Lets go rebuild some other 3rd world country with the money we “DON’T” have, all the while Gas is about to go to 4.00 a gallon, and Food is going through the roof...Look I think we need missions like this, but darn it we can’t afford to fix barracks for the Army, our ships can’t even fire weapons due to safety problems, but hey lets go help build a school!"

On the other hand, Medical Corpsman David Lay spoke to the impact that he and his colleagues had specifically when treating children with cleft pallettes. "With parents, it's one of the best things in the world...That's why we're here,"

Alex Elliot also writes for Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting.