Friendships Endure: Frederick Native Supports Pacific Partnership 2022

By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Lt. Yawar Iqbal, a native of Frederick, Maryland, is serving with Commander, Pacific Fleet on board Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) as part of Pacific Partnership 2022 (PP22), deployed in the Pacific Ocean. 

Mercy departed its homeport in San Diego May 3, with more than 800 personnel aboard, including military medical and engineering personnel, support staff, partner nation representatives and civil service mariners to participate in the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific. Each year the Pacific Partnership staff works collectively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security and stability in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships. 

Iqbal is a Judge Advocate General responsible for administrative law, government contracting, civilian and military personnel law.

"I provide forward-deployed operational legal advice and handle traditional Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) matters such as military justice, administrative investigations, ethics, foreign criminal jurisdiction, sovereign immunity and foreign claims," said Iqbal.

“I am so proud to be serving alongside Lt. Iqbal and this outstanding group of sailors as we support this important mission on the largest floating hospital in the world,” said U.S. Capt. Hank Kim, PP22 mission commander. “I’m looking forward to watching this incredible team forge new friendships and strengthen existing relationships with the nations in Oceania and the Western Pacific.”

At the invitation of host nations, Pascua and the Pacific Partnership team work together to conduct tailored medical, dental, veterinary, engineering civic action projects, and subject-matter-expert exchanges.

"It is the greatest honor to participate in this exercise," said Iqbal. "I nearly went to medical school out of undergrad, but elected to pursue my childhood dream of becoming an attorney.  Serving as a hospital ship’s JAG allows me to experience the best of both worlds.  Doing that while traveling the North Pacific Ocean and visiting countries I have never been to for humanitarian and civic assistance missions, is truly a dream come true."

Pacific Partnership assists local communities with a wide range of services enhancing host nation capabilities, building regional relationships, and exercising a collective ability to respond to situations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

"There is no greater feeling than walking up in your stateroom on a hospital ship, putting on your uniform and having a cup of coffee on the flight deck overseeing the tremendously vast North Pacific Ocean," added Iqbal. "Often, during my morning coffee rituals, I think about the men and women who served before me, who sacrificed everything to protect our freedoms and democracy.  It is a true honor to follow in their footsteps – and, quite literally, walk same paths they walked."