Friendships Endure: Harbor Beach Native Supports Pacific Partnership 2022

By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach

MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Petty Officer 3rd Class Gabriella Cooper, a native of Harbor Beach, Michigan, is serving aboard 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. 

Cooper is a Navy hospital corpsman responsible for providing humanitarian assistance to foreign countries through healthcare.

"I also provide mentorship to junior sailors and assist in events to boost morale," said Cooper.

“I am so proud to be serving alongside Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper 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, Cooper and the Pacific Partnership team work together to conduct tailored medical, dental, veterinary, engineering civic action projects, and subject-matter-expert exchanges.

"It's an honor to be involved in this mission and provide healthcare to other countries," Cooper. "I’m excited to explore new countries and cultures, and I look forward to all the experience I will gain on this deployment."

 

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.

"I serve for my family, friends and everyone else in this country," added Cooper. One percent of this nation serves in the military and I get to be a part of it. The Navy has made me 10 times he person I used to be, and I can look in the mirror and be proud of that person."