Pasadena, California is home to two naval ships with impressive capacities. The USNS Mercy (T-AH) 1 is a hospital ship that is 610 feet 1 inch (186 m) long in total, with a sleeve of 66 feet 4 inches (20.22 m) and a draft of 24 feet 6 inches (7.47 m). It is part of the Pacific Alliance, the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness mission taking place in the Indo-Pacific region. The Pacific Alliance has been providing aid to the region since 2002 and is now in its seventeenth year.
The Mercy is currently underway off the coast of Southern California, carrying out a dynamic interface exercise to evaluate the compatibility of the ship's aviation facilities with the V-22 Osprey and MH-60 Sea Hawk. This exercise will also establish launch and recovery windows in adverse weather conditions. The USS Pasadena (CL 6) was built in the late 1930s and had a limited capacity of 8,000 long tons (8,100 t). It was equipped with armor on its belt that was 3.5 to 5 inches (89 to 127 mm) thick, protecting its ammunition magazines and propulsion machinery from damage. After leaving the shipyard, it participated in training exercises in the area until September when it returned to the Central Pacific. The USS Pasadena was part of Working Group 35.1 on August 23 and four days later it anchored in Sagami Bay, just outside Tokyo.
It then participated in the occupation of Japan and became the flagship of Working Group 35.1.In 1948, it entered Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) during an NROTC midshipman cruise. In March 2020, USNS Mercy (T-AH) 1 and JS Shimokita (LST-400) joined the Vietnam People's Navy vessel Khánh Hóa in Da Nang during its third Pacific Association mission stop. Arnoldo Romero-Velazco, Fusilier of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment and 1st Marine Division, is responsible for the safety of this hospital ship. The USNS Mercy (T-AH) 1 and USS Pasadena are two impressive naval ships that have been providing aid to the Indo-Pacific region for nearly two decades. The Mercy's armor protects it from damage while its aviation facilities are evaluated for compatibility with other aircrafts. The USS Pasadena has been part of this mission since 1948 and continues to be a vital part of this humanitarian effort.
