USNS Mercy is preparing to leave San Diego with supplies to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.
More than 1,000 pallets of materials were loaded onto the Naval ship today and should be ready to leave in the next three days. The cargo includes food, equipment and medical supplies.
“We are loading the ship to able to be a capable fleet hospital ship to support any kind of medical mission should Mercy be called upon to deploy to execute that mission,” said Cmdr. Tony Costa, of the U.S. Navy.
The ship had to wait for the execution order on Wednesday before it began to prepare. The plan is for it to have enough food and materials to sustain the crew of 1,100 for 30 days at sea.
Costa said the crew has received help from different groups in San Diego, including Military Sealift Command, Fleet logistics center of San Diego, Defense Logistics Agency troop support and other ships in the area, which have pitched in personnel and support.
“This is a fantastic example of the one-team mentality of the Navy,” he said . “This is a fantastic example of a one-team mentality of the Navy. When one team gets called upon, the rest of us aren’t just standing by.”
