QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Aug. 11, 2015) Hospitalman

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Aug. 11, 2015) Hospitalman Taylor Skaggs, assigned to the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), from Oakland, Calif., picks up a locking-screw during a surgical procedure at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center during Pacific Partnership 2015. Skaggs assisted with facial reconstructive surgery on a patient who suffered shrapnel wounds. Mercy is currently in the Philippines for its third mission port of PP15. Pacific Partnership is in its 10th iteration and is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. While training for crisis conditions, Pacific Partnership missions to date have provided real world medical care to approximately 270,000 patients and veterinary services to more than 38,000 animals. Additionally, the mission has provided critical infrastructure development to host nations through more than 180 engineering projects. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Valerie Eppler/RELEASED)