Pacific Partnership, Pacific Friendship Unite to Advance Disaster Response Preparedness in Vietnam

QUANG TRI, Vietnam – The U.S. Navy-led Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26) and the U.S. Army-led Pacific Friendship 2026 (PF26) marked the beginning of their joint humanitarian assistance and disaster response mission alongside leaders from Vietnam with an opening ceremony at the Melia Vinpearl, Quang Tri Province,Vietnam, June 22.

The PP26 and PF26 teams worked in collaboration with the Government of Vietnam to plan the concurrent missions, with the shared goals of enhancing disaster response preparedness, promoting multilateral cooperation, and building people-to-people relationships across nations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. This is the first time that the Pacific Partnership and Pacific Friendship missions have worked together.

“Our collaboration inQuảngTrịis particularly meaningful because this province has long been the heart of our reconciliation and warlegacy efforts. The work done here to address unexploded ordnance, supportpeople with disabilitiesand build community capacity paved the way for the robust defense and security cooperation we share today,” said Chargé d’Affaires John McIntyre.

Over the next two weeks, approximately 270 U.S. personnel, including U.S. Navy Sailors, U.S. Army Soldiers, and Oregon National Guard Airmen from both missions, will work side-by-side with the Vietnamese People’s Army, government officials, and local community leaders. They will be joined by counterparts from the Canadian and German Armed Forces. Together, the multinational force will execute more than two dozen military-to-military and military-to-civilian activities along four lines of effort: engineering, medical, disaster response management, and host nation outreach.

During the opening ceremony, Acting U.S. Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao spoke about the joint mission's role in regional stability, the need for the Fleet of the future, and how cooperation is key to long-term security.

“The unprecedented collaboration between Pacific Partnership and Pacific Friendship, together with our Vietnamese partners, demonstrates our unified commitment to regional resilience,” said Cao. “As we continue to develop the Golden Fleet, we are not just preparing for future crises together; we are forging stronger bonds of trust and cooperation that are the bedrock of a secure and stable Pacific region.”

The schedule of activities includes the construction of a new restroom facility and a safety renovations project; a community health engagement at the Quang Tri Provincial Center for Disease Control; general health and dental outreach at local schools; medical subject matter expert exchanges on stroke prevention, trauma management, veterinary care, and public health; a visit to the Gio Linh Rehabilitation Center for Children with Disabilities; a four-day disaster management workshop; disaster management exchanges on explosive ordnance disposal, small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) deployment for emergency response, and flood response personnel recovery; a combined disaster response scenario to test medical capabilities during a simulated natural disaster; a volunteer project in conjunction with unexploded ordnance programs implementer PeaceTrees Vietnam; sports games, language and cultural exchanges at local schools; historical site visits; and performances by the Pacific Partnership band.

“Working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese People's Army and local communities is a profound privilege as we deepen our ties with a vital regional partner,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. E. Darrin Cox, commanding general of the 18th Theater Medical Command and Army Forces (ARFOR) commander for PF26. “Our core mission is to build shared resilience. By aligning our Army medical, engineering and disaster response experts with the Navy's Pacific Partnership, we are bringing a unified approach to this engagement, ensuring our nations are ready to respond to complex scenarios together.”

The Quang Tri stop is the first of five for this year’s Pacific Partnership, with more stops planned in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste.

2026 is the 20th anniversary of Pacific Partnership, which was first conducted as an initiative to build on the goodwill and lessons learned from the United States’ relief efforts following the December 2004 “Boxing Day” tsunami.

This is the second year for Pacific Friendship, building on the inaugural 2025 engagement in Quang Tri. The mission strengthens the 31-year diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam through realistic, side-by-side training that builds trust between military and civilian personnel. This training ensures both nations can coordinate quickly and effectively during real-world crises and underscore the U.S. commitment to regional stability.

About Pacific Partnership: Now in its 22nd iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively 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 in the Indo-Pacific.

About Pacific Friendship: Pacific Friendship is an annual U.S. Army Pacific-led bilateral engagement focusing on the U.S.-Vietnamese People’s Army’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR), as well as various medical and engineering activities to advance the mutual interest of a free and open Indo-Pacific

To learn more about Pacific Partnership and Pacific Friendship, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/PacificPartnership and https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/PacificFriendship.