MERCY MISSION

摘要

In his essay outlining the U.S. Navy's role "as citizens" of the post-9/11 world in the August All Hands magazine, Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, wrote: "Sailors have always reflected well upon America whenever we put in or wherever we are based. "President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed home the Great White Fleet from its year-long cruise around the world by lauding its sailors as 'the best of all possible ambassadors and heralds of peace.' We still are." The Great White Fleet — four squadrons comprising 16 U.S. battleships — made 20 port calls on six continents from Dec. 16, 1907 - Feb. 22, 1909, helping the U.S. Navy sow goodwill worldwide and greatly enhance the nation's presence, especially in the Pacific, where tensions were on the rise with Japan. Nearly a century later, with the United States again trying to foster better relations and visibility in the Pacific region, where piracy, terrorism and instability pose constant threats, the gleaming white U.S. Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy is performing much the same ambassadorial mission on its own.