Banda Aceh Relief Operation Goes Native

Click above for the PACOM article on the departure of USNS Mercy dated March 16...

"U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy and German military units will leave Aceh, concluding relief efforts in Indonesia's westernmost province, the area hardest hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
The departure is taking place as the Indonesian government plans to start reconstruction this month in the province, where more than 220,000 people were killed or are missing after a magnitude 9 earthquake unleashed waves that destroyed coastal areas in the Indian Ocean and killed more than 270,000 people in 12 countries.
The San Diego-based hospital ship is leaving Banda Aceh waters today, concluding six weeks of humanitarian efforts and health services ashore and afloat, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in an e-mailed statement today. As many as 19,512 medical procedures, including 285 surgeries were performed on the ship since it arrived on Feb. 2, the statement said."

One wonders where the French aircraft carrier Charles DeGaulle is at this moment. Last projected ETA was April Fool's Day, so they should arrive about two weeks after the last partygoers went home. If I remember my schoolboy French lessons correctly (it's been over four decades ago) Qu'elle domage!