Local service members help with Pacific Partnership

A Jeannette native shared her skills with the people of a tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean through the U.S. Navy and Pacific Partnership.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Brittany Carl, 22, spent time in December painting a basketball court in Koror, Palau, but said working in the intensive care unit on the Navy ship has helped her increase her knowledge and abilities.

“I joined as a corpsman with the hope that I would help people and improve lives,” she said. “I feel that this mission has done just that.”

Carl joined the Navy after graduating from Jeannette High School in 2019. She said she was inspired by her older sister, Monica Carl, who joined the Marines.

The Pacific Partnership is an annual multi-national humanitarian mission that is aimed at increasing a nation’s capabilities. The mission’s recent stint in Palau allowed military members from several countries to assist Palau residents with a wide variety of needs, including medical, vision, dental, disaster relief and agricultural infrastructure, according to information released by the military.

Palau is an archipelago of about 500 islands west of the Philippines.

Carl said she’s participated in similar outreach events in host nations in which she connected with school students, as well as cared for patients. She’s thankful for the new friends, mentors and memories made during those missions.

“It’s truly been an amazing experience to see these other nations and do what we can to help,” she said.

Another local member of the Navy worked with the Pacific Partnership during a stop in the Marshall Islands. Ensign Ava Kurtz of Ligonier conducted pre-surgery screenings Oct. 31 at a hospital in Majuro, the capital and largest city in the islands, which are west of Palau.

Service members helped island residents in a variety of ways, ranging from engineering projects to removing cataracts, according to the Navy.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story showed an incorrect photo of Brittany Carl.