File:US Navy 060702-N-9076B-078 U.S. Navy Lt.j.g. Cathrine Soteras of Long Beach, Calif., discuses a patients condition with Operation Smile nurse Simran Singh of Canada, in a recovery room aboard U.S. Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy.jpg

English: Chittagong, Bangladesh (July 2, 2006) – U.S. Navy Lt.j.g. Cathrine Soteras of Long Beach, Calif., discuses a patients condition with Operation Smile nurse Simran Singh of Canada, in a recovery room aboard U.S. Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). The boy is resting after cleft lip surgery from Operation Smile doctors who are working with Mercy personnel on the ship and at the local hospital. The ship is in the third month of a scheduled five-month deployment to host nations in the Pacific Islands, and South and Southeast Asia, having recently completed 24 days of humanitarian assistance to the people of the southern Philippines. Mercy is uniquely capable of supporting medical and humanitarian assistance needs and is configured with special medical equipment and a robust multi-specialized medical team that can provide a range of services ashore as well as aboard the ship. The Mercy’s mission is being carried out in conjunction with nongovernmental organizations, and in close coordination and partnership with local medical care professionals. Volunteers from Project HOPE, Operation Smile and the University of California at San Diego Pre-Dental Society joined Mercy, along with a contingent of military medical specialists from the U.S., India, Singapore, and Canada. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Don Bray (RELEASED)