Pacific Friendship 2026 concludes in Vietnam, strengthening U.S.-Vietnam humanitarian partnership

QUANG TRI, Vietnam — U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) and Quang Tri Province concluded Pacific Friendship (PF26) on July 6, following more than two weeks of combined medical, disaster management, engineering, and community outreach engagements conducted alongside the U.S. Navy-led Pacific Partnership 2026 (PP26).

From June 20 to July 6, PF26 and PP26 brought together approximately 270 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen, as well as partners from the Canadian Armed Forces and German Armed Forces, to train alongside more than 300 Vietnamese military and civilian professionals. Through expert exchanges, hands-on training, and community engagements, participants strengthened the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership while enhancing their ability to respond together during future humanitarian assistance and disaster response scenarios.

"Our return to Quang Tri for the second Pacific Friendship reflects the enduring partnership between the United States and Vietnam and how it continues to grow," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. E. Darrin Cox, commanding general of the 18th Theater Medical Command (TMC) and Army Forces commander for PF26. "Each year we train side by side, we strengthen not only our capabilities, but also the trust and professional relationships that enable us to respond together when our communities need us most."

This year, PF26 led 10 activities and participated in more than a dozen additional engagements alongside PP26 across medical, disaster management, engineering, and community outreach.

Medical exchanges covered stroke care, trauma medicine, dental health, disease surveillance, and biomedical equipment maintenance.

Across Dong Hoi City General Hospital, Northern Quang Tri Hospital, and Bac Quang Tri Hospital, U.S. Army Soldiers from the 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade partnered with U.S. Navy and Vietnamese physicians to exchange best practices in stroke recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation through classroom instruction, clinical case reviews, and hospital rounds.

At Dong Hoi Regional Hospital and Northern Quang Tri Hospital, Soldiers from the 1984th U.S. Army Hospital led multi-day trauma exchanges that progressed from classroom instruction and hands-on trauma scenarios to hospital integration, where U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Canadian, German, and Vietnamese medical professionals worked together to perform surgical procedures and deliver trauma care.

Community-based medical outreach extended those exchanges beyond the hospital setting. Soldiers from the 18th TMC and Medical Readiness Command, Pacific partnered with U.S. Navy and Vietnamese dental professionals to deliver preventive dental care and oral health education at the Gio Linh Center for Rehabilitation of Children with Disabilities, Le Ninh Primary School, and Son Thuy Primary School. Together, they delivered preventive care, dental screenings, and oral health education to more than 500 children and community members while exchanging clinical techniques and best practices.

Working alongside the Quang Tri Provincial Center for Disease Control, Soldiers from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research–Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences and U.S. Navy preventative medicine technicians conducted disease surveillance exchanges through classroom instruction and field training in local communities. Participants exchanged techniques in vector collection, laboratory identification, and field surveillance to strengthen regional disease surveillance capabilities.

Soldiers from the 62nd Medical Brigade also supported a Navy-led biomedical equipment maintenance exchange, working with Vietnamese biomedical technicians to improve the long-term readiness of critical medical equipment.

Disaster management training focused on explosive ordnance disposal, flood response, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), disaster response medicine, veterinary support, and littoral medical operations.

Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from the 716th EOD Company partnered with Vietnamese military personnel to exchange explosive ordnance disposal procedures and operational best practices. Operating in support of their State Partnership Program with Vietnam, Soldiers and Airmen from the Oregon National Guard demonstrated the use of sUAS during flood response operations and shared rescue techniques with Vietnamese emergency managers. Meanwhile, Soldiers from the 62nd Medical Brigade led disaster response medical and veterinary exchanges that strengthened emergency response capabilities and public health preparedness.

Training culminated in two multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster response events involving military and civilian personnel from the United States, Vietnam, Canada, and Germany.

At Le Ky Bridge in Dong Hoi, Soldiers and Airmen from PF26 joined Vietnamese emergency responders in a simulated Category 5 typhoon response. The activity integrated sUAS to locate stranded personnel, leading to swift-water rescues and casualty recoveries. Teams triaged and treated more than 20 mock casualties, managing trauma care and evacuation while coordinating across multiple military and civilian organizations.

At Hon La Port, the Army-led Pacific Friendship held a culminating maritime mass casualty event aboard the U.S. Army landing craft utility USAV Paulus Hook. Soldiers from the 8th Forward Resuscitative and Surgical Detachment teamed up with U.S. Navy, Canadian, and German personnel, alongside Vietnamese military and civilian organizations. Together, the multinational team recovered casualties from a Quang Tri Maritime Administration vessel before conducting casualty reception, triage, trauma care, and evacuation planning, demonstrating their joint ability to respond to a maritime disaster.

Beyond medical and disaster management training, U.S. Army Soldiers from the 411th Engineer Battalion, 9th Mission Support Command worked alongside U.S. Navy Seabees and Vietnamese counterparts to renovate sanitation facilities at Le Ninh Regional Clinic and construct a new restroom facility at Quang Xuan Primary School, improving hygiene for thousands of patients and more than 700 students.

Throughout the engagement, PF26 and PP26 personnel participated in school visits, volunteer activities, and community outreach that strengthened people-to-people relationships across Quang Tri Province.

During the joint PF26-PP26 closing ceremony, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Pacific, emphasized that Pacific Friendship builds on each year's successes to strengthen the long-term partnership between the United States and Vietnam.

"As we conclude today, we do not view this as the end of an exercise or program, but as the foundation for our future together," Vowell said. "We look forward to building on this year's success, expanding our operational complexity, and continuing to practice and innovate together."

Pacific Friendship is an annual bilateral engagement co-led by U.S. Army Pacific and Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and executed by the 18th TMC and a select Vietnam province. Building on 31 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam, the engagement strengthens humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities through recurring medical, engineering, and disaster management exchanges that prepare both nations to respond together when challenges arise.