Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Countries converge for PACANGEL Papua New GuineaPublished June 4, 2015
                    
                    By 1st Lt. Michael Harrington
                    
                    
                    Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs
            **EASTERN HIGHLANDS PROVINCE, Papua New Guinea (AFNS) --**A six-nation Pacific Angel 15-4 team arrived June 1 in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea.
The PACANGEL team – made up of doctors, dentists, plumbers and planners from Papua New Guinea, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia -- tumbled out of trucks in Goroka, a town of 20,000 people located a mile above sea level, to deliver humanitarian assistance and build disaster relief abilities with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.
The value of the exchanges taking place in tropical medicine, public health and engineering encourages partner countries to build relationships through these various programs, preserving peace and stability in the region.
The operation helps Papua New Guinea military and civil health groups recognize and cope with the complexity of a disaster like the typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods characteristic of the South Pacific, said U.S. Air Force Lt Col. Courtney Finkbeiner, a nurse and leader of the operation's medical subject matter expert exchange teams.
"Disaster is chaotic enough," she continued. "All of the (Papua New Guinea) medical professionals know how to care for patients; we only try to show them how we organize in a crisis."
Appreciating that context of mutual reliance and assistance is critical to understanding the aid picture in the South Pacific, emphasizing cooperation amongst countries.
"We all have different outlooks, but in a situation like Pacific Angel, we have to consult with each other," said Philippine Army Capt. Donald Palmer, a Philippines Medical Corps doctor. "We take our (national) experiences and turn them into multilateral ability, where each country can help the other."
Missions like PACANGEL help local government and international aid agencies respond more quickly to crises within a country's borders and assume control of recovery in their wake, enabling them to better use the equipment, training and connections they already have.
For instance, PACANGEL missions to Nepal in recent years helped more than 9,000 people in that country. More critically, the missions brought together the Nepalese, American, Australian and other military and civilian aid agencies who later formed the joint task force that responded to the devastation following the earthquake near Kathmandu weeks ago.
For many of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force members, all the disaster training and activity resonate strongly with experience.
"We've been through the real things, many times before," said Papua New Guinea Defence Force Maj. Wilson Andrews, the PACANGEL lead host nation planner.
This summer marks the eighth iteration of PACANGEL. The teams will be training in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief through June 8.the U.S. 



Australia 



New Zealand 



Philippines 



Indonesia 



PACANGEL 



Humanitarian 



Pacific Angel 



Papua New Guinea Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil