By Peter A. Prahar, U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia
Although USS Cleveland has left the shores of The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the legacy of Pacific Partnership 2011 – and the memory of the dedicated men and women who came to these islands to serve – will live on for many years to come.
Let me first thank the doctors, nurses, vets, and dentists who saw over 6,000 patients (nearly 6% of the country’s total population) in only eight days; the fly away teams that extended medical services to a population spread over four states, 600 islands, and one million square miles of ocean; the officers and crew of the USS Cleveland; and members of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Army who embarked aboard USS Cleveland and who supported the mission from bases throughout the Pacific and United States. What a mission! What a team effort!
Behind the numbers, I myself witnessed the delight of a patient when his ability to read was improved with new glasses. I also heard of a child who was diagnosed for the first time with a potentially life-threatening heart condition. The resulting medical referral may save his life. There are surely many, many more examples of the impact the PP11 mission had on people’s lives. These stories will live on and on in these small communities on these small islands. 
Pacific Partnership personnel nurtured the goodwill and special relationship between the peoples of the FSM and the United States everywhere they went. I recall our Peace Corps Volunteers dancing with local children to the music of the Pacific Fleet Band on the 4th of July. I watched Micronesian athletes compete in friendly softball, soccer, and basketball games with the Pacific Partnership teams. The engineering team at the Ohmine Elementary School “sacrificed” its lunch breaks to play games with the children attending the school. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, my deputy witnessed these engineers talking, laughing, and playing with many children. I am certain these children will never forget these moments.
I would also like to thank the engineers of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 who repaired and renovated three schools in Pohnpei. These men and women worked to ensure that the children of Micronesia have safe, comfortable and well-maintained places to study – in buildings, in short, that represent the value we all must put on education.
One of my main goals as Ambassador has been to improve the performance of the education system here in the FSM. For the rest of my assignment, I’ll be reminding young men and women here that it is simply incredible what the young men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces can do – and that each and every one of them is enrolled in training programs to either improve their existing skills or learn new ones.
I will encourage all young people here to think of them as role models. The men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces are committed to a lifetime of learning – and the young people of Micronesia should be, too. The men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces believe in themselves and their futures, set their aspirations high, take responsibility for their futures, work hard, and never give up. And that’s what the young men and women in Micronesia should do, too. 
For the rest of my time here as U.S. Ambassador, I will look back with pride on the good and lasting work accomplished by Pacific Partnership 2011 during these past two historic weeks.
Pacific Partnership 2011 has accomplished its mission with professionalism and humanity reflecting great honor and credit on all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense.
All the members of my mission wish the U.S.S. Cleveland a safe journey home. Farewell Pacific Partnership 2011!
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Our next blog will be posted in a couple of days.
Sincerely,
Ambassador Peter A. Prahar
Peter A. Prahar, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service of the United States, has been the United States Ambassador to Micronesia since 2009. Prior to this assignment, , he served as Director of the Office of Asian, African, and European Programs in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Desk Officer for Rwanda, and overseas tours in the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Albania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mali. He also served with the OSCE in Kosovo and Vienna and with the Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission in Kosovo. He and his wife, Amy Kit Ling Choi Prahar, were married when both were students at International Christian University in Tokyo. He is a native of Oregon and a graduate of the University of Michigan.
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