Defence joins Pacific aid mission AUSTRALIAN Defence Force personnel are working with American and Japanese counterparts to deliver aid in Papua New Guinea through the latest Pacific Partnership mission. The US-sponsored program has been conducted annually since the devastating Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 and has delivered help to more than 150,000 people in 10 Pacific region countries. Around 100 medical and engineering personnel from the US, Japan and Australia are aboard landing ship HMAS Tobruk to deliver medical, dental, veterinary and engineering aid in PNG. Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore, deputy chief of Australian Defence Force joint operations, said on Tuesday the program directly benefited the people of Pacific nations and allowed partner nations to practice working together. "Importantly, Pacific Partnership provides a platform that can build confidence to ensure the nations involved can respond effectively as a group to a multinational crisis supporting humanitarian and civic action if the need arose," he said in a statement.