Talk:USNS Mercy

Comments
I have a couple of problems with the caption of the lower photo. First, the description on the photo's page doesn't mention its mission, but the caption on this page does. At least one should be updated. Also, I take exception to the expression "the tsunami". It should either say "...to aid tsunami victims in South Asia", "...to aid victims of the December 26, 2004 South Asian tsunami", or not refer to the mission at all. - RealGrouchy 02:53, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Either edit sounds fine. Be bold. Jinian 11:34, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

---The phrase "USNS Mercy was commissioned on 8 November 1986" is innumerate. The USNS Mercy is officially a "non-commissioned" ship owned by the US Navy and crewed by a mix of navy and civilian personnel. It would be better to say "The USNS Mercy entered service on 8 November 1986." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.169.240.195 (talk) 11:10, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

4 months medical SEA mission
I added this notable 4 months mission to our country Philippines/ SEA. "Floating hospital," USNS Mercy, departed San Diego on May 1, 2008, for Pacific Partnership 2008 - 4-month humanitarian and civic deployment in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Mercy, with her 900 officers and sailors, including 300 US health and construction experts, will visit the Philippines, Vietnam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Partner nations participating in the mission include Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand, with several non-governmental organizations. www.military.com, USNS Mercy Deploys for Pacific Since 2006, Mercy will make its return visit to the Philippines late May through mid-June to conduct medical missions in Visayas and Mindanao.www.gmanews.tv, US ‘floating hospital’ to return to RP Mercy will berth in Nha Trang from June 18-28.www.thanhniennews.com, US hospital ship to anchor in Nha Trang --Florentino floro (talk) 08:25, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Armament
The USNS Mercy is not unarmed.

The Geneva Convention prohibits using hospital ships for offensive purposes. They possess the right to self-defense and the USNS Mercy does mount weapons for self-defense.

For example:

http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060618-N-6501M-010.jpg

Note the pair of M2HB .50 caliber machineguns mounted, one to either side of the bow.

http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060814-N-6501M-001.jpg

http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/060718-N-6501M-019.jpg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.127.180.83 (talk) 06:47, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Whilst the above is correct, this does mean that since those are permissible defensive weapons that attacking the Mercy, a hospital ship, would in fact be by definition a war crime. Citing an open-source, public domain document like the Geneva Conventions, which is properly done in-line, is hardly "original research" and whoever tagged this as such should remove it immediately. That hardly seems to have been done in good faith and approaches the level of vandalism. 2600:1004:B10E:B723:E5EF:921:424F:BA8 (talk) 10:32, 20 April 2020 (UTC)