Within weeks of the USS Kearsarge's deployment to Nicaragua last August, I was miffed that the U.S. government would invite rogue Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega aboard the ship. But with U.S. forces promoting goodwill, Ortega was compelled to contradict the myths spread by friend Hugo Chavez and other leftist leaders in the region: this mission and greater U.S. presence in the Western Hemisphere is not about "yanqui" hegemony and material interests, but the compassion of the American people. During the four month tour of Latin American and the Caribbean, our military accomplished the following: 

• Total patients triaged: 47,043
• Total surgeries conducted: 217
• Dental patients: 4,629
• Animals treated: 5,672
• Construction projects: 22 projects ranging from minor renovations of facilities to building new schools
• Community Relations: 24 projects

On short notice, and as Commodore Frank Ponds reports on his blog, the crew also delivered 3.3 million lbs. in relief aid to Haitians devastated by Hurricane Gustav."