A Japanese boy at Gyokusenji Temple in Shimoda, Japan, shakes hands with then Commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Vice Adm. Robert F. Willard, who visited the temple during the 65th Shimoda Black Ship Festival. The festival promotes the theme of peaceful relations between the Japanese and American people. It commemorates the 1854 landing in Japan by U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry and the signing of the Japanese-American treaty of trade and amity at Shimoda. This year’s festival commemorates the 150th anniversary of that landing. Photo by JO2 Patrick Dille, USN

Sailors of the New Zealand frigate HMNZS Te Mana (F 111) man a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat in the Gulf of Oman. New Zealand is a member of the multinational Combined Task Force 150, which monitors, inspects, boards, and stops suspect shipping in support of the Global War on Terrorism. It also operates in the North Arabian Sea to support Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Photo by PH1 Bart Bauer, USN

U.S. Army personnel worked with Laotian contractors to build a 20-bed hospital with maternity ward in Taoy, Laos. The new 810-square meter (9,000-square foot) hospital for the rural area in southeastern Laos is a project of the U.S. Army Pacific humanitarian assistance mission. “This facility will greatly improve the quality of life for the people in the surrounding areas and will provide them improved access to medical care,” said U.S. Army Maj. Robb Husbands. “By helping to improve the lives of others, the Army can build and strengthen relationships,” he said. These relationships foster cooperation and help build ties for future missions. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Pacific, Public Affairs Office

Coalition troops from the Republic of Korea and the U.S. distribute blankets and humanitarian supplies in a village near Bagram, Afghanistan. The Coalition helps bring stability to Afghanistan by helping to normalize the lives of the Afghan people. Photo by Sgt. Christopher Kaufmann, USA

The U.S. Navy’s ballistic missile submarine, USS Michigan (SSBN 727), enters Puget Sound naval shipyard in Washington, USA, for conversion to a guided missile submarine. Once converted, the USS Michigan will provide the U.S. Pacific Command with additional inland conventional cruise missile strike capability that will contribute to enforcing peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Official U.S. Navy photo

A Nepalese Army explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team leader dons a protective bomb suit to demonstrate how the team responds to individual explosive devices similar to ones used by Maoist rebels in Nepal. The demonstration was for a U.S. Army EOD team in Nepal as part of a U.S. Army, Pacific information exchange program. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army, Pacific

USS Cushing (DD-985) sailors, CPO John Bacay and PO Rey Manalo, paint the Community Concern Society building in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka, during the Cushing’s April 2004 port visit to Colombo. The Community Concern Society provides clothing and education to children in fishing communities in the Mt. Lavinia area. USS Cushing sailors also donated two pallets of hygiene and medical supplies to the organization. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Embassy, Sri Lanka