United States Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Taylor Coles' face lights up when talking about her favourite mosquito species: Psorophora.
Most people would prefer to swat the malaria-carrying insects, but Lieutenant Coles speaks about them in gushing terms.
"I like how beautiful they are. They're colourful. And how fuzzy their legs look. They're cute," she said.
But the entomologist with a master's degree in malaria transmission often gets confused looks and vague questions when talking to sailors about mosquitos and malaria.
She frequently has to explain her role, be asked about her favourite 'bug', or how dangerous malaria really is.
That was until Flight Lieutenant Kimi Ricketts came aboard the USS Pearl Harbor for Exercise Pacific Partnership 2025.
"When she says a mosquito species I'm like, 'She knows what I know'," Flight Lieutenant Ricketts said.
With vector control and surveillance forming part of both their duties, the pair quickly bonded over the winged bloodsuckers.
"She immediately had to tell me, 'I know entomology', and I was so happy," Lieutenant Coles said.
"She knew what I was talking about, I don't have to feel that confusion. We immediately just hit it off."
First stop for Pearl Harbor was Lae in Papua New Guinea, where the pair were involved in a symposium to draft Morobe province's disaster relief management plan.
Flight Lieutenant Ricketts presented on environmental health during disaster management, including the importance of water sanitation and hygiene.
'It's all good to have the standards in front of you and say, 'This is what you need to hit', but we need to understand that their resources aren't the same as ours.'
Lieutenant Coles talked about how vector-borne diseases such as malaria spread rapidly after disasters and the importance of removing stagnant water or anything that holds it - along with other mitigations.
The symposium was mostly attended by local women who shared their knowledge and experiences of natural disasters.
Participants also broke into groups to discuss issues specific to their communities.
This included talking about their culture, passion for cocoa farming and discussions with international personnel on ways for mitigating gender-based violence.
"They talked about: if you don't report it, and put up with it, essentially nothing happens," Flight Lieutenant Ricketts said.
"Gender-based violence is already prevalent and when it's tied to disaster management it places greater strain on the family, and has flow-on effects for the community."
Despite having international guidelines for disaster response, Flight Lieutenant Ricketts said it was important to understand the resources a community had and try to build from there.
And keep in mind that after a disaster hits, a community can be isolated from key resources such as food, water and power.
"It's all good to have the standards in front of you and say, 'This is what you need to hit', but we need to understand that their resources aren't the same as ours," Flight Lieutenant Ricketts said.
Pacific Partnership 2025 is the first time at sea for both women, who will be going to various countries on the ship together until November.
At future stops they're hoping to share more of their knowledge with locals, while also trapping and studying mosquitos.
