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A Soccer Match
During overcast skies and the pulse-like beat of Thai military recruits playing bongo drums, the Royal Thai Armed Forces conquered the U.S. Marines in an intense soccer game.A Japan Self-Defense Force Army officer and more than 20 U.S. Marines battled Thai soldiers in the soccer match, an annual event in almost every COBRA GOLD exercise. “The soccer game was a good chance for us to get in some [physical training] and interact with our Thai counterparts,” said U.S. Marine Cpl. Javier O. Borja.

Closing Ceremony
More than 300 military and civilian personnel from Thailand, the United States, Singapore, Japan, and representatives from several other countries attended the closing ceremony for exercise COBRA GOLD 2005 in Chiang Mai.“We will have a historic opportunity to record some of the lessons that we’ve recently learned [from the tsunami],” said U.S. Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce. “I hope we will candidly share our experiences and look for ways to improve our ability to respond to the next disaster. By committing ourselves to making the year’s COBRA GOLD a success, we can save lives.”

“The unprecedented Disaster Relief Workshop and Staff exercise, coupled with intense exercise activities over the past two weeks on the ground, in the air above and in the waters surrounding Thailand demonstrate again the importance of COBRA GOLD to the bilateral U.S.-Thai military relationship and to friends in the region,” said U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission, Alexander Arvizu. “We hope that the transparent nature of COBRA GOLD will serve as a regional confidence-building measure, allowing observer delegations and visiting attachés a better understanding of how our militaries are training for combined operations to support regional stability. . . . the work you have done here can help us save lives. Thanks to your efforts, COBRA GOLD remains a mark of our combined commitment to regional stability in Southeast Asia.”

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