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Regional Strength Through Friendship in COBRA GOLD 2007 India-Japan-U.S. Forces Train at Sea in MALABAR/TRILATEX 2007 Enhancing the Australia-U.S. Military Alliance in TALISMAN SABER 2007 Perspectives :: PACOM: Moving the Throttle Forward in the Pacific Humanitarian Assistance :: Indonesian and U.S. Armies Promote Regional Stability in GARUDA SHIELD 2007 Special Interest :: Bridging Borders Through Military Medicine Happenings :: |
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Community Action Projects Camillian Social Center The children waited patiently for the troops to finish work and play games with them. “The children are used to playing games right away,” said Georgina Phelan, international liaison for the school. “But, with everyone working, nobody is ready right now. They can’t wait to play. They love the interaction. Everybody gets so into it.” With the work behind them, it was now time to play. U.S. Navy Lt. Jeff Parks wowed the children by cranking out balloon animals, hats and swords for them. “Today shows them they’re part of a family that’s bigger than themselves,” said Lt. Parks. “There’s a great big world out there, whether they experience it for just today or they overcome their sickness and live for a long time. But, today we’re bringing smiles to their faces, joy to their hearts, and an understanding that we care.” A 12-year-old’s tattoos and shyness toward men are testament to years of living and working on the streets. At first, she cautiously eyes the service members as they interact with her teachers and friends, but by the end of the day she is joining in and laughing along with her newfound friends. The two forces gave her more than just an afternoon of games and ice cream, but a long-overdue chance to be a child again. Narisawat Home for Women “The Marines are more welcomed by the girls with every visit,” said Bung-Orn Kumpra Yoon, Narisawat chief of operations. “They enjoy how the Americans come and entertain them, and it gives them a chance to meet another culture, and shows them people from the other side of the world aren’t so strange.” The day began as several young women performed a traditional Thai dance for the Marines and sailors. Donning traditional Seng Bung Fai dresses, the girls elegantly danced to melodic folk music. Afterward, they invited their American guests to join in the festivities, much to the delight of the Thai audience. “That was fun,” said a 16- year-old Narisawat resident. “[Americans] enjoyed the dancing as much as we did. This is special because we don’t get to see Americans that often.” Next, everyone broke up in groups for games of basketball, volleyball and Frisbee which pitted the girls against the adults. While their fellow service members played games with Narisawat residents, a group of Marines and sailors spent the day painting a portion of the home’s gym. The hardest part of the visit for the Marines and sailors was saying goodbye. Usually stoic service members blinked back tears as the bus and vans pulled away from the home. Pattaya Orphanage With the exception of the Street Kids Program, most children are adopted as babies. Those who are not adopted could remain at the foundation through high school. They receive an education and the opportunity to continue into college. “We try to give them what parents would give them,” said Derek Franklin, health advisor at the orphanage. He told of a student who came to the orphanage when he was very young and is now a 24- year-old college graduate with an economics degree. For the last 26 years, service members participating in COBRA GOLD have been visiting the orphanage and providing assistance. According to Mr. Franklin, these visits and donations are necessary to sustain the orphanage. Also, the kids care more about the actual visit than the gifts they bring. “It may be just a few hours for [the troops],” said Mr. Franklin. “It means so much more to the kids.” The visit concluded with a soccer game between the visiting service members and the Pattaya Orphanage team. “It’s nice for the kids to play soccer against other teams,” said Mr. Franklin. “They don’t get to play very often.”Though these children may not have a blood connection to anyone at the foundation, every child receives the love of a family. This isn’t a place to hide; this is their home noted Mr. Franklin. “It seems the kids have a pretty good shot in life, and they will be able to take care of their own kids when they have them,” said U.S. Marine Cpl. Brenton Belanger. “Kids just need someone to love them.” Engineering Civic Assistance Projects Wat Nong Grab Elementary School Ban Bang Pu Elementary School “All exercises are good, but this exercise allows us to exhibit our skills alongside the Royal Thai military and to do things for the community as well,” said U.S. Navy Seabee MCPO Mark Yingling. Ban Wah Ko Elementary School Construction began 9 April 2007 and only 29 days later the ribbon was cut at the facility dedication. “COBRA GOLD is about building opportunities. What could be more important than working together to provide opportunities for the education of young people?” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Brown. The military engineers from both countries learned from each other. Thai engineers showed the U.S. soldiers what a little improvising can achieve. The soldiers needed a tool for bending metal. “So, the Thais just built one out of wood and nails. They showed us that just because you don’t have the tool, does not mean you can’t improvise and complete your mission,” said U.S. Army Capt. David Libby. In the end, the project took on more meaning for the soldiers than constructing a building. “I thought we would just build a facility [but] we melded with the community and built relationships that will last a long time,” said Capt. Libby.Closing
Ceremony for COBRA GOLD 2007 “The success of COBRA GOLD was not only in creating solutions to [scenario driven] problems for the exercise, but to establish relationships,” said Thai Navy Rear Adm. Marinpong. “I think we accomplished both missions, with relationships being the most important.” Rear Adm. Pottenger agreed. “When I look at this year’s exercise, I see incredible engagement taking place, both within the particular training scenarios and outside of it,” she said. “One of my biggest takeaways was watching the combined enthusiasm of the [participants] as they worked to attain the training objectives of COBRA GOLD 07. They clearly developed a sense of pride and camaraderie, and enhanced their professional skills and personal relationships.” While the field-training activities were bilateral between U.S. and Thailand, a combined staff exercise put leaders together to plan a number of missions in relation to a simulated United Nations peacekeeping mission. The combined staff worked together to create the plans for an amphibious demonstration, a non-combatant evacuation, and a humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief operation. Planners learned not only about the planning procedures, but also in how to work together. “By keeping in mind the objective and working closely together, trying to understand how each other goes through this sort of process, we were able to succeed in creating the plans for the different missions,” said Republic of Singapore Navy Maj. C. L. Chew, who was involved in the STAFFEX. “But what is important is not the planning but the friends, camaraderie.” People’s Republic of China Senior Col. Li Wen, who observed the exercise, said “I think this exercise is very intensive so it can create mutual understanding. Its real value is that it accurately reflects current military operations, and [participating and observing nations] have a lot we can learn from each other.”
E-mail: apdforum@apan-info.net
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