Royal Thai Marine Sgt. Arkom Jaiwijit sights-in a U.S. M-60 machine gun during cross-training with U.S. Marine Sgt. Charles Hutto.

As swiftly and as deadly as the Ngu How Thai, a cobra, combined Royal Thai and U.S. forces struck at Thepa Beach, a long stretch of sandy beach on Thailand's southeastern shores. The mock attack was part of exercise COBRA GOLD's Combined Amphibious Landing Force Exercise, which featured naval bombardment, air interdiction, and close air support missions by Thai and U.S. naval and air forces. While combined Marines aboard 20 assault amphibious vehicles (AAVs) stormed the beach, 220 Thai and U.S. Army Rangers dropped from the sky to secure objectives further inland.

The amphibious assault marked the culmination of a month of small unit cross-training, field training, and command post exercises involving 19,000 soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen of the Royal Thai and U.S. military, and it showcased their combined combat power and ability to coordinate and communicate effectively with each other.

Co-directors for the exercise were: Lt. Gen. Pairoj Nujjaya, Royal Thai Army (RTA), Royal Thai Supreme Command; and Rear Adm. Jay Yakely, USN, Director for Operations, U.S. Pacific Command. The Commander of the Combined/Joint Task Force COBRA GOLD 96 was Vice Adm. Padungrat Sripetch, Royal Thai Navy. His U.S. Deputy Commander was U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Wayne E. Rollings.

COBRA GOLD 96 was the 15th in the series of Thai-U.S. combined/joint land, air and sea exercises designed to improve the combat readiness of both countries, while demonstrating U.S. resolve to support the security interests of friends and allies in the Pacific region. COBRA GOLD 96 was the first conducted in Songkhla, Thailand's southernmost province on the Malay peninsula. It is one of 35 training exercises the U.S. will conduct with Thailand during 1996.

"For the United States," said U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, William H. Itoh, "COBRA GOLD is tangible evidence of its commitment to remain actively engaged in the Asia-Pacific region." He noted, "The bonds between our armed forces have been forged over decades of close cooperation and continue to grow, as U.S. and Thai troops work to plan and implement exercises such as this one. The valuable experience that Thai and U.S. forces gain from this and other exercises will make it considerably easier should our two nations ever be required to respond to a real-world event."

This was the first time that the Royal Thai Navy provided the Commander, Combined/Joint Task Force COBRA GOLD responsible for the overall exercise. Thai forces constituted about 10,000 of the 19,000 man task force.

The most visible evidence of the long established Thai-U.S. friendship may be the combined Thai-U.S. Medical and Engineering Civic Action Projects which significantly improved the quality of life for residents in the exercise area. In Ban Rai, a tiny village 30 minutes from the nearest town, a team of Thai engineers, U.S. Navy Seabees, and U.S. Marines helped to build a daycare center, one of six such projects in the southern part of Thailand. At other selected sites, hundreds of Thai villagers lined up for medical and dental treatment from Thai and U.S. medical teams.

This year, representatives from three other Asia-Pacific armed forces observed COBRA GOLD: Australia, Bangladesh, and Singapore.