Royal Thai and U.S. Army soldiers train together on a mortar during exercise COBRA GOLD 98 in Thailand.

A the official opening ceremony for the 17th annual COBRA GOLD exercise between Thai and U.S. troops, Royal Thai Supreme Commander Gen. Mongkon Ampornpisit was joined by U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. Frank Libutti, Combined/Joint Task Force deputy commander and by U.S. Ambassador to Thailand William H. Itoh to welcome the troops at Camp Surasi, Thailand, in May 1998.

A few hundred miles south, at a Camp Samaesan ceremony, Capt. Therdsak Promsiri, Assistant Commander, Royal Thai Marine Division, welcomed old friends back to his country when he and Col. T. R. Larsen, the commander of the U.S. ground combat element, greeted several units participating in COBRA GOLD 98.

"We have only five or six days to train and therefore you must use every minute to the best of your ability," Capt. Therdsak said. He set the tone for several days of fast-paced cooperative training, 20 May to 1 June, between more than 10,000 U.S. military personnel and more than 6,200 members of the Royal Thai military.

The mission of COBRA GOLD exercises is to test and improve the ability of the two militaries to work together, as well as to demonstrate a strong alliance in Southeast Asia. Though the field training exercise (FTX) lasted less than a week, COBRA GOLD is a two-week exercise that runs the full spectrum of training from individual to staff training. The first week, a combined Joint Task Force staff conducted a command post exercise. At the same time, Thai and U.S. units conducted individual/small-unit training in preparation for the FTX in week two. Week two of COBRA GOLD focused on the FTX which led into the CALFEX.

Thai and U.S. servicemembers lived and worked together for more than two months preparing for and cleaning up after the exercise. The duration of the U.S. military's stay allowed time for numerous civic action projects involving both nations, as well as plenty of realistic combat training.

The combat training portion of COBRA GOLD culminated in one day of thunder over Hat Yao beach when Thai and U.S. ships, aircraft, and personnel engaged in a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX). The CALFEX featured everything a real invasion would, including U.S. Navy SEALs scouting the beach, a U.S. Marine amphibious landing from the U.S. Navy amphibious ships USS Belleau Wood and USS Germantown, U.S. and Thai paratroopers dropping in from the skies, and flyovers demonstrating the air power of both nations.

Military officials, members of government and hundreds of media members observed the CALFEX. They watched as Thai and U.S. forces showed how successfully they could blend their training and doctrine to carry out a successful mission.

In the days leading up to the CALFEX, forces from the two nations trained together in the air, on land and at sea. They did so not only in preparation for the CALFEX, but in order to learn from one another and to practice in case a real-world situation in the region ever requires military cooperation.

From the Air

The skies over Thailand, from Sattahip to Korat, were filled with aircraft from the Royal Thai Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force for much of the operation. From the Royal Thai Air Base in Korat, Royal Thai F-16 Falcons from the 103rd and 403rd fighter squadrons and U.S. Marine F/A-18D Hornet fighters from VMFA(AW)-121 practiced aerial warfare or "dogfighting."

"Air-to-air cross-training with the Thais is a great opportunity for our pilots," said Lt. Col. Rolf A. Siegal, commander of the U.S. Marine squadron. "Flying sorties with two versus two and four versus four aircraft will definitely improve the squadron's skills in the air." Rarely, according to Lt. Col. Siegal, do the U.S. Marine pilots get to engage in realistic aerial training with pilots from another country. He praised the aggressive flight style of the Thai pilots, saying flying against them provided an incredible learning opportunity, especially for the younger pilots in the squadron.

Some of the most realistic joint training came not in the air above Korat, but in the three-story tower there where the air traffic controllers worked keeping the skies safe for flight. In a real-world situation in the region, pilots could find themselves operating aircraft from an airfield where controllers may not speak their language, so that is how the two militaries trained. Both U.S. Marine and Thai air traffic controllers worked to launch and bring planes home safely.

"Letting the pilots speak with a Thai controller gets them used to understanding their commands, which is what it would be like in a real operation," said Marine Sgt. David Ankrom, who often helped translate U.S. military acronyms for the Thai air traffic controllers.

"During this exercise we need the Americans to help us get past the language barrier," said Suthep Ratanabutchai, a veteran Thai controller. "Sometimes the pilots speak too quickly or in acronyms or idioms, and we can't understand them, and that's when we need the Americans."

From the Ground

The air combat element of Joint Task Force COBRA GOLD 98 wasn't the only group practicing their skills in a very realistic environment. Further south, in Bahn Shan Krem and near Samaesan, the ground combat element was also learning by doing.

U.S. Marines from 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, went to Bahn Shan Krem for several days of live-fire training with their Thai Marine counterparts. That portion of the exercise was largely an opportunity for each corps of Marines to become familiar with the basic infantry weapons of the other.

At the Hat Yao beach training area, a Thai Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) battalion trained beside U.S. Marine AAV operators from Hawaii. The AAV crewmen practiced making amphibious landings on the beach and gave infantrymen from both nations the chance to rehearse coming ashore in an AAV and assaulting an objective.

From the Sea

The exercise also served to provide the U.S. Marine Corps with an opportunity to test their Maritime Pre-positioning Force and to share the program with the Thai military. Vice Adm. Sarikaphuti Wasim, Commandant of the Royal Thai Marine Corps, joined Marine Brig. Gen. Gary H. Hughey, Commanding General, 3rd Force Service Support Group, for a briefing and tour of the Motor Vessel 1st Lt. Jack Lummus to learn how the Maritime Pre-positioning Force uses commercial ships as floating warehouses for military tactical vehicles, tanks, fuel and ammunition.

U.S. and Thai Marines also trained together in the techniques of bringing individual Marines in from the sea. Reconnaissance Marines of both nations practiced a special insertion technique called "helo-casting," during which they leaped from a low-flying helicopter into the ocean, then swam ashore.

Members of the Royal Thai Marine Reconnaissance Battalion also shared jungle survival skills with members of Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in a class they held shortly after the exercise began. The class introduced the U.S. Marines to the edible plants and animals of the Thai jungles. Thai Marines demonstrated not only which insects were safe and tasty, but also how to capture, kill, and prepare both chickens and cobras. For many Americans, the class was one of the exercise's most memorable events.

Help from all over

In a tiny clearing in the dense jungle just outside Ban Nong Kaw, more than 30 U.S. Navy Seabees, U.S. Marine combat engineers, and Royal Thai Marine combat engineers spent nearly two months working together to improve a school. They constructed a new building that added two classrooms and a bathroom at Ban Nong Kaw, one of six engineering civic action projects (ENCAP) undertaken during COBRA GOLD 98. The Thai and U.S. servicemembers lived together in makeshift facilities miles from where the training portion of the exercise was going on. According to Pvt. Tawon Saysman, a Royal Thai Marine combat engineer, that gave the builders plenty of time to learn to communicate and learn what they had in common.

"I've enjoyed working with the Marines and sailors," said Pvt. Tawon. "It's nice to see that we are all so much alike even though we are from different countries."

All across Thailand, U.S. servicemembers were learning how much alike people are when it comes to the desire to feel good and be healthy. U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy medical teams worked alongside their Thai counterparts to provide local residents in rural areas with medical evaluation, prescription eyeglasses, dental work and veterinary services for animals as part of the medical civic action project (MEDCAP).

Buddhist monks in saffron robes, old women and young children were amazed by the one-hour eyeglass service in particular. Dentists from both nations were also very busy, performing oral surgery and teeth cleanings for patients.

"Today in the dental clinic alone we treated 67 adults and 55 children," said Col. Thuenjai Krunsuphar, director of the Royal Thai team. "This shows the need for dental care here."

Veterinarians from both countries tended to all sorts of animals, from chickens and kittens to cattle and pigs. They provided services such as vaccinating farm animals and spaying or neutering pets.

A job well done

Lt. Gen. Sompop Attanand, the Combined/Joint Task Force Commander, wrote to the COBRA GOLD 98 participants, "I look forward to the challenges and successes of training, and more importantly, the many friendships that will remain long after the completion of COBRA GOLD."

Thai and U.S. servicemembers overcame the challenges of the language barrier and their cultural differences to make the most of the time they spent together. For two months, Thai and American comrades-in-arms worked together to build schools and bring medical care to areas where it was badly needed. For two weeks, the skies, rivers, and ocean were filled with military professionals practicing their trade and learning from one another. And for just one day, the beach at Hat Yao became the sight of a full-scale land and air invasion operation.

Like the 16 COBRA GOLD exercises that preceded it, COBRA GOLD 98 was successful in strengthening the already strong ties between the Royal Thai and United States Armed Forces.