PHITSANULOK, Thailand -- Senior enlisted leaders from Thailand, the United States, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia attended a team-building seminar Feb. 12-13 in Phitsanulok province, Kingdom of Thailand, during exercise Cobra Gold 2013.
Various important topics were discussed during the seminar, focusing on technical and tactical procedures, military education, medical considerations and leadership.
“We have been sharing lessons on professional military education, specifically how the services grow a soldier within the three domains: operational assignments, institutional training and self development,” said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Tedd Prichard, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Pacific. “Participating in these events helps us build on the great partnership and relationship we have already established over the past 32 years of Cobra Gold. It builds trust and confidence amongst our armies.”
The event offered attendees an opportunity to share past experiences, relate training styles, and offer advice to one another in a shared learning environment.
“This is a good time for us to share our knowledge and also to bond with leaders from other countries,” said Singapore Army Master Warrant Officer Ismail Muhd. “It is also a good opportunity for us to learn each other’s system of training. We found out that we are actually in line with a majority of our training.”
In addition to the day-long seminar, participants also toured local military bases, joint training events and engineering civic assistance project sites.
”I now have a better understanding of the differences between the Thai and U.S. military training styles and when working together in the future, we can adapt to each other’s strengths for better training,” said Royal Thai Marine Sgt. Maj. 1st Class Nirush Suwannaprom.
Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multiservice exercise, which takes place annually in Thailand and was developed by the Thai and U.S. militaries.
CG 13 consists of a staff exercise, field training exercises and humanitarian and civic assistance projects.
Cobra Gold, in its 32nd iteration, is designed to advance regional security by exercising a robust multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region. The staff exercise and senior leader engagements will sustain and reinforce the foundation and framework for a multinational force to respond rapidly and effectively to regional crises.