Story by 25th Infantry Division Public Affairs
CAMP AKATOSORAT, Kingdom of Thailand – Members of the 25th Infantry Division staff participated in Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 as part of the Command Post Exercise. The staff was teamed up with members of the Royal Thai Army and conducted staff training to learn from each other as well as build camaraderie from Feb. 10-20.
Exercise Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multi-service exercise, which takes place annually in the Kingdom of Thailand and was developed by the Thai and U.S. militaries.
CG 14 consisted of a CPX, humanitarian and civic assistance projects, and a field training exercise. CG 14, in its 33rd 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 CPX and senior leader engagements sustain and reinforce the foundation and framework for a multinational force to respond rapidly and effectively to regional crises.
“This was an amazing experience not only to work with the Royal Thai Army, but to see how, no matter what country you come from, staff members have the same trials and tribulations,” said U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Mulch, information operations planner and first time participant to Cobra Gold.
The CPX combined service members from Thailand, the U.S., Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia in a multinational force team that responded to a simulated scenario, executing a pre-developed operations plan.
As day one turned into day three, both the Thai and U.S. armies meshed into a true combined force and the only difference was the language.
“My counterpart and I were thinking very much alike, and the work at hand became easier to accomplish as the exercise went on,” said U.S. Army Maj. Jamie Buskirk, operations planner.
With continued success during the CPX, both the Thai and U.S. Armies gained beneficial lessons to take back to their units. As the exercise wrapped up, the friendships created will continue, and the bond between the U.S. and Thai Army forever cemented as true military partners.
Both Buskirk and Mulch are looking forward to next year’s iteration to build upon the tools and resources learned this year and to advance the partnerships and friendships from Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.