HONOLULU -- Senior leaders from The Royal Thai Armed Forces exchanged ideas and formed closer bonds with allied and partner militaries during the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium, or PALS, in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 23, 2018.
The purpose of PALS, hosted by U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, is to bring together senior leaders of 22 allied and partner militaries in order to increase capabilities, build relationships and promote stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Many leaders have come here with a variety of traditions and we can share ideas,” said Royal Thai Marine Corps Vice Adm. Sangkorn Pongsiri, commandant, Royal Thai Marine Corps. He also spoke about the fact that every country has different doctrines and ways of conducting amphibious options, and should use this as a learning opportunity, as well as an opportunity to build relationships with one another.
Events such as PALS help to foster working relationships between international military forces, increase stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, and increase the effectiveness of military operations from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to complex expeditionary operations.
“If [leaders] leave here with points of contact, with a friend, with a counterpart in another country that does the similar work, that's a win in my book,” said U.S. Marine Lt. Gen David H. Berger, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. “They build relationships that last, they better understand each other's capabilities and when a crisis happens, the nets are lighting up ahead of time, where we are quickly talking back and forth about who can bring what.”
Royal Thai Navy Rear Adm. Chatchai Thongsaard, commander, Amphibious and Combat Support Service Squadron, agreed and added that this year’s focus on logistics was also very important.
“I think the participants will gain knowledge and experience from sharing the lessons learned this symposium and they can use the outcome of the symposium to adapt their amphibious operations in their countries,” Thongsaard said. “I think the logistics support topic is very important because the logistic issue is the key to success for amphibious operations.”