BAN WANG LAM KHAO, Thailand - Thai service members united with U.S. Marines to construct a new building for the Ban Lang Khao Elementary School in Ban Wang Lam Khao, Saraburi province, Kingdom of Thailand.
The Marines, part of Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and Royal Thai Armed Forces personnel are conducting the humanitarian and civic assistance project preceding the official kickoff Feb. 7 of Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.
Hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand and supported by the U.S. military, CG 12 is an annual, multinational exercise designed to increase regional peace and stability.
Marine engineers are learning a great deal from their Thai counterparts, said Sgt. Joshua Sheets, a civil affairs non-commissioned officer with the Civil Affairs Detachment, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF.
The site was chosen based on genuine need for improvement, according to Sheets, who said Ban Wang Lam Khao is not a popular tourist destination and does not have much Western influence. Nevertheless, the Marines are building rapport with the elementary students and local community.
The project in Ban Wang Lam Khao is one of six humanitarian and civic assistance projects being conducted throughout Thailand as part of CG 12.
U.S. service members are working side-by-side with military personnel from the Kingdom of Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
Other nations that have been invited to participate in the exercise as part of the multinational planning augmentation team include Australia, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Italy, India, Nepal, Republic of the Philippines and Vietnam.
CG 12 also incorporates a command-post exercise and a field training exercise. CG 12 is scheduled to officially begin with a ceremony Feb. 7 and conclude Feb. 17.