Back to 1st Battalion In the News Tropic Lightning -- 23 May 2002 Soldiers kickoff Cobra Gold 2002
By SGT W. Wayne Marlow
SA KAEO, Thailand-- Cobra Gold 2002 kicked off last week, with live fires and cross training exercises in the jungles of Southeast Asia. About 1,300 Soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division (Light) are here to support the exercise, which is intended to improve combat readiness, defense abilities, and interoperability. This week, companies of the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment alternate between cross training with the Thais, platoon training and live fires. "By coming here, we improve our readiness," said Maj. John Valledor, training officer for the 2nd Cobra Gold allows us to work with Marines and our Thai counterparts." Valledor considers the exercise to be mutually beneficial. "We go through training together," he said. "We will do the training, while the Thai leadership observes. Then when a company is done with its live fire, it’s the other way around." Opening ceremonies were May 14, with live fire walk-throughs on Wednesday, and then live fires on Thursday. Valledor describes the Thais as easy to work with."They are very cooperative," he said. "They’re eager to train with us, extremely courteous and they soak up everything we do like a sponge. They are particularly interested in how we apply our training doctrine and put it into action in field conditions." But of course, the 25th ID(L) brought more than infantry Soldiers to support the exercise. Spc. Amy Temple, a clerk with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, is here to keep She finds little in common between Thailand and her home state of Illinois. "It’s different than anywhere I’ve ever been," she said. "I think it’s hot. It’s really, really hot. But I like it." Her interaction with the Thais has also been pleasant. "They’ve very friendly, very nice to talk to," she said. In her day-to-day duties, Temple handles emergency leaves, mail, and maintaining accountability for the brigade combat team. "A successful deployment would be one where we’re all safe and accomplish our mission," she said. The Soldiers are scheduled to redeploy in late May or early June.
U.S. Soldiers teach Thais the ABC's of NBC
By W. Wayne Marlow
SA KAEO, Thailand -- Cobra Gold 2002 rolled into its second week, with more cross training between U.S. and Thai forces here. On Monday, Soldiers of B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment trained their Thai counterparts in Nuclear Biological and Chemical tasks, culminating in a situational exercise. With the assistance of three interpreters, U.S. Soldiers instructed the Thais on donning the M40 protective mask and on the different levels of Mission Oriented Protective Posture. Then it was onto the field to practice the new-found skills. According to the Americans, the Thais are quick learners. "They picked it up real well," said Pfc. Michael Wagner, a Javelin team member with B Co., 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. "Some of them looked a little unsure, but once they grabbed the gear, they knew what they were doing." Wagner also describes the Thais as willing students. "They’re really eager to learn and a lot of us are real eager to teach them." They’re receptive to the training," echoed Sgt. Carl Chilicky, a team leader with B Co., 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. "It’s been a good experience to train the Thais." Wagner considers the training of the past two weeks to be mutually beneficial, he said. "And it’s nice to be able to interact with another nationality on a day-to-day basis and see how they live." Later in the day, U.S. Soldiers taught decontamination and unmasking procedures. This was followed by a practical exercise. "They had a little problem with how to pull out and hold the injectors, but they caught on," said SGT. Kenneth Odom, a squad leader with B Co., 1st Bn., 27th Inf. Rgt. "It’s been a lot of fun. We enjoy learning stuff from them, as well as them from us," he said. "We learned Thai boxing yesterday. I was a little sore this morning, but it was fun." Odom added. For the final task, 60 Thai Soldiers were told to mask during a situational exercise that included colored smoke. The Thais reported getting a lot out of the training, and said that has been true of Cobra Gold as a whole. "They are knowledgeable instructors," said Sgt. Payont Sak of the Royal Thai Army. Cross training is scheduled to continue through this week.
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