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George Washington arrives in Thailand
USS George Washington arrived in Laem Chabang,
Oct. 2 for a five-day port visit to Pattaya. USS George Washington is the
flagship of the George Washington Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which is
commanded by Rear Adm. Dan Cloyd. The GWCSG includes Carrier Air Wing (CVW)
5, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15 and the guided-missile cruisers USS Shiloh
(CG 67) and USS Cowpens (CG 63).
Mass Communication
Specialist Seaman Justin E. Yarborough
USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) arrived in Laem
Chabang, Oct. 2 for a five-day port visit to Pattaya, following the ship’s
completion of exercise Valiant Shield 2010.
This is the fourth port call for GW during its 2010
summer patrol and its first ever visit to the partner nation of Thailand
since its arrival to the 7th Fleet in 2008.
Capt.
David A. Lausman, commanding officer of USS George Washington, addresses the
media.
During the visit, more than 250 GW Sailors participated
in seven community service (COMSERV) projects. Sailors were also given the
opportunity to experience the Thai culture through 16 tours offered by GW’s
Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program.
GW welcomed aboard local military and public officials as
well as members of the media and provided them with guided tours of the
ship. The tours gave everyone a first hand look at the inner workings of the
U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier.
“Port visits like this aren’t just good for the local
economy and the crew’s morale,” said Capt. David A. Lausman, commanding
officer of USS George Washington. “The bigger benefit here is the
opportunity for two friendly nations to come together and expand on their
relationship which in turn benefits the regional security.”
Sleek
looking aircraft stand at the ready.
During the COMSERV projects, activities ranged from
Sailors teaching English and participating in sporting events with more than
150 students at a local school, and planting flowers and interacting with
more than 250 residents at a local home for the elderly.
It
takes a lot of training to know how to steer a vessel this big.
“This is my first time I’ve been to Thailand and while
I’m excited to get out there and see the country I’ve always enjoyed doing
the COMSERV projects,” said Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class (SW) Adam Ford. “I
have participated in a COMSERV project in every port this cruise and I am
sure that in Thailand I will enjoy myself. I signed up to go over to the
school to play sports with the kids; I’m really looking forward to it.”
Many GW Sailors share Ford’s enthusiasm about giving back
to the local communities that they have the privilege to visit.
“Not everyone gets to travel around the world like we
do,” said Seaman Jennifer Angle. “I enjoy taking time out of my stay in
these ports just helping out where I can; every little bit counts and it is
always rewarding because the people we help are always appreciative,
especially the children.”
When GW Sailors are not busy with COMSERV projects, they
were given the opportunity to experience Thailand through the numerous tours
that showcase the country’s culture and landscape.
MWR tours featured a variety of options including an
overnight trip to Bangkok to experience the Damnernsaduak floating market,
18-holes of golf and an elephant ride through the countryside. For most GW
Sailors, this is their first time visiting Thailand and said they are
looking forward to experiencing everything Thailand has to offer.
“Elephants, elephants, elephants, that’s all I’ve heard
about since the tours became available and that is the tour I was able to
sign up for,” said Yeoman Seaman Walter Jackson. “This will be my first time
ever seeing an elephant in person, I can foresee a lot of pictures being
taken and sent home to my parents.”
Even with the many activities the port visit has to
offer, Lausman noted the importance of knowing the role Sailors will play
while enjoying their time in Thailand.
“Our Sailors are representatives of the United States.
When someone sees us at a school, on a tour or in a market, they think of
the United States. In each port they’ve represented our country proudly and
I know they’ll do the same in Thailand,” said Lausman.
USS George Washington is the flagship of the George
Washington Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which is commanded by Rear Adm. Dan
Cloyd. The GWCSG includes Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON)
15 and the guided-missile cruisers USS Shiloh (CG 67) and USS Cowpens (CG
63).
Overlooking the flight deck from the bridge.
More fun & games at Chonburi Buffalo Races
Chonburi Buffalo races are set
for Oct. 16-22.
Chonburi Public Relation Department
Already renowned for being a full week of fun, the
Chonburi Buffalo Races get more activities this year as officials look to
make the popular event even more so.
The 139th races are set for Oct. 16-22 on the field in
front of the Chonburi District Office. Two new games aimed at elderly
participants - sack races and blind-folded pot lifting - were added this
year, said Chonburi Mayor Sumana Muthaki.
Other scheduled activities are a senior farm pageant,
Thai folk song contest, slingshot competition, knife-cutting, takraw, post
climbing, cockfighting, boxing and more.
Applications to participate in the games are open only
until Oct. 8.
For those financially motivated - and vertically inclined
- there will be a 10,000 baht group jump rope contest. Teams of 5-8 or 10-15
players will compete. The qualifying round will be Oct. 21 with finals set
for Oct. 22.
For additional information please contact the Chonburi
Municipality Office Community President or Rattana Panyarikanon at tel.
081-577-2705.
Pongsak takes reigns of Thai Marine Corp in Sattahip
Patcharapol Panrak
Vice Adm. Pongsak Phureeroj has taken over command of the
Royal Thai Marine Corps from his friend and academy classmate Rear Adm.
Suwit Thararoop.
Rear
Adm. Suwit Thararoop officially hands over command of the Royal Thai Marine
Corps to his friend and academy classmate Vice Adm. Pongsak Phureeroj.
Suwit, head of the Sattahip-based Marines for more than
three years, has been promoted to admiral and deputy commander of the entire
Royal Thai Navy. The official transfer of power came Sept. 28 in front of
the statue of revered Prince and Adm. Chumphon Khet Udomsak.
Suwit said commanding the Marines for three and a half
years has been his greatest honor. Marines, he noted, are the first ones
into battle with their amphibious and infantry troops. While Thai forces
haven’t been storming any beaches, they have taken numerous casualties while
trying to suppress the Muslim separatist movement in Thailand’s three
southernmost provinces.
Other units in Chantaburi and Trat are occupied with
catching narcotics traffickers.
The departing admiral said his successor, who he attended
school with, will carry on his work with the Marines.
City halts work on rogue commercial project built on public land
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya officials have halted construction on a large
commercial development on Soi Wat Bunkanchanaram residents complain was
being built on public land.
Pattaya
City Councilors examine construction documents.
Pattaya City Council member Thongchai Ardzong and
inspectors from the city Engineering Department went to the unnamed project
Sept. 27 to investigate. There they found a three-storey, 12-unit-wide
building whose first six units were already complete.
Residents complained that the building was being built in
front of a power line owned by the Provincial Electrical Authority, which
they claimed was public land, even though it had long been abandoned.
A construction foreman who declined to give his name said
the property was owned by Natthapong Ngamwattanacharoen who supposedly
bought the land from Bangkok Bank in February.
Pattaya actually issued a construction permit for the
project on July 13, the foreman said.
Thongchai ordered a check of the foreman’s claims and
found that, in fact, no title deed showing Natthapong’s ownership of the
land was on file. Furthermore, he said, the building is situated between the
public Soi Wat Bunkanchanaram and built over an unused public road in the
rear. With the road and landmark clearly trespassed on, Thongchai ordered
all work on the project halted until the matter can be investigated further.
Tourist boat operators given reminder about life jacket use, licenses
Theerarak
Suthathiwong
Hoping to rebuild the battered reputation of Pattaya
tourist boat operators, city officials met with a handful of operators
to remind them to use life jackets, display licenses and work to regain
public trust after nearly a year-long string of accidents.
Officials meet with tour boar operators to remind them that safety
should always come first.
Raewat Phoriang of Marine Office 6, Pattaya City
Council member Sanit Boonmachai and operators met Sept. 24 at North
Pattaya’s Hadtien Restaurant.
Raewat told the group that tourists have expressed
concerns about media reports about boat accidents in which there were
no, or insufficient numbers of, life jackets. Not only is it unsafe for
passengers, he said, not keeping them on board damages the city’s
reputation among tourists.
Likewise for licenses, he said. Each boat should have
a current license and prominently display it while carrying passengers.
The meeting comes 10 months after three people were
killed in two separate boating accidents. In neither case did the
victims have a life jacket. After two crackdowns, life jacket use has
increased and have saved the lives of boat accident victims including 20
South Korean tourists who had to be rescued last month after their boat
capsized.
More fireworks, less traffic urged for ‘Pattaya Countdown 2011’
Phasakorn Channgam
New Year’s Eve may be three months away, but work on
“Pattaya Countdown 2011” has already begun.
Deputy
Mayor Verawat Khakhay says now’s the time to start planning for Pattaya’s
New Year’s Eve extravaganza.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay led a Sept. 27 planning
meeting for the annual New Year’s Eve party at Bali Hai Pier. The city has
set aside 2.5 million baht this year to make its nationally televised event
bigger and livelier than ever. The Chonburi provincial government will
contribute 10 million baht.
The committee’s first task was to review the many
complaints that stemmed from last year’s celebration, with horrendous
traffic topping the list. Also targeted for improvement this year were
issues with insufficient parking, lack of public transportation to the
event, the price gouging by food vendors and insufficient information about
the event.
Other suggestions for improvements this year include
adding more restroom facilities, more fireworks, and more musical acts.
Verawat said all the feedback will be used to prepare a
requirements document for companies planning to bid to organize this
winter’s event.
Pattaya Countdown 2011 is scheduled from December 25-31.
Chonburi offers free vaccinations for World Rabies Day
Chonburi Public
Relation Department
Chonburi’s Provincial Livestock Office marked the annual
World Rabies Day event by offering free vaccinations to dogs and cats in
Samed.
Chonburi’s Provincial Livestock Office marked World Rabies Day by offering
free vaccinations to dogs and cats in Samed.
Mayor Yutthana Supaporn emceed the Sept. 28 event aimed
at cutting 1 billion baht bill the Thai government faces each year for
rabies treatments. While only 20 people a year die of rabies in Thailand,
about a half-million are bitten by animals and require treatment.
Thailand has tried to curb rabies through the Alliance
for Rabies Control Organization set up in 2006. It consists of a team of
veterinarians, scientists and people of various international occupations.
They provide knowledge and understanding about feeding dogs and protecting
against rabies.
Advisor Dr. Theerawat Haemajutha set Sept. 28 every year
to be World Rabies Day, as that was the day Louis Pasteur successfully cured
his second rabies patient.
Pattaya City Council declares war on signs, billboards
Signs crowd the street on
Pattaya Central Road.
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya is preparing to crack down city-wide on the
out-of-control growth of signs and billboards.
City Council member Anupong Bhudanawarut noted a forest
of signboards has grown across Pattaya because the city actually doesn’t
have any laws to govern sign placement. As a result, signs of all shapes and
heights go up daily, some with the permission of city officials but many
without.
The biggest problem, he said, comes from signs that are
too low to allow fire trucks and other large vehicles to pass under them.
What sign regulations there are state that the minimum height has to be 5.5
meters from the ground.
At the Sept. 27 Pattaya City Council meeting, the Zone 1
council member submitted a draft law that would cover all zoning and permit
matters relating to signs and billboard.
Pattaya Engineering Office Director Pichet
Uthaiwattananon said he will immediately push department inspectors to
canvas the city and issue orders to owners of signs creating problems that
they must be altered or removed. If the department’s suggestions are
ignored, he said city engineers will pull down the signs.
Former Rayong deputy governor
takes over as Chonburi chief
Wichit
Chatpaisit, shown here with his lovely wife and daughter,
has been appointed governor of Chonburi.
Thanachot Anuwan
Former Rayong Deputy Gov. Wichit Chatpaisit has been
named the new governor of Chonburi Province, succeeding Senee Jittakasem,
who was transferred to Nan.
The nationwide shakeup of gubernatorial positions saw 48
governors named and reassigned. Wichit most recently had been a security
consultant to the Ministry of Interior’s Policy and Planning office.
Wichit, 51, has a political science degree from
Ramkhamhang University and started his government service as deputy district
chief of Khao Saming in Trat. In subsequent years he worked his way up to
district chief in Chachoengsaom Pong Namron in Chantaburi, worked various
bureaucratic positions and was the deputy governor of the provinces of
Narathiwat, Nakhon Srithammarat and Rayong.
Alleged Naklua travel agent scammer arrested after 3-month pursuit
Police
announce the arrest of Sutheera Yaempheng (seated, right),
owner of Naklua’s Lee Tours for cheating customers out of air tickets.
Boonlua Chatree
Police have finally arrested a Pattaya travel agent on
the run for three months after allegedly scamming about 70 Thai and foreign
travelers out of hundreds of thousands of baht for airfares that were never
booked.
Sutheera Yaempheng, owner of Naklua’s Lee Tours, was
apprehended by Thai Tourist Police walking in Suan Luang, Bangkok Sept. 23.
An arrest warrant had been outstanding since June 26.
The alleged fraud became public June 17 when Banglamung
District Chief Mongkol Thamakittikhun, Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, and
Tourist Police Maj. Arun Promphan presented 2,000 baht each to the first 10
victims indentified. The donations were made from the Pattaya Tourism Fund
to offset the damage to the tourism industry the scandal caused.
Police have since identified about 70 victims, each of
whom paid 30,000-80,000 baht each for air tickets, only to arrive at the
airport to find no tickets had been booked. When they tried to contact the
travel agency, they found it closed.
Police on June 23 said they’d made an appointment with
Sutheera the following week to sort out the trouble, but she fled instead.
The 57-year-old tour broker, who’d been operating in Naklua for 15 years
until falling on hard times recently, will find now that it will take more
than a conversation to settle the charges.
American claiming he thought pot was legal arrested for marijuana use
Boonlua Chatree
An American smoking a joint in front of a 7-Eleven near
Walking Street was surprised to be arrested for drug use he claimed to
believe was legal.
Jeffrey
Sterner (left) talks with police after they caught him smoking marijuana on
Walking Street.
Lt. Col. Kritsakorn Thing-In was on patrol near Soi 15
and Second Road around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 23 when he spotted Jeffrey Sterner,
56, enjoying a long drag on his marijuana cigarette. A bag containing more
pot was found in Sterner’s pants pocket.
The American said he had been living his retirement in
Thailand and didn’t know marijuana was illegal. He said he only had it for
personal use and didn’t think he’d be arrested. He now faces charges of
possession of a Class 5 narcotic.
Two Thais arrested for illegal guns at North Pattaya checkpoint
Boonlua Chatree
The Pattaya Police’s late-night weekend checkpoints
netted more arrests this week, with two Thai men arrested for carrying
concealed weapons.
Anukul Khumkong, 21, and Surin Padungthaitham, 27, were
apprehended in separate incidents at a checkpoint at North Pattaya and
Sukhumvit roads around 4 a.m. Sept. 26. Police found an unspecified gun in
Anukul’s Toyota minivan and a loaded 9mm Beretta in Surin’s Toyota Land
Cruiser.
Both men said they were carrying the weapons for
self-defense on their nights on the town and both said they were certified
to have them. However, Anukul was charged with carrying a gun into a public
area and Surin for the same offense, as well as possession of bullets.
In force for several weeks now, the weekend checkpoints
are a key part of the Pattaya Police chief’s plan to cut the crime rate.
Anukul
Khumkong and Surin Padungthaitham
have been arrested for carrying weapons.
Italian homeowner injured fighting off burglar
Theerarak Suthathiwong
A botched burglary left an Italian woman injured after
she surprised and fought off the thief.
Nikitina Galina (seated, right) managed to fight off a burglar, but ended up
with a nasty bump on her head.
Nikitina Galina, 58, suffered a cut to the head and was
treated at her home by Sawang Boriboon Foundation paramedics. The burglar
fled the house empty-handed and remains at large.
She told police she was sleeping with her husband in
their Green Residence Village home off Sukhumvit Road around 2 a.m. Sept. 27
when she was awakened by noises coming from the living room.
She found a tall, skinny Thai man dressed all in black
poking around the house with a flashlight. When he spotted her, he attacked,
striking her in the head. Galina, however, fought back and shouted for her
husband. The thief gave up the fight and fled.
Police cordoned off and searched the nearby wooded area,
but the burglar escaped.
Gas truck overturns, no injures or fire
Workers
clear the gas tanks as firefighters (back left) stand at the ready.
Boonlua Chatree
Quick-acting firefighters prevented damage and injuries
after a PTT gas delivery truck overturned on Sukhumvit Road, spilling its
flammable cargo.
Authorities and Pattaya City Council member Sanit
Boonmachai rushed to the Index furniture store Sept. 28 where a small Isuzu
pickup truck was lying upside down, its cargo of more than 20 home-use gas
tanks, each weighing about 48 kg., were scatted across the roadway. Several
had broken up, covering the street in liquefied gas.
Police blocked off the street and firefighters quickly
sprayed down the roadway, preventing any fire, injuries or damage.
Driver Paiboon Chaikiew, 26, told authorities he was
slowing down for a traffic light when a rear tire blew out, causing him to
lose control. He was unhurt in the crash.
Police took the Nan native’s report and are checking
whether he has the proper license to be hauling such a dangerous load.
Fearing death, abused Burmese fisherman jumps overboard,
rescued after 2 days
Patcharapol Panrak
A Burmese fisherman who jumped overboard to escape what
he called slavery conditions floated on a plastic tank for two days and
nights before being rescued by the Royal Thai Navy.
The
young fisherman (center) was given food, water and clothing before being
transferred to immigration to be deported.
The immigrant, identified only as “Ma,” was rescued near
Koh Chan in Sattahip Bay around 1 p.m. Sept. 28. He was tired and
dehydrated, but otherwise unhurt.
Ma told authorities he’d been working on a fishing boat
out of Mahachai Pier for four months. During that time he was forced to work
day and night, with no time off, and was continually abused and assaulted.
Fearing he’d be killed, he decided to try his luck at sea and jumped
overboard with an empty plastic fuel tank.
Sawang Rojanathamasathan Foundation medics were notified
by Sattahip-based fishermen about the man and dispatched a petty officer
from the Sea Turtle Conservation Center in a rubber boat to retrieve him. At
the same time, additional rescuers were dispatched from the Marine Rescue
Operations Group.
Taking him ashore, the Navy officers gave the battered
fishermen - dressed only in his underwear - food, water and clothing, then
transferred him to immigration officials to be deported.
On a clear day you can see forever
Motorists driving in an out of Pattaya on the new
extension of Highway No. 7 that cuts in directly into Sukhumvit Road between
Central and North Pattaya don’t need 20-20 vision to see this humongous
roadside kilometer marker.
That’s
one big kilometer marker!
The 5 meter wide and 10 meters tall ‘monument’ road
marker is located on Highway 7, marking 7 km to Pattaya, 15 km to the 4
Regions Floating Market and 120 km to Bangkok. It is the largest in the east
of Thailand and is surpassed in size only by the road marker located at the
‘5 way intersection, Doorway to Lanna’ in Chiang Mai province which is 7
meters wide and 14 meters high.
The tourist attraction is the brainchild of the
management of the 4 Regions Floating Market. City officials commented that
it was a nice gimmick and would also become a popular landmark for Pattaya.
US Navy helps Thailand
JC Phillps
Over 5,000 marines and sailors from the aircraft carrier
U.S.S. George Washington gave a boost to the Thai economy last weekend. KTB
bank set up several portable banks on the dock next to the ship, for the
servicemen to exchange their money into Thai baht.
(L to
R) Captain Sean Cannon, the Naval Attach้ from Bangkok, briefs Jim Phillps,
a retired United Airlines pilot, and Bruce Hoppe, Vice-President of
operations for Emerson Climate Technologies, Asia-Pacific.
Also, several Americans living in Pattaya and Bangkok
were invited onboard for a special tour of the ship. Captain Sean Cannon,
the Naval Attach้ from Bangkok did a wonderful job explaining how newest
aircraft can land and take off in less than 300 feet using the special
equipment onboard the aircraft carrier.
There were several types of aircraft on board, including
the latest fighter jets, air borne radar aircraft and helicopters. They also
have special aircraft that are designed to block out any type of missile
attack against the ship and its aircraft.
The aircraft carrier does not go anywhere without a full
escort of support craft including submarines. Commissioned in 1992, this
Nimitz Class Super Carrier was clean and spotless, and fully armed with the
latest technology available. It is based in Yokosuka, Japan.
The officers and sailors on board are the best that the
U.S. Navy has to offer. They all were very educated, charming, and polished
gentlemen who knew how to show everyone the best of this great ship.
KTB bank
set up several portable banks on the dock next to the ship,
for the servicemen to exchange their money into Thai baht.
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