Royal Thai Navy Vice Adm. Surachai
Sungkhapong greets U.S. Navy officers during the CARAT 2011 closing
ceremony.
Staff reporters
From amphibious landings to sniper training to tips
on flying one of the oldest warplanes still in the air, Thailand’s naval
forces gained more useful insight into modern warfare from the U.S. Navy
in the two nations’ 17th Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
exercise.
Ban Chang (May 12, 2011)-
Fireman Giovanni Santiago, of USS Tortuga (LSD 46), waits for tools
while he and a Royal Thai marine hang a basketball goal at the Wat
Sombonaro School. USS Tortuga, USS Ruben James (DDG 57) and USS Howard
(DDG 83) sent more than 30 Sailors to the school to help preserve a
bathroom and refurbish a playground as a community service project for
CARAT Thailand 2011. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. K. Madison Carter)
Vice Adm. Surachai Sangkapong, commander of the Royal
Thai Fleet, Rear Adm. Chaiyot Sunthornnak, commander of Frigate Squadron
2 and Tomas F. Carney, director of the U.S. CARAT forces, brought the
nine-day war games to a close in Sattahip May 20.
The two sides engaged in more than 1,500 training and cultural-exchange
exercises with the U.S. sending four ships and 3,500 men to participate.
A Royal Thai Navy sailor
monitors a target during a riverine exercise in the Sattahip Harbor
Basin. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class
Christopher S. Johnson)
Shore-based activities included engineering and
damage control training exchanges, joint medical, dental and civic
action projects, and joint community service projects at local schools.
The at-sea phase focused on developing maritime security capabilities in
areas such as maritime interdiction, information sharing, combined
operations at sea, patrols and gunnery exercises, and anti-piracy and
anti-smuggling exercises.
Top officers from both sides stressed CARAT is a change to create closer
ties, both personally and operationally, between Thai and U.S. navies.
That was born out by several of the exercises.
Early in the operation, U.S. marine snipers with Landing Force Company
instructed Royal Thai Marines on applying the fundamentals of
marksmanship to sniper tactics. American instructors discussed windage,
trigger control, breathing control and how to effectively work as a
sniper team.
Ban Chang (May 12, 2011) -
Operations Specialist Seaman Laura Jackson, attached to USS Tortuga (LSD
46), and a Royal Thai navy sailor, paint the inside of a bathroom at the
Somboon Ranaram School during a joint community service project. (U.S.
Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jose Lopez, Jr.)
“The training is very good. It helps me to have more
knowledge,” said PFC 1st Class Chaiyoot Moonthongchoon told the media.
“I got to train on different equipment and learn more techniques.”
Other U.S. instructors schooled Thai naval aviators on best practices
when flying and maintaining the P3-C Orion, a Vietnam-era plane still in
use by Thai forces. The U.S. brought over one of its old planes to have
instructors provide Thai forces information on maintenance, operations,
mine-laying and search-and-rescue procedures.
“The Thai Navy flies the P-3, so there was a lot of commonality already
in our work and procedures,” Lt. Cmdr. Kim DaCosta said in a U.S. 7th
Fleet statement. “The Thai aircrews integrated well with our aircrews,
and that’s exactly what this exercise is all about - becoming familiar
with one another so when we are called to work together, there’s a
baseline of understanding and trust already there.”
As is customary in recent years, CARAT wrapped with a joint amphibious
landing at Had Yao Beach. The exercise was a beach assault using
amphibious assault vehicles. U.S. and Thai forces each had an objective
on the beach to seize.
It was an operation that was beneficial for both Thais and Americans, as
many young U.S. Marines have never experienced a full amphibious
assault.
“There is an entire generation of Marines that lack the amphibious
assault experience,” Capt. Rudy Cazares, company commander for Landing
Force Company, told the press. “This evolution afforded them the
opportunity to get that training.”
The exercise included nine amphibious-assault vehicles from the U.S. and
six from Thailand. A company of Thai Marines and a company of U.S.
Marines disembarked the AAVs and assaulted their respective objectives.
While the amphibious assault was the culminating event, U.S. and Thai
service members conducted extensive training in jungle survival, combat
marksmanship, military operations in urban terrain, combat lifesaving
skills, martial arts and sniper training.
“Despite the language barrier and the use of different equipment, I can
confidently say it was a positive experience across the board,” Cazares
said. “We gained just as much from this experience from the Thai as they
did from us.”
Ban Chang (May 12, 2011) -
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jared Myers (right), attached to Commander
Task Force 73, Singapore, assists Lt. Michael Syamken, attached to USS
Tortuga (LSD 46), extract an infected tooth from a young Thai dental
patient during the Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) at the Somboon
Ranaram School. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st
Class Jose Lopez, Jr.)
A Royal Thai Marine shouts
orders to his troops as they land ashore during an amphibious assault
evolution of CARAT Thailand 2011. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication
Specialist 1st Class Jose Lopez, Jr.)
U-Tapao - An P-3C Orion
assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 4 takes off as a Royal Thai Navy P-3C
taxis down the runway to join it during a combined mine laying exercise.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jose Lopez,
Jr.)
