A yearly military exercise claimed to be the largest of its kind staged anywhere in the world has got underway in Thailand. The Cobra Gold exercise lasts for three weeks and traditionally involves the participation of United States Army and Royal Thai Army troops.

Cobra Gold 2010, however, will see them joined by military personnel from exercise debutantes South Korea, along with Singaporean, Indonesian and Japanese soldiers: approximately 11,500 service members, overall, of which more than 50 per cent are from the US.

Cobra Gold 2010

Cobra Gold was first staged in the early 1980s and, at this year’s launch on January 31st, Eric G. John, the US Ambassador, stressed how it still stood as “an important symbol of U.S. military commitment to maintaining peace and security in Asia.”

Cobra Gold 2010 will focus on a number of specific training areas, including medical response tactics and disaster responses. “Computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX), field training exercises linked to the CPX, and humanitarian and civic assistance projects” will all feature, Mr John added.

“Thailand is one of our closest friends and partners in Asia, as well as being our oldest ally in Asia”, US Army Pacific Commander, Lieutenant General Benjamin R. Mixon, said, adding: “The Cobra Gold exercise is the largest multilateral joint military exercise in the world.”

US/Thai Military Exercise

Cobra Gold is just one of a whole series of joint US/Thai military exercises aimed at boosting the ability of Thailand to defend itself, and to be able to move proactively to the sites of potential future regional conflicts.

The Royal Thai Army is one of three branches of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, which also includes the Royal Thai Navy and the Royal Thai Air Force. Together, these three strands employ over 300,000 personnel.

Over 400 Thai troops were deployed to Iraq in 2003 to assist with local reconstruction efforts. Their mission completed, they were withdrawn during the following year, and it was the success of their participation in the Iraqi conflict that led to the US’ decision to award Thailand MNNA (Major Non-NATO Ally) status, as far as many military analysts are concerned.

See also:

First 2010 Red Flag Exercise at Nellis Air Force Base

US, Israeli Militaries in Missile Defence Exercise