Trimmed down Cobra Gold exercises set for Feb 20 to March 5
The Thai-US Cobra Gold military exercises are set to kick off later this month until early March, but this time it will be of limited scale with the 10 observing countries being excluded due to the Covid crisis.
The 41st Cobra Gold military exercises, which will run from February 20 to March 5 in Rayong’s Ban Chang district, is a “heavy year” drill, meaning equipment and hardware will be deployed at a larger scale than the event held last year.
With the 10 observing countries being excluded, only 1,700 troops from the seven participating countries will be showing up, a top-brass said at a joint Thai-US press conference on Friday.
Upon arrival, the troops will be isolated for seven days and will undergo two RT-PCR tests. They will then proceed via “bubble and seal” measures and undergo ATK tests every five days during their stay in Thailand.
General Natthaphol Bunngarm, chief-of-staff with the Royal Thai Armed Forces, said amphibious landings, civilian evacuations and live-fire drills will be omitted from Cobra Gold this year, while units will be reduced to 500 in each operation.
However, all four areas of training will remain, with the one dubbed Command Post Exercise (CPX) will repeat and solving problems detected in last year’s event, he said.
Another side event on Humanitarian/Civic Assistance (HCA), which is also part of the four areas of training, began on January 28 and will wrap up on March 3. The activities involved include construction and repair work in five local schools in Rayong and four other provinces.
The Army expects to benefit from Cobra Gold on three levels: good public image on the global level, a boost in military efficiency at the national level, and strengthening of military ties with participating countries.
The exercises are also expected to result in the construction and repairing of local schools, boost revenue for local communities and spark new friendships between Thais and foreign troops.
