Thailand – Cobra Gold 2023

When I selected orders to Okinawa back in early March of 2020 we had grand plans to roam the region and fill our passports with stamps from multiple nations while we were stationed on the far side of the globe. Well…then the COVID pandemic hit in late March 2020 and those aspirations quickly got shut down. In addition to severely limiting our leisure travel destinations, COVID also limited the off-island training missions that my unit was taking part in as well. I was placed on multiple rosters for missions over our first year on Okinawa, but they kept getting significantly weaned down or cancelled outright and I never made if off the island. After spending the latter half of 2022 in charge of a quick-reaction medical team that limited my travel to only the island of Okinawa, I really wanted to do an off-island exercise before leaving my unit on Okinawa and returning to the continental United States. I found an open spot on a roster for an upcoming mission to Thailand and, with the approval of my leadership, placed myself on the roster. A few months later I was lucky enough to travel to the Kingdom of Thailand for Cobra Gold 2023. Cobra Gold is a very large multi-nation military exercise to which my unit sent a medical services contingent. We spent the majority of our time on a Thai Marine Corps base testing our deployable medical capabilities. We also learned jungle survival from the Thai Special Forces, swapped patches with the Thai military, and had a sports day with the Thai Medical Battalion that featured local games, team competitions, as well as local food and drinks. The Thai Medical Battalion toured our field hospital and asked many questions. Our enroute care team even got them to participate in a simulated patient transport.

Our entire time in country was not spent on military bases. We were afforded the opportunity to explore the local area in the evenings after our work had been completed for the day. My unit was well-motivated and we completed our primary mission almost a week ahead of schedule. After packing up our supplies and equipment we were afforded 3.5 days of free time to explore the Kingdom of Thailand with only an overnight curfew.

We visited Pattaya, the second-largest city in Chonburi province. Pattaya had round-the-clock entertainment, eateries, and numerous hotels to explore, and the water was warm. It had an active beach scene, numerous street vendors, and a 5-floor mall that was quite impressive. We sampled various foods from the vendors, explored the markets, and some of us watched the sun set over the ocean from a roof-top hotel bar. Another day we visited the floating market, a series of structures and shops that are all floating on a wetland. There were 4 of us that indulged in 2-hour massages with hot compresses and herbal tea at the end. The massages were quite nice, but I didn’t expect to be that sore from the massage the day after.

We ventured to the Sanctuary of Truth, an unfinished museum, castle, and temple hybrid that has been under construction since 1981 and is not anticipated to be completed until 2025 at the earliest. Of note, the entire structure and its carved sculptures are made entirely from 4 types of wood. The sculptures are hand-chiseled, and one can watch artisans at their craft as part of the tour. Being a Buddhist temple visitors must wear long pants or skirts and shoulders must be covered, but do not fear, rental garments are available. The structure stands some 100 feet tall and has an internal space of nearly 23,000 square feet. It was impressive to say the least, but the inner firefighter in me acknowledged that if a fire were to ever start in this entirely wood un-sprinklered structure, the whole thing would go up in flame and be destroyed.

One of our members was able to schedule a group outing for us to an elephant sanctuary. We learned about these giants, fed them cucumbers and bananas, slathered them with mud, and washed them clean in a large pool of knee-deep water. At the conclusion of the half-day spent at the sanctuary we were fed a variety of local dishes and fresh fruit for lunch. It was really awesome interacting with these elephants in a more natural environment than a circus or zoo exhibit.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Thailand, and the Thai people were very gracious hosts.