Relationships enhanced, lessons learned at Cobra Gold 2012

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Whitney Tucker
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  "Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means."

Ronald Reagan's famous words were put to the test as service members from the U.S., Kingdom of Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the Republic of Korea fought to maintain peace in the face of a potentially explosive situation during exercise Cobra Gold 2012.

"The scenario featured a fictitious adversary in the Pacific arena, who encroached on an allies' land," said Capt. Axel Gonzalez, 36th Wing's Senior Intelligence Officer and a proud Spartan of the Operational Support Squadron. "The objective was to conduct Peace Enforcement Operations to return to the original borders."

Thailand is one of America's closest friends and partners in Asia. March 2012 will mark the 179th anniversary of the U.S., Thailand Treaty of Amity and Commerce, making Thailand the U.S.'s oldest treaty ally in Asia.

While providing unique and dynamic training opportunities for participating military partners, Cobra Gold also promotes relationship-building between militaries and local communities. Having played an important role in the three-week exercise, Captain Gonzalez witnessed events unfolding first-hand.

"I was the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance script writer for the exercise control group," he said. "It was my responsibility to add context and realism for ISR sorties as they supported coalition operations."

Throughout the exercise, Captain Gonzalez worked closely with multinational and sister-service members, fostering relations and instilling good practices.

"It was a very positive experience," the captain said. "I was able to instruct and create products as teaching tools and guides with my Air Force partners. As I provided advice on how to maximize ISR capabilities, it was rewarding to see our recommendations implemented."

Other events during Cobra Gold included a computer-simulated command-post exercise, field training operations and humanitarian and civic-assistance projects that increase the standard of living for the Thai people in surrounding communities. Additionally, senior leaders met to share knowledge with one another and build relationships.

"The exercise was a great learning platform," Captain Gonzalez said. "It was beneficial to work with our Marine Corps brothers and sisters, while the exercise served as a great refresher on procedures. The exercise also emphasized the importance of utilizing a common language to facilitate inter-service communication."

"I believe everyone walked away with constructive lessons learned and tools to carry into future multinational exercises, and thank everyone involved for the opportunity," he continued.

Exercise Cobra Gold aims to improve capability to plan and conduct combined joint operations, build relationships between partner nations and improve interoperability. A total of about 10,000 servicemembers from 20 nations took part in the exercise throughout Thailand.