Pacific partners close Cope Tiger with ceremony

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KORAT ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE BASE, Thailand --  Thai, Singaporean and U.S. servicemembers marked the end of Cope Tiger 2010 with a closing ceremony held here March 12.

Air Chief Marshal Itthaporn Subhawong, Royal Thai Air Force commander in chief, served as host and presided over the ceremony. He was joined by Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, and Brig. Gen. Ng Chee Meng, Republic of Singapore Air Force chief of air force.

Cope Tiger is an annual multilateral exercise involving aviation and ground units from the U.S. Air Force, the Royal Thai Air Force and Army, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force. This year's event took place March 1 to 12 here and at Udon Thani Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand.

"This event continues to prove the wisdom of collaboration and interoperability between our armed forces, and demonstrates the outstanding working relationship of the U.S., Thai, and Singaporean forces," General North said at the ceremony. "It's a model for how well we, as a team, can conduct multilateral operations here in the Pacific."

During the exercise, U.S., Thai and Singaporean participants flew 838 sorties. On one mission, nearly 60 Royal Thai and U.S. Air Force members jumped from a C-17 Globemaster III as part of airdrop training.

In addition to the flying operations, a medical team made up of Thai, Singaporean and U.S. military members provided dental, optometry and general medical care to approximately 1,500 Thai men, women and children.

Finally, exercise participants took part in two separate cultural exchanges with 80 Thai school children; visited an orphanage near Korat RTAFB; and hosted more than 50 children and their teachers at an open house at Udon Thani RTAFB.

General North said a tremendous team effort goes into the planning and execution of an exercise of this magnitude.

"The success we've seen in previous years and during Cope Tiger 2010 would not be possible without the strong partnership and ties that exist between our nations," the general said.