Two forces merge into cohesive unit at joint Thai-U.S. Cobra Gold exercise
By Fred Knapp, Stars and
Stripes
Fred Knapp / Stars and Stripes
Cpl. Robert Balsamo, left, Pfc. Daniel Strange, and Staff Sgt. Terrence Martin compute
firing data for howitzers Wednesday. Marines attached to the 3rd Battalion 12th Marines
are in Thailand participating in Cobra Gold exercises. |
PONG NANG RON, Thailand — Beneath the camouflage netting in the
muddy farm fields, it’s hard to tell the difference between the U.S. Marines and
their Royal Thai counterparts.
And that’s just the way Lt. Col. John O’Hey likes it.
Since May 18, the Okinawa-deployed 3rd Battalion 12th Marines
commanded by O’Hey have been integrated into a combined force with the 4th Artillery
Battalion of the Royal Thai Marines as part of Cobra Gold exercises.
From the fire direction centers, where Marines compute firing data
for the howitzers, to the observation post, where forward observers check how closely the
rounds are coming to the target, about 350 U.S. and 160 Thai troops have been working side
by side with their equipment.
Although two militaries are involved, “If you were to look on it
… other than the guns being different, you wouldn’t know it,” boasted
O’Hey.
His Thai counterpart, Sr. Cmdr. Nuttapong Ketsumboon, said that as a
result of working together, “The U.S. knows a lot about our guns and Thailand knows a
lot about U.S. guns. It’s very beautiful.”
Such beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, and requires
overlooking the orangish mud that one Marine joked was brought in by the truckload each
night.
But the teamwork of Marines manning the gun positions is hard to
overlook.
Each position has two U.S. and one Thai howitzer. As O’Hey
approaches one position, three quick, successive “booms” bring a smile to his
face, as he hears yet more evidence of bilateral coordination.
At one gun position, Cpl. Robert Balsam, Pfc. Daniel Strange and
Staff Sgt. Terrence Martin rely on a computer to calculate firing data for the big guns,
making adjustments based on forward observers’ reports of where rounds are landing.
Fred Knapp / Stars and Stripes
Lance Cpl. Jason Dzienik fires a howitzer as Lance Cpls. Arturo Esparza, left, and Percy
Long look on. |
The U.S. forces also calculate the adjustments manually, while the
Thai forces rely solely on manual calculations. The two forces share their results.
Gunners such as Lance Cpl. Arturo Esparza translate those
calculations into action, moving the howitzers left or right, while assistant gunners such
as Perry Long move them up and down.
Once the adjustments are complete, it’s time for a “No.1
man” such as Lance Cpl. Jason Dzienik to pull on a lanyard when the order comes,
firing the howitzer.
The end result, says Capt. Hank Brown, commander of one of the
batteries, is a 155 mm shell weighing 100 pounds delivering enough steel to cover a
football field with shrapnel.
“It’s a pretty gruesome weapons system,” Brown said.
The howitzers also can fire a variety of other shells, to illuminate
an area or lay down a smokescreen.
O’Hey said he couldn’t predict what kind of situation might
call for the two nations to integrate their artillery operations. But if that should
happen, he declared, “We’ll be ready.”
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