MI-6, a chocolate Labrador retriever owned by the Thai royal family, rests after a drill at the Disaster Relief Training Center in Chachoengsao, Thailand, Feb. 27, 2026. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
PHANOM SARAKHAM, Thailand — Cobra Gold, one of the world’s largest and longest-running multinational military exercises, is known for amphibious landings, live-fire drills and humanitarian response scenarios involving thousands of troops.
This year, it also featured a chocolate Labrador retriever with royal connections.
MI-6, a search-and-rescue dog owned by Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, has taken part in at least two Cobra Gold events since the exercise began Feb. 24, including an amphibious rescue scenario and a humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief exercise.
During the Feb. 27 drill at the Disaster Relief Training Center in Chachoengsao province, MI-6 bounded toward a simulated building collapse and attempted to pick up scents as rescue teams searched for victims believed trapped inside.
MI-6, a chocolate Labrador retriever owned by the Thai royal family, sprints toward a mock collapsed building at the Disaster Relief Training Center in Chachoengsao, Thailand, Feb. 27, 2026. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
Lt. Nikvon Thurapan, who leads the team working with MI-6, said the exercise marked a milestone for the dog.
“MI-6 searched and rescued a victim during a collapsed building situation,” he told Stars and Stripes through a translator after the drill.
The decision to include MI-6 in Cobra Gold reflected a growing emphasis on humanitarian missions within the exercise, Thurapan said. The princess, known for her philanthropic interests, saw value in exposing the canine to the multinational training.
“The princess noticed that humanitarian assistance is a very important mission for the people, so she decided to send [MI-6] to join,” Thurapan said, adding it was the first time MI-6 had participated in Cobra Gold.
Two days earlier, MI-6 had taken part in a separate search-and-rescue exercise with Thailand’s Urban Search and Rescue K9 unit, according to the Thai news outlet Matichon. That scenario, modeled on the aftermath of a typhoon, began with MI-6 arriving by amphibious armored vehicle before searching a beach for potential victims.
Cobra Gold, now in its 45th year, has evolved far beyond its origins as a bilateral U.S.-Thai exercise. While it still includes combat training, its humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief components have grown steadily, reflecting the region’s vulnerability to storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
MI-6, a chocolate Labrador retriever owned by the Thai royal family, prepares for a drill at the Disaster Relief Training Center in Chachoengsao, Thailand, Feb. 27, 2026. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)
