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Cobra Gold

Cobra Gold 03

Cobra Gold 2003 is an annual joint exercise that is taking place May 16-30. The 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army Hawaii has over 1,700 soldiers and pocket-size elements from Fort Richardson, Alaska, will focus on peace enforcement operations.

Approximately 5,200 U.S. servicemembers will participate, including elements of U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC); U.S. Marine Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC); U.S. Navy, Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) and U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF); as well as Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC), Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Military Sealift Command (MSC) and reserve elements from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Participating Thai forces will number approximately 5,400 and will include elements of the Royal Thai Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Participating Singaporean forces will number approximately 100 personnel.

There are two main training events for the exercise. The first is the combined training that includes hands on jungle survival, weapons cross training, and aircraft static load training.

During the jungle survival training American soldiers watched as their Royal Thai counterparts skinned lizards alive, cooked rats, and killed a chicken by breaking its neck and drinking its blood as a source of hydration.

The second major event will be a simulation driven Command Post Exercise were division staff members will command units on a virtual battlefield. Although the major training events will involve the infantry and division staff, the support units will also receive quite a bit of training as well.

The Naval Health Research Center conducted laboratory-based surveillance for febrile respiratory infections at the 2003 Cobra Gold Exercise in Thailand. Seventeen individuals met the case definition for febrile respiratory illness, and diagnostic specimens were obtained from 16. With heightened concern over the potential for another global influenza pandemic, such surveillance could prove critical for the detection of emerging influenza and respiratory pathogen strains with potential for importation to the United States.