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| Lt. Col. Mike Akiowa and Senior Airman Antonio Savage hone their Thai pronunciation skills March 14, 2011, with students from the Ang Huay Yang School in Korat, Thailand. The Airmen visited the school with members of the Royal Thai and Republic of Singapore air forces during Cope Tiger 2011, an annual, multilateral, joint field training exercise being conducted in Thailand March 14 through 25. Colonel Akiowa is a pilot assigned to the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Airman Savage is assigned to the 44th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Kirsten Udd) | ||
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by Capt. Kirsten Udd
13th Air Force Public Affairs
3/16/2011 - KORAT, Thailand (AFNS) -- Airmen from the U.S., Thailand and Singapore participated in a cultural exchange event March 14, at Ang Huay Yang School in Korat, Thailand, as part of Cope Tiger 2011, a multilateral joint and combined field training exercise.
Each year, exercise Cope Tiger's community outreach programs enable airmen from the three countries to strengthen ties with the local community.
"These community-outreach visits are a great way for our Airmen to experience local culture, see the positive effect we can have during these exercises, and the kids get to practice their English while we get to learn Thai," said Maj. Greg Richert, the chief of aerospace medicine at 13th Air Force, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and the medical lead for Exercise Cope Tiger 2011.
Students of the school taught the airmen Thai words and numbers, and performed impromptu performances of Thailand's national anthem.
Master Sgt. Chris Lim, the communication and information supervisor for Cope Tiger 2011, said the interaction with the young students will always be remembered.
"The girls were so eager to teach us new words," Sergeant Lim said. "They made sure we pronounced the words properly and it was a lot of fun. Interactions like this one today is just one of the many ways in which we try to build stronger friendships with the local community and our exercise partners."
Captains Adam Gaudinski and Tyler March, both F-15 Eagle pilots with the 44th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, learned to write numbers in Thai and Arabic and were able to successfully play hangman, tic-tac-toe, and rock-paper-scissors with their group of girls.
The captains and their counterparts said they recognize the uniqueness of this opportunity to be ambassadors for their nations.
"This was the first time that the military has visited the school students and the students were happy to meet with foreigners," said Royal Thai Air Force Flight Lieutenant Khanthaman Devakul, a correspondent for the joint and combined exercise division, and directorate of operations, stationed at Don Mueng Air Base, Thailand. "The girls told me it was wonderful to spend time together and enjoyed teaching their numbers and letters."
The exchange closed with Airmen from the three militaries joining with the students and teachers in making green papaya salad and cooking a traditional tom yum goong soup.
Cope Tiger is designed to improve U.S., Thailand, Singapore combined readiness and interoperability, including humanitarian and disaster response capabilities and reinforcing U.S. Pacific Command's theater security cooperation goals in the Southeast Asia region.
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