KUANTAN, Malaysia -- In order to bolster community ties and experience some local culture as part of exercise Air Warrior, Marines and sailors from Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 and Marine Aircraft Group 12 participated in a competition, of sorts, with a local orphanage here June 26.
Even though supporting Air Warrior, a multi-lateral exercise demonstrating joint and multinational capabilities and improving interoperability between the United States and Malaysia, is the primary mission, some Marines and sailors took their time to support those less fortunate.
The event pitted teams composed of Malaysians and service members against each other in a series of mini-games.
Some of the games were fairly simple, such as the tire roll — a game requiring the participants to quickly, assuming victory was the goal, roll a tire to a turn-around point and then race back to tag in a fellow teammate.
Other games were not so easy for the U.S. service members, such as the top spinning game.
In the top spinning game, a wooden top about the size of a silver-dollar pancake was flung from its coil of rope to a wooden square about the size of a large pizza box.
To discern a winner, the distance between thrower and square was gradually increased.
But the day wasn’t about winning and losing, the cultural experience was the driving force behind participation.
“This seems like Malaysia to me, not the Swiss-Garden (the hotel where the Marines and sailors are currently staying)” said Lance Cpl. Sanford Bell, a MAG-12 aviation logistics information management systems Marine. “That’s nice, but this is Malaysia, the heart of the people.”
Bell participated in several mini-games including the tire rolling.
“It was a little tougher than I thought it would be,” said Bell of the tire game. “It was fun though.”
Albeit perhaps a little unusual, the tire rolling game seemed much more accessible to service members than the coconut shaving game.
“I was so eager, but I was intimidated,” said Cpl. Courtney A. Jones, a VMFA(AW)-225 F/A-18 electrician.
“I was chosen to cut open a coconut, definitely a man’s job” Jones said. “That was an experience — I’ll probably never do it again.”
A potential misconception about coconuts is they fall off the tree and simply have to be cracked open to access the fruit’s white-meaty insides.
The latter is not the case.
The coconuts provided had a thick outer-shell surrounding the smaller, brown elliptical shape traditionally seen in a U.S. supermarket.
Jones had to furiously hack and pry using a machete to remove this outer layer and then crack the coconut to take to her partner, Lance Cpl. Derek Miller, an Aircraft Rescue Firefighter with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171, for shaving.
“It was hard,” said Jones. “They didn’t tell me how to do it or show me how to do it.”
Much like Bell, Jones greatly appreciated the opportunity to spend time with the Malaysians.
“This is a place where you can learn about a culture, experience it,” she said.
As part of the festivities, Lt. Cmdr. Dennis W. Cox, MAG-12 Group chaplain, presented the orphanage with several toys on behalf of the Marines and sailors.
A soccer ball, signed by all the Marines and sailors from MAG-12 and VMFA(AW)-225 who were at the event, was also presented as a token of appreciation for allowing the service members the opportunity to share.
“This is why we come on exercises ... because you make a mark on a whole generation of children in this country,” said Cox to sum up the day.