KORAT ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE BASE, Thailand -- U.S. Marines, Navy and Air Force, Royal Thai Air Force, and Republic of Singapore Air Force service members visited Ban Lan Nang Keaw elementary school in Ban Lan Nang city as part of the humanitarian efforts of exercise Cope Tiger 2009 here March 16.
Service members from all three nations came together at the event where they donated monetary funds, computers, books, and medical and dental services to the children and surrounding community of the elementary school.
Iwakuni-based Marines and sailors of Marine Aircraft Group 12, Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224, and Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 were among the service members there donating their time and efforts to the community.
“Humanitarian efforts like these give us an opportunity to come together and see a part of the country we don’t often get to see,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Gerrit Brower, MAG-12 group religious programmer.
“It gives us a glimpse at what’s going on in Thailand and what we can do to help,” Brower continued.
Donations to the school made by the participating forces of Cope Tiger included various school supplies, sports equipment, ceiling fans, and book shelves.
U.S. Air Force, Royal Thai Air Force, and Republic of Singapore Air Force service members provided medical and dental aide at the event for the surrounding community free of charge.
Brower said the whole event provided a perfect opportunity to promote and foster a good relationship between the locals of Ban Lan Nang and the various service members participating in Cope Tiger.
After the three participating nations of Cope Tiger presented their gifts and donations to the school, the children thanked them with a show of various musical performances.
Once the performances ended, U.S. Marines, sailors and pilots from all the participating nations played games with the children on the basketball court, soccer field, and school playground.
“It was a lot of work and a lot fun,” said Lance Cpl. Jordana Criss, a cryogenics equipment operator with MALS-12.
It was a new experience all the way around where the service members could learn something new, and the surrounding community and children could benefit from the humanitarian efforts provided, Criss said.
Approximately 2,000 Thai men, women and children benefit from the donations, medical, optometric and dental care provided by the participants of Cope Tiger each year.
This is the 15th year the United States, Thailand, and Singapore have participated in Exercise Cope Tiger.