Lance Cpl. Kenny Nunez/US Marine Corps
US, Republic of Korea, and Royal Thai Marines conduct an amphibious assault rehearsal during Cobra Gold 19 at Hat Yao Beach, Kingdom of Thailand.
- On February 12, the US and Thailand launched Cobra Gold, one of the largest multi-national exercises in the world.
- The annual exercise brings together 29 nations as participants or observers; nine participating countries include the US and Thailand as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, India, Indonesia, and South Korea, according to a US Army release.
- The exercise, which will end on Friday, includes a field training exercise, humanitarian and disaster relief components.
- One of the most anticipated aspects of the exercise is jungle survival training, when Royal Thai Marines teach their US counterparts how to identify edible foods, including plants and animals.
- During the training, US troops have the opportunity to eat scorpions and geckos, and drink snake blood - all skills necessary to survive if one becomes isolated from their unit.