{"id":254482,"date":"2024-08-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=254482"},"modified":"2024-08-15T05:13:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T05:13:48","slug":"washington-guard-shares-aviation-expertise-with-thai-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=254482","title":{"rendered":"Washington Guard Shares Aviation Expertise with Thai Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris Cuddington, pilot, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, talks with his counterparts from the 9th Aviation Battalion during an aviation subject matter expert exchange in Lop Buri, Thailand, July 31, 2024. (Courtesy Photo)
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CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – Four Washington National Guard members from 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, shared aviation maintenance knowledge with their partners in the Royal Thai Army\u2019s 9th Aviation Battalion in Lop Buri, Thailand, July 26 to Aug. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked side-by-side with the Royal Thai Army soldiers to exchange knowledge of the UH-60 Black Hawk maintenance practices and operations,\u201d said Sgt. Michael Cummings, a crew chief with 1-168th GSAB. \u201cThe group participated in classroom briefings and hands-on aircraft training.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team also identified challenges and opportunities in the Royal Thai Army\u2019s aviation operations, training, maintenance, supply and standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to build a foundation for future engagements and prevent aviation mishaps in Thailand,\u201d said Capt. Taylor Payne, commander, Headquarters Company, 1-168th GSAB.<\/p>\n

The Washington National Guard and Thailand have been partners in the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program since 2002.<\/p>\n

Payne has led subject matter exchanges with the Royal Thai Army\u2019s aviation units for the past couple of years. He has seen tremendous growth in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe place an emphasis on maintenance and safety when we are in Thailand,\u201c he said. \u201cWe could go in and fix their aircraft every time we visit, but we are working with them to develop their program with an emphasis on the international relationships, continuing the growth of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of 2023, Payne led a team to Lopburi focused on safety, maintenance and search and rescue operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was important for them to understand how we utilize the airframes and share those best practices and experiences along the way,\u201d said Payne.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all work during the subject matter expert exchange. The team from Washington took part in a sports day and visited heritage sites and a live Muay Thai match.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall cultural exchanges continue to strengthen the international relationships between our two nations,\u201d said Cummings. \u201cSoldiers continue to make personal connections with their Thai counterparts, and we look forward to working together again in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two units have already scheduled a future exchange to continue developing the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe enjoy working with our Thai counterparts and are excited for the next exchange,\u201d said Payne.<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

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National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Chris Cuddington, pilot, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, talks with his counterparts from the 9th Aviation Battalion during an aviation subject matter expert exchange in Lop Buri, Thailand, July 31, 2024. (Courtesy Photo) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – Four Washington National Guard members from 1st […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254484,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254485,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254482\/revisions\/254485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/254484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}