{"id":335596,"date":"2024-12-18T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=335596"},"modified":"2024-12-20T05:31:43","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T05:31:43","slug":"washington-guard-royal-thai-army-complete-expert-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=335596","title":{"rendered":"Washington Guard, Royal Thai Army Complete Expert Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Sgt. Tony Ramirez, crew chief, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, talks about the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with soldiers from the 9th Battalion, Royal Thai Army, during an aviation subject matter exchange in Lop Buri, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2024. (Courtesy Photo)
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CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – As part of a December tradition, Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, partnered with the 9th Battalion of the Royal Thai Army for a two-week aviation-focused subject matter expert exchange in Lopburi, Kingdom of Thailand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWashington National Guard Soldiers provided expertise in aviation standardization, maintenance, technical supply and logistics,\u201d said Capt. Taylor Payne, commander of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation.<\/p>\n

The seven-member team reviewed the Royal Thai Army\u2019s aviation operations, training, maintenance, supply chain and standards. They also assessed challenges and opportunities to strengthen future engagements and enhance aviation safety. A key part of the exchange, which ended Dec. 14, involved Washington aviation Soldiers working alongside aviators and maintainers from the 9th and 2nd Aviation Battalions on various aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really focusing on partner nation joint operability,\u201d said Payne. \u201cKnowledge of aviation maintenance, safety, standardization, supply chains and operations is critical for fostering relationships and developing future collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the exchange centered on aviation, the relationship-building between soldiers of both nations emerged as one of the most valuable aspects. When not working on aircraft, the combined Thai and U.S. teams bonded over shared meals, sports and cultural exchanges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a genuinely rewarding experience,\u201d said Sgt. William Johnston, a crew chief with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation. \u201cThe soldiers of the 9th Battalion are extremely knowledgeable and always eager to learn how we maintain and operate our aircraft. They were very welcoming and ensured we were well taken care of both on and off duty. They valued the social interaction, were keen to practice English, and expressed aspirations of attending U.S. military training.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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Sgt. Tony Ramirez, crew chief, 1st Battalion, 168th General Support Aviation, talks about the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with soldiers from the 9th Battalion, Royal Thai Army, during an aviation subject matter exchange in Lop Buri, Thailand, Dec. 2, 2024. (Courtesy Photo) (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL CAMP MURRAY, Wash. – As part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335598,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-335596","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\/335596","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=335596"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335599,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335596\/revisions\/335599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/335598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}