Photo By Grady Fontana | 180209-N-IX266-016 PATTAYA, Thailand—U.S. Navy Cmdr. Matt Music, commanding officer,...... read more read more
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PATTAYA, Thailand—Members of Military Sealift Command’s Expeditionary Port Unit 111 visited the Drop-In Center of the Human Help Network Foundation to interact with children during a community relations event here, Feb. 9.
Members of EPU 111, out of Oklahoma City, are reserve-component Sailors who are here conducting ship support activities for MSC as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2018. EPU 111 is also joined by a member of MSC’s Strategic Sealift Unit 102, out of Fort Dix, N.J.
“The event was a good opportunity for these kids to interact with Sailors and for us to show the human side of the U.S. Navy,” said Navy Lt. Travis Christensen, strategic sealift officer, MSC Far East. “But it was equally rewarding for these Sailors to get to spend time with the children. Kids are just so much more interactive and these Sailors were exposed to various cultures on a more personal level. It enriches our experience abroad when we see more than just military operations.”
EPU 111 conducts expeditionary port operations in support of operations and contingencies. During CG18, the EPU’s role was to ensure that proper contacts were made at the shipping port, to direct the ship on berthing, and to prepare for the ship’s arrival.
The large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Pililaau (T-AK 304) just completed an offload of equipment for CG18. During a lull in operations, the MSC team visited the Drop-In Center and learned more about the local culture.
The Drop-In Center is a non-governmental organization and is one of the projects of the Human Help Foundation in Pattaya. The center hosts about 85 children a day from neighboring nations, whose parents are day laborers here.
“We are helping these children by looking after them during the day,” said Cissah Cañaveral, a volunteer at the center. “Otherwise, they have nowhere to go. We give them basic classes and provide them free food and snacks every day.”
The three-hour visit consisted of a variety of playground-type games that often led to many laughs, cheers and yells of encouragement that were fostered by the MSC members, the facility volunteers and the kids. But the culminating event was when Christensen offered to get a haircut from two children who volunteered.
“I looked at it as an opportunity to build trust,” said Christensen. “When I found out that these kids get regular in-house haircuts, I thought it would be fun to allow a kid to cut my hair. I saw how excited they were and I figured why not. It will grow back and it will probably be an experience everyone comes away from with a good memory.”
The events of the day proved to be a prime example of how quickly games and team interaction can bring people together.
“I was really surprised by how pleasant these kids were,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mark Medvetz, strategic sealift officer, SSU 102. “The highlight for me was getting to know some of these kids and learning how they are so athletic and smart.”
After lunch and an impressive English language demonstration by the kids, the MSC team departed with a sense of deep satisfaction.
“The main thing this experience has taught me is that children, no matter where they are from, have a universal resilience and innocence about them,” said Christensen. “Despite different circumstance in life, they can still warm a heart with their upbeat energy. That’s what these kids have done for us.”
MSC operates approximately 115 non-combatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.
Cobra Gold 2018 is a Thailand and United States co-sponsored exercise conducted annually in the Kingdom of Thailand. For more information, photos, and stories about the CG18, including past iterations, please visit the official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ExerciseCobraGold.
| Date Taken: | 02.09.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2018 07:32 |
| Story ID: | 265363 |
| Location: | PATTAYA, TH |
| Web Views: | 405 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Military Sealift Command ‘Drops-In’ Thai Kids Center During Cobra Gold 2018, by Grady Fontana, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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