Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Staff Sgt. Travis Mattoon, Stryker Leaders Course instructor from 1st Battalion, 205th...... read more read more
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Through 20 years of partnership the Washington National Guard and the Royal Thai Armed Forces have shared knowledge and best practices on a number of different topics. The latest subject matter exchange at the Yakima Training Center was the first of its kind for the two nations.
During the last week of May, eight members of the Royal Thai Army conducted a subject matter expert exchange with the cadre from the Washington National Guard’s Stryker Leader’s Course. This gave the visiting Thai Army officers an immersive experience in our Stryker community.
“Thailand has been a steadfast friend and treaty ally for generations, and the Stryker vehicle will knit us even closer together,” said Lt Col Keith Kosik, State Partnership Program director.
A few years ago, The Royal Thai Army committed to standing up a Stryker Regimental Combat Team and began acquiring Stryker vehicles through the Foreign Military Sales and Foreign Military Financing process. Thailand is the first foreign nation to procure Strykers.
“Our citizen-soldiers and the Royal Thai Army will be conducting exchanges, engaging in exercises (such as Cobra Gold) and sharpening each other’s capabilities around the Stryker for decades to come. It gives us a common platform that is an asset in warfighting and homeland assistance disaster relief,” said Kosik.
The group from Royal Thai Army spent a week with the cadre from the 205th Regional Training Institute who teach the Washington National Guard’s Stryker Leaders Course. The in-depth course mixes both classroom and field training on the platform and how a crew operates the vehicle. During the exchange they covered topics such as weapon systems, driving the vehicle and the communications system. In 2015, the 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team transitioned from the M1A1 Abrams Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, into a Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The conversion took more than three years, however it allowed the 81st Brigade to become better postured to support both domestic missions and federal deployments.
“The 81st Brigade’s transition was critical to our future success as a Guard, so to be part of our long time partner’s transition to the platform is going to be great,” said Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, the adjutant general. “We are excited to share the knowledge, the lessons learned and the resources about the platform.”
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2022 11:07 |
| Story ID: | 422032 |
| Location: | YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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