US, Thai, Korean Navies Working Together Underwater
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Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Andy Gardner, assigned to Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 2, treads water during a pier assessment with Republic of Korea and Royal Thai Navy UCT at the Thung Prong Pier in Sattahip, Thailand during Exercise Cobra Gold 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Alfred A. Coffield)
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Construction Mechanic 1st Class Matt Ramirez, assigned to Underwater Construction Team (UCT) 2, checks the bottle pressures for Equipment Operator Seaman Recruit Adam Porras and a member of a Royal Thai Navy (RTN) during a dive at the Thung Prong Pier in Sattahip, Thailand for Exercise Cobra Gold 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Alfred A. Coffield)
Underwater construction teams (UCT) from the U.S. Navy, Royal Thai Navy and Republic of Korea Navy are training and operating together on the Thung Prong Bay Sattahip Navy Base in Thailand throughout the 37th annual Exercise Cobra Gold, which ends February 23.
"We are here to perform underwater inspection techniques and also to talk about maintenance plans," explained U.S. Navy Construction Mechanic 1st Class Matthew Ramirez.
The main operation of the day for the UCTs was the inspection for the deterioration of Thrung Prong Pier, which was originally built in the 1970s and was rebuilt for the first time last year.
"The UCTs completely rebuilt Thrung Prong in 2017, in which they put 377 sacrificial anodes on the pier [used to protect submerged metal structures from corrosion], and we are here to measure the rate of deterioration on those anodes," Ramirez said. "Since the pier was built, it has been used for various purposes, ammo offloads, mooring, getting supplies on and off the base and basically enabling the Royal Thai Navy to be a little bit more efficient since it has been built."
The UCT members are also going to be preparing for a possible future rebuild of the DeLong Pier during Cobra Gold 18.
"The DeLong Pier was built in the 1960s," Ramirez said. "It's an ammo offload pier that the U.S forces built, and right now it is dilapidated, so we are here to make some measurements and create a possible demolition plan for a future project."
ROK Navy Lieutenant Donghyua Oh, from Jinhae Naval Base said that the Thai, ROK and U.S. UCT personnel working together strengthens the nation's alliances exponentially. This Cobra Gold and every other one moving forward will continue to grow and strengthen the UCT's ability to operate together.
UCTs are a small community in each nation's Navy, which is a reason why their ability to operate together and build lines of communication is part of Cobra Gold 18.
Cobra Gold 18 is an annual exercise conducted in the Kingdom of Thailand and runs from February 13-23 with seven full participating nations.
February 2024
