31st MEU in Thailand for Cobra Gold - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

31st MEU in Thailand for Cobra Gold

Members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit have spent the past 10 days in Thailand for the multinational exercise Cobra Gold, which wraps up Tuesday.

A detachment of seven Marines from Special Operations Training Group, Special Missions Branch, III Marine Expeditionary Force, were among the first to begin training with their foreign counterparts. At Base Khun Nen in Chiang Mai, they teamed with members of the Thai special forces to impart “dynamic entry” tactics, often employed during urban operations when troops enter hostile buildings, according to a Marine news release. Among other things, the curriculum teaches various breaching techniques.

“Any monkey can get explosives and destroy a door, but to use it efficiently, breaching is more like an art,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Frease, one of three instructors who teaches dynamic entry for the MEU’s maritime raid force.

Part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group, the MEU began its spring patrol of the Asia Pacific region Jan. 28, according to reports. It includes members of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, and Marine Attack Squadron 211.

Approximately 7,000 U.S. troops from throughout U.S. Pacific Command are participating in Cobra Gold, which also includes military personnel from Japan, Indonesia and Singapore.