An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | May 31, 2023

Royal Thai Army Commander Visits Washington Guard Leaders

By Joseph Siemandel, Joint Force Headquarters - Washington National Guard

CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - The commander in chief of the Royal Thai Army visited leaders of the Washington National Guard in a State Partnership Program exchange May 25.

“I made plans to come four years ago, and wanted to travel here, but had to postpone,” said Gen. Narongpan Jittkaewtae, commander in chief, Royal Thai Army. “Then we talked in Thailand and decided to make it happen.”

The visit to Camp Murray helped Jittkaewtae and his staff better understand the Washington National Guard’s force structure, training and abilities. The Royal Thai Army officers and Washington National Guard team discussed topics such as aviation subject matter expert exchanges, Stryker fighting vehicle operations and maintenance exchanges. 

The Washington Army National Guard conducted its first Stryker engagements last year with the Royal Thai Army’s newly formed 112th Stryker Regimental Combat Team. The group also visited the Washington National Guard’s Joint Operations Center to learn more about the Washington National Guard’s domestic response processes. The conversation was part of an ongoing dialogue about how the Royal Thai Armed Forces support homeland assistance disaster response efforts in the Kingdom of Thailand.

“This organization encompasses everything we are training and planning on in Thailand,” said Jittkaewtae. “Homeland response, combat readiness, we even saw wildland firefighting training earlier this year.”

While the visit covered specific topics, it was another chance to nurture and support the relationship between the Royal Thai Army and the Washington National Guard. 

The Washington Army National Guard is on pace to conduct 13 engagements with the Royal Thai Army this fiscal year, in addition to the participation by 230 Washington Guard Citizen-Soldiers in Exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand in March. More than 500 Guard Soldiers will join the Hanuman Guardian exercise in Saraburi, Thailand, in July.

“Our partnership is now more than 20 years old, one of the longest in the National Guard SPP,” said Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, adjutant general. “We are so excited to continue and expand this incredible relationship and share a common path forward together.”

The cost-effective Department of Defense program is administered by the National Guard Bureau, guided by State Department foreign policy goals and executed by the state adjutants general.

Through SPP, the National Guard conducts military-to-military engagements in support of defense security goals but also leverages whole-of-society relationships and capabilities to facilitate broader interagency and corollary engagements spanning military, government, economic and social spheres.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Williams, right, Washington Army National Guard, receives the Recruiting and Retention Noncommissioned Officer of the Year award from Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army National Guard, at the Director’s Strength Maintenance Awards Conference in Houston March 14, 2024. The conference enabled recruiting and retention Soldiers to network, exchange best practices, and honor the Army National Guard’s best recruiters.
Army Guard Recognizes Top Recruiting, Retention Soldiers
By Staff Sgt. Daisy Broker, | March 28, 2024
HOUSTON – More than 40 Soldiers in pristine World War II-style Army green dress uniforms lined the wall of a hotel ballroom as Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army National Guard, recognized their recruiting and...

Sgt. 1st Class Sotheara Chum, readiness and operations noncommissioned officer with the Special Operations Detachment - Pacific, 56th Theater Information Operations Group, Washington Army National Guard, at Exercise Cobra Gold 2024, March 4, 2024. Cobra Gold is the largest joint exercise in mainland Asia and is a concrete example of the strong alliance and strategic relationship between Thailand and the United States.
Cobra Gold 24 Brings Washington Guardsman Back to Roots
By Sgt. Alec Dionne, | March 5, 2024
CAMP RED HORSE, Thailand – Sgt. 1st Class Sotheara Chum has spent time as a Green Beret and an Army Ranger, with deployments worldwide. This time, Chum is training in Thailand at Exercise Cobra Gold 2024, but unlike previous...

Washington National Guard members train to prepare for wildfire season at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources Interagency Wildland Fire Training Academy near Roy, Wash., April 30, 2023. The training included familiarization with hand tools, line construction and tactics, and fire shelter deployment and entrapment avoidance.
Washington Army Guard to get new Firefighting Unit
By Joseph Siemandel, | Sept. 28, 2023
CAMP MURRAY, Wash. - Beginning next fiscal year, the Washington Army National Guard will have a new unit primarily focused on firefighting. “The addition of engineer firefighting teams will provide tactical firefighting...