More than 25 Marines and Sailors deployed in support of Exercise Cobra Gold 2009 participated in a community relations Father Ray Children's orphanage in Pattaya, Thailand.
Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled multinational military exercise in the continuing series of U.S.-Thai military exercises designed to promote regional peace and stability.
the U.S. Marines and Sailors who participated in this event planted about 40 trees in the Pattaya orphanage, and after they played with the children who lived there and ate lunch with them.
When the servicemembers first arrived at the Pattaya orphanage, all of the Thai children gathered around with smiles on their faces, in order to great the Marines and Sailors.
After the initial greeting between the servicemembers and the children, the soldiers immediately started working on planting the trees for the orphanage.
With the manual labor out of the way, the Marines and Sailors were able to give their attention over to the children completely.
After about an hour of playing with the children, the Marines and Sailors enjoyed a lunch that was cooked up on a barbeque grill by the staff of the orphanage in Pattaya, Thailand.
Also by participating in these types of events, service-members are brought out of their element and it helps them to live a better life.
The children from the Pattaya orphanage took to the Marines and Sailors very quickly.