U.S., Thai and Korean Marines conducted jungle survival training Feb. 12, 2015, for exercise Cobra Gold 2015 at Camp Lotawin, Kingdom of Thailand.

Thai military instructors showed the class various edible plants and alternate places to find water in the jungle. The Marines also learned how to make different types of snares to catch food.
“The most important thing we learned today is the many plants that can provide you with drinkable water out here,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Morgan Patterson, Combat Logistics Battalion-4. “Human beings can only go for about three days without water before it becomes lethal, so it should always be the first survival step.”

U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Ryan Larrow, Combat Logistics Battalion-4, believes the tactics taught in the course could also be useful in other scenarios.

“Although everything we learned is considered to be jungle survival, it could be useful in many different areas,” Larrow said.
“The ability to provide yourself and others with food and water is universal and this kind of training really prepares us for anything.”
Marines were able to interact with each other and foster friendships while learning new techniques to survive in an unfamiliar environment.

“It’s indescribable how much the class came together from the start of the day to the end,” Larrow said. “At first we barely understood each other, but now we are working together, communicating, and passing each other different dishes, and enjoying the experience as a united force.”

At the end of the class, the U.S., Thai and Korean Marines had the opportunity to eat the different types of food they learned to prepare throughout the course of the day.

“Cobra Gold is a very unique exercise just because of how many countries are actually involved in the training,” Patterson said. “When you get our guys out here with the Thai and Korean Marines, it makes for an interesting experience you can’t find anywhere else.”

Cobra Gold is an annual exercise, now in its 34th iteration, designed to advance regional security, improve cooperation with partner nations and find effective solutions to common challenges.