Way back in my pre-Navy Texas days, a certain radio commercial always caught my ear. A guy with a prototypical Texas accent would exhort, "Yah don't wohnt half a shebang, yah wohnt the whole shebang!"
I forget what that particular Texan was selling, but I doubt I will ever forget my first visit to Laem Chabang, Thailand. Now Laem Chabang is just a huge seaport, but Pattaya City, a mere 15 miles away, is indeed the whole shebang, at least for this elder sailor's first visit to Thailand. Expecting to devote several blog entries (most with photos) to this particular shebang, I begin with a description of our Flagship's signature maritime partnership engagement event, the Big Top.
A Big Top, named for the large awning/tent erected over the main deck, is a reception that we host whenever we visit a a foreign port for engagement. These are serious events, every bit as important for our national security interests as more traditional maritime operations. For all the treaties, all the diplomacy, all the high level negotiations, all the state dinners between our nations and its allies in this part of the world, nothing has more shebang for the buck than fundamental human interaction between American sailors and the people whose countries we are honored to visit.
Our hard working enlisted sailors, culinary specialists as well as volunteers from other rates, spend several days preparing for this event. Not only do they convert the main deck into a reception pavilion, they prepare a superb selection of hors de'ouvres, bake a nicely decorated cake featuring the flags of the U.S. and our host nation, and break out the ship's supply of wine and beer that is otherwise closely held under lock and key. Most of this occurs right outside my stateroom just below the main deck, so I see that these kids work hard to put on these events. They do so with enthusiasm, because they appreciate the value of their product to the overall mission of the Fleet Commander.
Once the evening arrives, Officers and Chiefs don their dress uniforms, a red carpet is laid out, and the Fleet Band takes its place, not only for national anthems but to provide the evening's entertainment. (Capable of any musical genre, the latter men and women could just as well play Carnegie Hall. Tonight's offering was New Orleans jazz, which our guests thoroughly enjoyed.) Dignitaries and senior officers from the host nation are bonged aboard with proper ceremony. Colors are paraded. The Admiral and his most senior ranking counterpart render honors for the national anthems, then make appropriately short speeches. Finally the guests and hosts engage in great conversation, and great fun.
Our opening Big Top in Thailand was especially memorable. Several hundred people from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities came to socialize and network. We hosted not only the Royal Thai Navy leaders and members, but various embassy staffs and military attaches from a range of nations. The band was superb. The food impeccable and tasty. And the wine and beer was welcome not only to our guests, but to those of us who had just survived a week of sleep-deprived circadian rhythm disrupted exercise activity sustained by gallons of caffeine and sheer perseverance.
So these activities are indeed fun, but the main purpose remains team building with our guests, a key part of our mission. Each of us is expected to do his/her part and act like the excellent ambassadors we are -- one conversation and one courteous gesture at a time. For this consummate introvert, that's a tall order. But the outcome is always beyond expectation. And, if we do this job right, maybe we can sustain peace in this region of the world without a shot ever being fired in anger.
A few vignettes from this particular engagement:
Met a Royal Thai Marine who is a dedicated bicyclist like many of us on the staff. He gave us advice on how/where to ride. We wheelpeople do appreciate local advice before venturing forth on our first ride in a foreign land.
A corpulent Omani military attache, probably born only a decade after me, dancing to the jazz music and maneuvering to get photographed with one of our attractive young female ensigns.
Our civilian wunderkind intelligence expert, who is same age and much resembles Katie, chatting with a Russian and then Chinese guy, each in their native languages.
My liberty buddy and fellow cyclist rounding up the local volunteer police to give us more advice on where and how to ride the next day.
A female senior Naval Aviator engaging an Indian Air Force officer on aviation topics. Flying has its own universal language.
Chatting with the Australian defense attache and reminiscing about our swing last fall through Sydney and Cairns.
These were just a small part of the individual conversations and gestures that came together over the course of a single night to weave a tapestry of understanding, mutual respect, and discovery of shared values and shared visions of a free society.
You'll never read about this in the newspaper, and you won't see it on any of the news channels. But it is a real mission, carried out with utmost aplomb by dedicated professionals, and achieving the desired effect of promoting peace throughout the world. It was, indeed, the whole shebang.
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