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Utapao Royal Thai Naval Air Force BaseU-Tapao International Airport is one of the important international airports under supervision of the Royal Thai Navy's Naval Air Division Commander. U-Tapao International Airport is one of Thailand's regional airports, located 25 minutes drive from Pattaya and Rayong, which are among the best beach resorts in Thailand. Utapao Royal Thai Naval Air Force Base is located near the city of Sattahip on on the Gulf of Siam, approximately 90 miles south of Bangkok. The geographical location is . Thailand is an important element in the Pentagon's new strategy of "forward positioning," establishing sites where United States forces can store equipment and from which they can come and go as needed. Despite Thailand's neutrality on the war in Iraq, the Thai government allowed Utapao to be used by American warplanes flying into combat in Iraq, as it had earlier done during the war in Afghanistan. Utapao may be where Al Qaeda operatives have been interrogated, according to some retired American intelligence officials. Royal Thai marines hit the beach at Utapao, Thailand during a Combined Amphibious Landing Force Exercise with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Special Operations Capable. The U.S. and Thai Marines trained together during the exercise, which was part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2002. U-Tapao during the Vietnam War U-Tapao was an important forward operating base for U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. Operational dates for American forces in U-Tapao were 18 April 1966 to 20 June 1976. U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield was a forward operating base for B-52 Stratofortresses and KC-135 Stratotankers of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Various aircraft flew aerial surveillance of South Vietnam's coastal waters. Throughout this period, five to seven P-2 Neptunes stationed at Tan Son Nhut near Saigon ranged up and down the South Vietnamese littoral along designated patrol tracks. In addition, from May 1965 to April 1967, Martin P-5 Marlin seaplanes operated from seaplane tenders Currituck (AV-7) and Salisbury Sound (AV-13), periodically anchored at Condore and Cham islands and at Cam Ranh Bay. To compensate for withdrawal of the older seaplanes in early 1967, the Navy stationed a squadron of twelve P-2s ashore at Cam Ranh Bay and a detachment of P-3s at Utapao in Thailand. The P-3s patroled the Gulf of Siam. The humanitarian relief effort for the Sumatran Tsunami of 26 December 2004 is being coordinated from the U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Air Force Base. A multinational force headquarters has been established at the base. This information was adopted from http://www.globalsecurity.org See also
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