Marines on parade in Mongolia
So, Mongolia is full of New Cold War intrigue these days. The US Marines were just trying to finish up their annual exercise with the Mongolian military when a bunch of Russians showed up and stole the show. The exercise’s closing ceremony was scheduled for Tuesday morning, but then they had to reschedule it for late afternoon because the Mongolian notables who attended needed to be in Ulaanbaatar when Russia’s president, Dmitri Medvedev, arrived for an official two-day visit. You can see my story on the US military exercises here. Another on the Medvedev visit is forthcoming.
And here is a little video I shot at the closing ceremony. It’s a parade involving the platoons who finished the training. First you see a lot of Mongolians, then Cambodians (with the white gloves) then Indians, then South Koreans, then US Marines, and then some more Mongolians. (There was a Japanese platoon, too, but they left before the ceremony, as did most of the Americans, which is why their contingent in the parade is so small.)
You’ll notice some significant differences in marching style among the various countries. I was sitting next to a Marine when the troops were practicing the parade, and joked with him that the Marines needed to get some better arm movements in their marching. He said “No, that’s plenty right there.”
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That was awesome. Where are the Pakistanis?
The Cambodians and Indians were struggling with their arm swinging.
I think the S. Koreans and Americans could’ve showed a little more energy.
I would have liked to see the Japanese.
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AWESOME!!
The South Koreans and Americans were outrageous with the whole lethargic arm disease. I agree Ali, the Cambodians and Indians did need a little help. They couldn’t stay in sync. Bummer.