This whole thing is kinda funny to me...people who choose to live in a seaside red-light district/party-town complaining about drunken sailors....gimme a break!!!

I remember before 9/11 a time when there were 6,000 US marines in Patong. Just about every single bar had at least a few and some places were absolutely packed. Quite intimidating for some I suppose. In fact I remember some of the regulars at some of the bars I drank at getting upset cause all the girls were ignoring them and going straight for the servicemen.

I saw quite a bit of drunken falling over, but whats new about that in Patong? Not too many fights that I remember.

Most of the fights Ive seen started by foreigners in Patong have been by drunk brits who suddenly start smashing bottles and mugs because they thought somebody looked at them cross-eyed. Or even worse....fighting over a bargirl.

He wasnt special forces.. Just stationed in Panama..

Interesting guy (though an out an out rascist southern kkk type) and not the Walter Mitty complex your insinuating.

100% positive the guy who killed the bar girl in her room was not held or prosecuted in Thailand, he was back on his ship. I lived about 200m from her room and was here at the time.

Walter Mitty complex? Not sure what that means

Walter Mitty is a fictional character in a short story.. In that story he invents in his own mind that hes a pilot, a surgeon, a killer, etc..

The term has come to mean anyone who boastfully concocts fantasy about themselves, Its common enough that a 'walt' is someone who pretends to have been in ther services or claims to have been involved in things they didnt do. A weekend walt is someone in the TA.

Another US navy ship anchored off Deep Sea Port Ao Makham this week:

MiniVDO: American navy sailors from USS Russell carried out community service at a Kamala school in Phuket.

To see or download mini-video, go to http://news.prd.go.th/news_detail.php?newsid=216742

A small group of American Navy sailors from ‘USS Russell’ ship came to help at Rajaprachnukroh School in Kamala, Phuket, yesterday during their Rest & Relaxation or R&R visit to Phuket this week. They helped paint the bathrooms in the restrooms and later gave gift items for the students to relax with, quite appropriate for the sailors’ R&R visit. Some of the American donated items, which include medical products, toys and sports equipment, will be also be passed on to Life Home Project for AIDS & HIV victims in Phuket, through the Rotary Club of Patong members, who helped arrange the US Navy community relations visits in Phuket, including three other ships who came here 2 weeks ago. One of the sailors from USS Russell, told us more about their voluntary work here in Kamala school:

Andaman News NBT (VHF dial) at 8.30am & local Cable TV channel 1 + maybe FM90.5 Radio Thailand 6pm, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, & possibly FM108 Mazz Radio 7.30pm in Phuket, Wednesday 23 April 2008 & http://news.prd.go.th or http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish