PH-US war games end with live-fire exercises

By: Nikko Dizon - 10 years ago

A US Air Force V-22 Osprey prepares to land near the command post prior to live fire drills on the last day of the annual US-Philippine joint military exercise at the former US traget range in Crow Valley, Capas town, Tarlac province, on Thursday, May 15, 2014. AFP PHOTO

CROW VALLEY, Capas, Tarlac—The Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) joint military operations between the Philippines and the United States militaries culminated on Thursday with live-fire exercises conceptualized for a maritime security and territorial defense scenario, a first in the decades-old joint military exercise.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and the military top brass led by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista watched the Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (Calfex) held here.

The Calfex was the highlight of the staff planning exercises between the AFP general headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo and the Western Command in Palawan, which focused on “enhancing the AFP’s crisis action planning capability in the maritime security and territorial defense operations.”

Almost real situations

“In these exercises … what we see are almost real situations so that when the time arises and the need is there, we know how to react to address a particular threat,” Gazmin told reporters following the Calfex.

Despite being on land, the exercises could be adapted on a maritime setting, said Navy Lt. Sg. Annaleah Cazcarro, Balikatan exercises spokesperson.

Under the scorching heat and a desert-like terrain at Crow Valley, Filipino and American soldiers from the Army, Marines and Navy simulated an hourlong attack to seize two company-sized enemy objectives.

The US military showcased its air power, with two UH-60 helicopters armed with mini-guns, A-10 Thunderbolts and FA-18 Hornets providing firepower. The Philippine Air Force deployed an S-211 fighter.

The Australian military, which joined the Balikatan exercises for the first time, deployed a P-3 Orion as a surveillance aircraft.

Teamwork

Asked how the Philippines and the United States adapt to the gaping difference in their military assets to achieve “teamwork,” Philippine exercise director Maj. Gen. Esmeraldo Magnaye said “interoperability is not only about the assets.”

“It also involves knowledge, skills and doctrines,” he said.

Magnaye’s counterpart, Maj. Gen. Richard Simcock III, also noted that the Asia-Pacific region “is evolving very rapidly” such that “large exercises like Balikatan need to also evolve at a commensurate rate.”