US servicemen arrive in CDO for joint training with PH troops

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — United States servicemen have begun arriving at Lumbia Air Base here, one of the nine Philippine military bases designated under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), to train with Philippine troops in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

A bus carrying US servicemen in civilian clothes was seen arriving at the facility last Tuesday. Photos and videos of their arrival later circulated on social media.

More US servicemen were reportedly seen checking in at several downtown hotels in the city.

Lumbia Air Base was formerly the old civilian airport of Cagayan de Oro before it was converted into a Philippine Air Force base and later designated as an Edca site for joint activities between Philippine and US forces.

READ: NSC: No verified direct threat of Iran attack in PH due to Edca sites

Patrick Martinez, spokesperson for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said this is not the first time the division has hosted training with foreign troops.

Martinez added that last year, more than 70 servicemen from the Australian Defence Force trained for a month with soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division in jungle warfare at Camp Kibaritan, a 46,000-hectare military reservation spanning the Bukidnon towns of Kalilangan, Talakag, and Pangantucan. /mcm