Filipino troops’ field ingenuity impresses US soldiers

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – If there is anything he admires most about Filipino soldiers in the field, it is their cleverness on the ground during unusual times.

Sergeant Major Arnold Curtis, in charge of United States soldiers at the Balikatan’s (shoulder-to-shoulder) live fire training exercises who had been with Filipino soldiers for three weeks now, said Filipino troops had “field ingenuity.”

For instance, local troops could make up “unique solutions” in a scenario when there were a lack of adapters, but they could still manage to fire weapons safely.

“They are quick, motivated…They make a good army,” he added.

The live fire exercises are part of the Balikatan field training activities, which aimed at improving the interoperability of both militaries.

“We talk about it and then see what we can improve,” said Captain Victor Villanueva, planner for the field training exercises, during its live fire training at Fort Magsaysay over the weekend.

“The scenario here (is) we pretend the enemy surprises a patrol unit…what’s the best response to outmaneuver our adversary,” he said.

He reiterated though that the exercise is not a competition and they do not keep scorecards.

Meanwhile, although he admitted that Filipino military gear is beneath the standards of the Americans, Curtis said the soldiers perform “above standards.”

But even then, he wished “equipment upgrades” for the Philippine military.

For the live fire exercises, local troops used M16, M14 and M203 grenade launcher, among others. The US soldiers’ weapons included an M249 light machine gun, which could shoot a range up to 750 meters, way more advanced than the 360-meter range of the Filipino soldiers’ M16.

The 2012 Balikatan (shoulder to shoulder), an annual joint war drill between Filipino and US soldiers, is the 28th of its series. About 4,500 US troops and 2,300 Filipino soldiers are participating in the event, which will end on April 27.

Originally posted at 06:17 pm | Monday, April 23,  2012