Filipinos at West Point

(Part II of “A Pledge to Duty, Honor, Country and God”)

Every day our papers are headlined with distressing news involving our men in the military and in the police force. It is making me wonder where are our uniformed men and women who have pledged themselves to duty, honor, country and God. They must be “hidden” in the woodwork while their erring brothers are hogging the front pages. These “few good men” of integrity and character, highly trained in military and police service, ought to come out into the light for such a time as this.

Rendezvous with Fil-cadets

Back in June 1992, my rendezvous with the Filipino cadets at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point (which is also frequently referred to as “West Point”) took place on a weekday. My cousin Richard drove me from New Jersey along Route W9, a pleasant one-and-a-half-hour drive along the Hudson River and pine-covered mountains. West Point is located in the small, plain town of Highlands in Orange County, New York where activity revolves around the Visitors’ Information Center and the West Point Museum that displays America’s symbols of victory and houses the richest collection of US and foreign military objects. It is also a “library” for weapons and other military artifacts.

First Class Cadet Julius Tomines of Isabela, Cagayan met us outside the MacArthur Barracks. Cadet Dennis Eclarin was preparing to participate in the grand parade of 1,700 cadets in honor of a retiring professor, a colonel, while Cadet Marion Candaba was in class. These gentlemen were considered to be among the best Filipino scholars in the United States then.

Training at West Point

While in their first year at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio, they had to report to the USMA by July to undergo the “Beast Barracks” – a six-week training of daily calisthenics in preparation for foot marches, mountaineering, rifle marksmanship, and tactical maneuvers.

From Reception Day, Dennis’ nationalism was constantly pricked while saluting the American flag at flag retreat. He said, “I realized that this rare privilege of a fully funded four-year education worth more than $200,000 was teaching me to serve my own country in a very special way. To preserve my identity, I displayed a huge Filipino flag on my desk.”

All three Filipino cadets agreed: “It is a humbling experience coming to West Point because so many people are more talented than you are. But it also makes you work much harder.” According to Dennis, “My classmates’ pride as sons of Great America clashed strongly with my pride, for Filipinos are no longer considered exceptional as in the past. It is with this challenge that I thrive well at West Point.”

He recalled that one night, the platoon gathered at the hallway for a contest on who could disassemble and assemble the M-14 fastest. “I easily won because I had a lot of practice at PMA. Everybody fell silent and I felt satisfaction in this subtle expression of defeat. This small incident fueled my desire to compete as hard as I can if this is the only way that I can assure my fellow cadets’ respect of the Filipino.”

Just before 5 p.m. we walked to The Plain, a manicured parade field that stretched before the cathedral-sized Cadet’s Chapel, to watch Cadet Eclarin perform the world famous marching maneuvers of West Point. Their flawless precision is attributed to Major William J. Worth, Commandant of Cadets in 1820 – 1826. Like modern young knights, the Corps of Cadets marched to the blare of bugles and the roll of drums from the Washington Hall and the Eisenhower Barracks.

Dapper in their gold-buttoned gray and white uniforms with their sabers, the cadets assembled in platoons at The Plain. Being a formal dress parade, a speaker announced the names of each Company Commander and the state they represented.

Imbibing a lifetime of discipline and professionalism

The day starts earlier for the plebes (freshmen). At 0520 they deliver newspapers to each room and clean their rooms for daily inspection. The upperclassmen wake up at 0600 to wash and shave before the 0625 breakfast formation. The Corps eats as a single body. Each table seats 10 cadets with the highest-ranking cadet at the head of the table. The plebes at the other end pour the drinks, serve the soup and cut the dessert.

Academic classes follow breakfast. A class session lasts for about 55 minutes with 10-minute intervals in between. Each section has 12 to 18 cadets. A section marcher takes down attendance and calls the class to order.

Dennis, a graduate of the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City, was majoring in Political Science while Julius was in Engineering. Dennis remarked, “Academically, West Point is as demanding as the top universities.”

More than 95 percent of the staff and faculty are military personnel who completed graduate work at the most respected universities in America. All faculty members have master’s degrees and nearly 30 percent hold doctoral degrees. Fields of studies are Mathematics, Engineering, Humanities and Public Affairs.

Leadership in action

Between the first and second semester each year, a cadet receives instructions in fundamental military tactics and leadership during a two-week intersection period.

The second summer is spent at nearby Camp Buckner where they receive eight weeks of military field training, focusing in infantry operations, artillery firing, weapons training, army aviation, military engineering, field communications and survival.

One week is spent at Fort Knox, Kentucky for militarization with tank, cavalry, mechanized infantry, self-propelled field artillery, combat engineering and air defense operations. Emphasis is on small unit ground combat operations. As a junior cadet in 1991, Julius was platoon leader in a field training held at a jungle in Panama.

Half the class participates in Drill Cadet Leadership training at US Army training centers, guiding new recruits while the other half remains at West Point or Camp Buckner. Many cadets say that these are the most valuable experiences of their four years at the Academy. In 1992, Dennis trained in Korea.

Dennis referred to the intense demands of work as “a barrage of papers, engineering designs, projects and tests.” Julius showed us the wooden and metal bridge he designed and constructed at the golf course. Of the three bridges, it was the handsomest and the sturdiest that golfers prefer it to the other two. His instructor Major Lenox said Julius was number one in his class, while cheerfully making a “thumbs up” gesture. Julius modestly smiled.

America excels in the high school recruitment program for the US Navy, Army and Air Force. The added incentive of free college education after two years of military service is most encouraging to young men and women of the country. Thus, several Filipinos born in the United States have trained at West Point.

“Written in blood”

When asked how he felt about being a West Pointer, Dennis replied “The professional training is what I admire most. Continually, West Point’s motto of ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ is repeated in lectures and meetings ... the word ‘country’ receives a lot of emphasis. We are always told to put our country above ourselves through selfless service.”

For Dennis, this can only be achieved by fearless, dauntless men of courage, just as his hero General Rafael Ileto, a West Point Graduate of 1943. Then as 2nd lieutenant, Ileto joined the New Guinea Campaign and was transferred to the famed Alamo Scouts of the Sixth United States Army. He saw action in the battle of Leyte all the way to the liberation of US Prisoners of War (POW) in the Great Cabanatuan Raid. This strengthened his determination to establish the Philippine Scout Rangers, one of the most feared warriors in Asia.

After graduating from West Point, 2nd Lieutenant Eclarin joined the Scout Rangers, following the footsteps of his mentor, General Ileto. At the height of the Moro wars in Mindanao Capt. Eclarin commanded the 4th Scout Ranger Company. He was instrumental in the recapture of the infamous MILF stronghold, Camp Abubakar. For this exploit he and his men were awarded “Best Scout Ranger Company of the Year 1999” for having only two wounded and no casualty. This was during President Estrada’s governance.

In the heat of the battle, his spirit was aroused that he wrote the Scout Ranger’s Combat Guide and refers to it as “a manual written in blood.”

My husband Max was so proud because – for the first time – a standard detailed field manual for the Filipino soldiers was finally written. “Ultimately, this manual puts us at par with the US Armed Forces.” Max never failed to stress in his column our need to wage an all-out war against the Moro rebels.

Capt. Eclarin pursued further studies at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). He was later assigned to the PMA where he, as a major, was placed in-charge of Doctrine Development.

He subsequently published three more books: The Scout Ranger Combat Leadership, The Philippine Scout Rangers, and The Philippine Jungle Survival.

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