Joint RP-US military exercises kick off today

A total of 4,000 Filipino and US soldiers are expected to take part in the two-week annual joint Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercises (PHIBLEX) that kick off today with a ceremony at Clark Field in Pampanga.

Lt. Cheryll Pontillas, spokesman for this year’s joint exercises, said 2,000 Marines and Air Force personnel are joining their US counterparts from the Japan-based 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and Essex Expeditionary Strike Group in both ground-air and naval integration training.

The exercises would involve amphibious assault in San Miguel, Zambales; field training exercise at the Marine base in Ternate, Cavite and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; heliborne assault at Basa Air Base in Pampanga; combined live fire exercise at Crow Valley in Tarlac; and command post exercise in Clark Field.

Aside from these exercises, the Philippine Marines, together with other units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), will join US military personnel in community relations activities such as medical and dental missions, construction of school buildings, classroom repairs and repainting, and beautification projects in selected communities.

The two-week training will be held simultaneously in the provinces of Cavite, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Zambales and Pampanga.

“The bilateral exercises are designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness, and continue professional relationships between the Philippine and US armed forces,” Pontillas said.

The country is a major US ally in the global campaign against terrorism. The US has been providing technical assistance to the AFP, particularly in the hunt for Abu Sayyaf rebels and their Jemaah Islamiyah cohorts in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.