EDITORIAL - The other risks our people in uniform face

Another tragedy has befallen the Philippine Air Force with the crash of their C-130 plane in Sulu last Sunday, an incident that killed dozens of soldiers and several civilians on the ground.

Just last June 23, an S-70i Black Hawk chopper crashed in Tarlac, killing six officers and crew.

Before anything else, allow us to convey our sympathies for those who lost their lives, and our best wishes to those who are still recovering.

We will not speculate on what caused this latest crash and the one that happened earlier. It may be tempting to immediately say that we have a problem when it comes to maintaining our equipment, but let’s let the investigators determine the real reason behind those incidents and come to those conclusions if their findings so warrant.

Also, it is unlikely that poor maintenance was the cause. Aside from the fact that both aircraft were newly acquired, the PAF actually has a good record when it comes to maintenance; something they have to do more frequently than usual since we don’t have the resources to buy new aircraft or equipment all the time.

If anything else, these two incidents should remind us of the other risks our soldiers, airmen, and sailors face in the line of duty.

From our view, by that we mean those who don’t face the usual dangers they do, it is so easy for us to overlook the risks they face.

Danger does not have to come from the weapons or explosives of an enemy soldier. Getting to the battlefield, like what those in the C-130 were doing, does have its own perils. Even just training to fight the enemy, like what those in the Black Hawk were doing, has its own risks.

No doubt the loss of the C-130 will have a negative impact on the operations of PAF. And because those soldiers were being sent to support counter-insurgency operations in that volatile region, this may also affect the situation there.

Because we cannot yet determine what brought those aircraft down and take action on it, for now we can only hope and pray that nothing else unfortunate happens with our other aircraft and those who serve on them.