The Philippine Army, through the Office of the Chief of Staff for Education and Training, OG8, in coordination with the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) concluded on Friday, January 21, the three-day inspection of Salaknib Exercise training areas in different Central Luzon sites.
Philippine Army and USARPAC teams inspected the proposed training sites to ensure availability, suitability, and training-worthiness.
Salaknib is an annual exercise sponsored by USARPAC and hosted by the Philippine Army. It aims to enhance Philippine and US defense readiness by developing tactical interoperability and at the same time, showcase the US government’s resolve to fulfill its alliance obligations in the region.
The combined exercise—which will run from March 5 to 24, 2022—will see Philippine Army troops from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, Training and Doctrine Command, Army Support Command, 51st Engineer Brigade, Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Army Artillery Regiment, Aviation Regiment, Armor Division, Light Reaction Regiment, Special Forces Regiment, and First Scout Ranger Regiment, training side-by-side with their USARPAC counterparts.
Commanding General, Philippine Army (CGPA) Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. commended the Salaknib planning team for carrying out a thorough planning process aimed at ensuring the success of the bilateral exercise even amidst the pandemic.
"Salaknib, which means shield in Ilocano, is a testament to our enduring ties with the US Army. It is anchored on the Philippine-US Mutual Defense Treaty and has been ongoing since 2015. The conduct of combined training exercises between the Philippine and US armies will capacitate us in effectively dealing with the fast-changing security landscape of the Indo-Pacific region," Lt. Gen. Brawner said.
Photo: Pvt Bryan Jay Novesteras PA/ 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army