The 8th iteration of Exercise Salaknib kicked into high gear with the training audience from the Philippine Army and U.S. Army Pacific commencing a series of subject matter expert exchanges in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on March 15, 2023.
Filipino and U.S. soldiers learned lessons, tactics and procedures from Jungle Environment and Survival Subject Matter experts at Special Forces School (SFS) while Army aviators and medical personnel and their U.S. counterparts conducted the Aero Medical Evacuation Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) at Army Aviation Regiment.
Moreover, experts on extended-range mortar and javelin, an anti-tank weapon extensively used in the Ukraine crisis, conducted lessons for Filipino soldiers at the SFS. Field artillery personnel from artillery units of both armies likewise held the Counter Unmanned Aerial System SMEE at the headquarters of the Army Artillery Regiment.
The first phase of Exercise Salaknib, which will conclude on April 4, 2023, is an Army-to-Army training between the PA and USARPAC. The ongoing exercises involve around 3,000 soldiers from USARPAC's 25th Infantry Division and PA's 5th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade Combat Team training side by side in a spectrum of military operations. The exercise's second phase is slated for the second quarter of the year.
Photos from OACPA/ Army Aviation Regiment/ Army Artillery Regiment