JOINT PHILIPPINE AND US MARINES AMPHIBIOUS TRAINING SET ON OCTOBER 17

The RP-US AMPHIBIOUS LANDING EXERCISE (PHIBLEX) 2012 will kick off here on October 17, 2011 in an Opening Ceremony. This year’s PHIBLEX is the 28th in the series of bilateral exercises conducted every year to serve as a venue for joint and combined training between the Marine Corps of the Philippine and United States militaries.

The robust defense partnership of the Philippines and the United States is set to magnify its latitude this year by giving primacy to effective interoperability on disaster response preparedness, community development and humanitarian assistance projects.

The joint military training exercises aim to formulate and assess concepts for the Unilateral Defense Plan (UDP). Furthermore, it also envisions evaluating concepts for transition from UDP to Bilateral Defense Plan (BDP) to Post-Conflict response.

These training exercises will be held simultaneously in different venues including Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Basa Air Base in Clark, Pampanga; Marine Barracks Gregorio Lim in Ternate, Cavite; Crow Valley in Tarlac; Naval Station San Miguel in San Antonio, Zambales; and in Palawan.

On the other hand, the joint military exercises will also focus on revitalizing the interoperability of the Philippines and US militaries in post conflict response through the conduct of disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects. These will materialize through the Engineering Civic Action Program (ENCAP) and Medical Action Program (MEDCAP) activities which will be conducted in Luzon.

Thousands of local residents will benefit from the MEDCAP and a total of two barangays in Cavite and Palawan will benefit from the ENCAP. The vigorous relation between the military and the civilian community will be brought to greater heights as Community Relations activities will be conducted in several exercise areas.

The success of the RP-US military training exercises like the PHIBLEX can also be attributed to the diligent participation of AFP reservists and the cooperation of concerned local government units.

The conduct of PHIBLEX 2012 perpetuates a long and lasting partnership founded firmly on common heritage between freedom-loving countries committed to the preservation of liberty and democracy. 1LT CHERRYL P TINDOG PN(M), Director, Marine Corps Public Affairs Office, Philippine Marine Corps