Search is on for new SOCOM chief

From InterAksyon (Jan 20): Search is on for new SOCOM chief

The top position of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM), an Army unit of elite forces, is up for grabs among senior officer candidates with the mandatory retirement on Monday of the unit’s current commander, Maj. Gen. Romulo Bambao. President Benigno Aquino III has yet to appoint Bambao’s replacement.

Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Jet B. Valeriano, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1982, will assume the command in an acting capacity until a permanent commander is selected. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista will administer the turnover of command. Valeriano also became the Chief of Staff of the 1st Infantry Division; Inspector General, 7th Infantry Division; Defense and Armed Forces Attache to Malaysia and Inspector General, Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines. He also commanded the 51st Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry Division for two years.Early his career, he led the 12 Special Forces Company, Special Forces Regiment Airborne (SFRA) which was deployed in Mindanao; then became the Intelligence Officer and Operations Officer of the 6th Special Forces Battalion, SFRA in Visayas, eventually commanding the said battalion in 1996.

SOCOM evolved from the Army Special Warfare Brigade (ASWABde) that was organized in 1978, and is now a home to the Army’s elite forces – Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), the First Scout Ranger Regiment, and the Light Reaction Battalion. “SOCOM was formed with the responsibility to plan, conduct, and support special operations of the Philippine Army. Its organic units include the First Scout Ranger Regiment, Special Forces (Airborne) and the Light Reaction Battalion,” said Army spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc.

The First Scout Ranger Regiment specializes in anti-guerrilla warfare and is credited with various combat successes.

The Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) is also trained in the art of counter-insurgency operations. It is primarily trained in unconventional warfare operations and psychological warfare operations.

But the command suffered a major setback when its troops were waylaid by more than 300 armed men of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that killed 19 Special Forces and injured 14 others in a day-long firefight in Barangay Cambug, Al-Barka, basilan on October 19, 2011.

The newest member of SOCOM, the Light Reaction Battalion (formerly known as the Light Reaction Company), was established in the year 2000. It is the lead counter-terrorist unit of the Philippine Army trained by American military advisers from the 1stBattalion, 1st Special Forces Group. The LRC was first deployed in Mindanao to combat Abu Sayyaf bandits blamed for abducting several foreign hostages.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/53140/search-is-on-for-new-socom-chief