Balikatan 2014 opening ceremonies at AFP Central Command in Cebu. (photo courtesy of Centcom)
Two weeks of activities under this year’s Balikatan joint military exercises opened on Friday with US troops arriving in Cebu and Leyte, the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command said.
Navy Lieutenant Jim Alagao, Centcom spokesman, said 25 members of the Hawaii National Guard, who will train 151 military and civilian urban search and rescue teams from Cebu and Bohol, were welcomed in ceremonies at Camp Lapulapu.
Troops assigned to Leyte, on the other hand, will conduct Humanitarian Civic Assistance activities, including free healthcare services in Tacloban City
Among the civilian rescue groups participating in the training are the Philippine Red Cross, Bohol's TARSIER or Telephone and Radio System Integrated Emergency Response 117 Team, and Cebu’s Emergency Response Unit Foundation.
"Balikatan is the most evident manifestation of a shared commitment between the Philippines and the United States Armed Forces to move and act shoulder-to-shoulder, or balikatan in our local language, for stability, security and development," Centcom deputy commander Brigadier General Romeo Labador said in his message.
"The joint and combined training we conducted in the past Balikatan exercises, coupled with the resiliency of us Filipinos and the selfless commitment of foreign support, particularly from the United States helped us overcome overwhelming challenges left by the recent disasters," he added.
Hawaii National Guard Staff Sergeant Cory Ito, an expert on rope rescue operations, said they are looking forward to hearing the experiences of rescue teams who responded to the 7.2-magnitude earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda, which struck the Visayas one after the other last year.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/85936/balikatan-2014-begins-in-visayas
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