Military gears up for Balikatan 2015

From InterAksyon (Apr 15): Military gears up for Balikatan 2015



File photo of Balikatan 2014

As the opening of Balikatan Exercises 2015 (BK15) draws nearer, Vice Admiral Alexander S. Lopez, Exercise Director of Balikatan 2015, personally visited units of the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP) which are involved in the ten-day annual event between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States which is slated to formally start on April 20 and end on April 30.

Vice Admiral Lopez visited the headquarters of the Philippine Army at Fort Bonifacioin Taguig City at around 8 a.m. Tuesday to discuss arrangements especially concerning the Philippine Army component and its personnel. He visited the Army with Brigadier General Rodolfo B Santiago, the BK15 vice director and the commandant of AFP Command and General Staff College, and paid a courtesy call to Lieutenant General Hernando Iriberri, Commanding General of the Philippine Army.

Lopez also visited Major Gen. Felicito Virgilio M. Trinidad Jr., commander of the Northern Luzon Command and the units under his command in NOLCOM’s area of responsibility which would be involved in the conduct of events included in BK15 on April 13. He particularly visited the 7^th Division in Fort Ramon Magsaysay in preparation for the field training exercises of some 5,000 Filipino troops and 6,500 American servicemen in the provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Cavite and Zambales.

Among the many Balikatan 2015 activities which will be done within NOLCOM area is the amphibious assault at Naval Education and Training Command in Zambales on April 21, aircraft static display at Clark Airbase in Pampanga on April 25, Cabanatuan wreath-laying ceremony at Fort Ramon Magsaysay on April 27 and Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) at Crow Valley, Cagayan on April 30. The closing ceremony will follow on the same day at Clark Airbase.

BK15 in Capiz

The Balikatan Exercise 2015 (BK15) in Panay officially started April 7 at an opening ceremony of the Basic First Responders Training at Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz, home of the 3rd Infantry (SPEARHEAD) Division, Philippine Army.

PH-US BK15 soldiers who came together as participants of the 31^st Balikatan are working overtime, even during the night, for the completion of school buildings and delivery of services to the beneficiaries of the exercises in towns in Capiz.

A total of 105 participants underwent the training from April 7-10 in Panay. The participants were 82 military personnel from the 3^rdInfantry Division of the Philippine Army, 13 reservists from the 6^th Regional Community Defense Group and 10 personnel from the Capiz Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Over the weekend (April 11-12), the Joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Task Force Panay of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Armed Forces through the Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force started delivering a series of trainings and seminars for the local communities there.

Last Saturday and Sunday, 61 participants composed of municipal health officers, residents, health and social workers of San Nicolas and Taft villages of Tapaz town in Capiz joined in the Barangay Health Seminar which was facilitated by the AFP and the US Armed Forces as part of the Balikatan 2015 exercise in Panay.

Master Sergeants Rodney Chiles and Richard Giardine of the US Army conducted a series of lectures on various topics such as: Community Health Nursing, Common Diseases during disaster and Healthy Lifestyle.

The aim of the seminar is to identify potential and existing community health problems and support community participation in the process of preserving and improving the health of community.

Case studies on disaster management were also taken up including: preparedness for rescue, evacuation, caring for victims, personnel training, communications and stockpiling and maintenance of supplies and equipment; response actions to be taken to save lives and prevent further damage; recovery actions that must be taken to return to a normal situation after disaster; and mitigation activities to reduce or eliminate risks to persons or properties or consequences of an incident.

School builders and responders

Personnel of the AFP and US Engineering units day and night continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder in constructing two classrooms for the Don Joaquin Arthuz Memorial School in Tapaz, Capiz. The school building is expected to be finished on the last week of April, the required target date.

Starting this Monday until April 15, a Military to Civilian Basic First Responders Training will be conducted at Babe’s Garden in Barangay Taft in Tapaz with 80 military and civilian disaster responders as participants.

The trainings aim to enhance disaster rescue, relief, recovery and rehabilitation efforts capabilities of the military and its counterparts in the civilian sector.

At the 3^rd Infantry Division Training School in Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz, a Civil-Military Operations (CMO) Exchange Seminar is on-going until April 14.

The exchange seminar is a joint effort of the AFP CMO personnel and their counterparts from the US Armed Forces Civil Affairs team wherein the best practices of the Bayanihan Team Activities (BTA) for the AFP and the Civil Affairs Doctrine for the US Armed Forces are discussed.

A series of structural assessment for seaports and airports in the provinces of Capiz, Aklan, and Iloilo will also be conducted during the course of BK15 HCA Events.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/108815/military-gears-up-for-balikatan-2015