Larry Adkison, of the American Battle Monuments Commission (center), tells the history of Clark Veterans Cemetery, Philippines, to Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander, U.S. Army Pacific (left), and Lt. Gen. Eduard Ano, commanding general, Philippine Army, Jan. 20, 2016.
Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander, U.S. Army Pacific, talks with a Philippine mechanized infantry division officer inside an M113 armored vehicle during a visit to Camp O’Donnell Jan. 20, 2016.
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – An invitation to address the Philippine Military Academy Corps of Cadets saw Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander, U.S. Army Pacific, visit the school Jan. 20, 2016.
“We see the connection of our nations and our 117 years of shared history, and we certainly recognize that at [U.S. Army Pacific],” Brooks told the students, having been reminded of his alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, by everything from the cadets’ uniforms to the school’s arched front gate.
The previous evening Brooks hosted Gen. Hernando Iriberri, chief of staff, Philippine Armed Forces, for dinner at the U.S. Embassy Residence in Baguio City. “I was able to take in, first-hand and personally, elements of history that I’ve only studied before,” Brooks told the students.
In the Embassy Residence Sept. 3, 1945, the commander of Japanese forces in the Philippines, Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, formally surrendered to forces represented by Maj. Gen. Edmond Leavey, commander, U.S. Armed Forces, Western Pacific, thus ending World War II in the country.
After encouraging the young officers-to-be in the “cousin of West Point” to listen, especially to their seasoned noncommissioned officers; learn, from each other, their academy, and their mentors; and lead in everything they do, Brooks took time to answer cadet questions on everything from his time as USMA cadet first captain to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines.
“It sends a very important signal to the entire region about the nature of this relationship – that we are allies,” Brooks said of the EDCA. “I’m pleased of the decision the Philippines made – it’s a Philippine decision.”
The agreement was recently deemed constitutional by the Philippine supreme court, and will allow Brooks and other senior pacific-focused U.S. military leaders more latitude to plan training exercises hosted by Philippine forces. Brooks’ comments echoed those of his boss, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander, U.S. Pacific Command.
“As part of our strategic rebalance to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, the EDCA will strengthen our alliance by facilitating rotational presence of U.S. joint forces in the Philippines, increasing bilateral training opportunities and supporting the international rules-based order that has served the region so well for the last 70 years,” said Harris at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, Jan. 12, when the EDCA was announced.
After leaving the academy, Brooks visited Clark Veterans Cemetery with Lt. Gen. Eduard Ano, commanding general, Philippine Army, to lay a wreath in honor of the more than 8,500 American and Filipino service members and civilians buried there from 1900 until present day, with veterans of every conflict from the Spanish American War to the Iraq Conflict.
Brooks also toured Camp O’Donnell and the Philippine Mechanized Infantry Division which is currently performing refurbishment on M113 armored vehicles and Clark Air Base, where the Philippine Air Force just took delivery of two new Korean-made FA-50 fighter jets, similar to U.S. Air Force F-16s.
The visit to the Philippines was the final stop on Brooks’ current goodwill tour recognizing ground forces history throughout the Pacific. Previous stops included American Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Malaysia.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/186863/army-4-star-brooks-visits-philippines-honors-117-years-shared-military-history#.VqPTVMah7IV
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