THE Armed Forces’ No. 2 man has been appointed Army commander. Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, 54, current Armed Forces vice chief of staff, will assume the post as the 55th Army commander, replacing Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista who was recently appointed as Armed Forces chief of staff. Coballes served in Mindanao for over 14 years. President Aquino will preside over the change of command ceremonies at Fort Andres Bonifacio, Taguig City, at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Coballes is among the most bemedaled officers in the Armed Forces, having been twice awarded the Distinguished Conduct Star, the second-highest award for gallantry in action, for his exemplary combat actions in Maguindanao. He was also the recipient of three Distinguished Service Stars, five Gold Cross Medals for gallantry in action (third highest combat medal), two Bronze Cross Medals, and several Military Merit Medals, and commendations both from the military and other institutions.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Mapitagan” Class of 1980, Coballes also served as the commander of the Western Mindanao Command, overseeing military operations in Zamboanga, Lanao provinces, Misamis Occidental and the island-provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Coballes was also the chief of the Armed Forces Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability, commander of the Armed Forces Disaster Response Task Force and commander of an Armed Forces Wide Service Support Unit. He, likewise, chaired the Armed Forces Housing Board, the Medal for Valor Board, Gender and Development Focal Point Committee and the Legislative Affairs Board.
Coballes finished 15th out of 106 cadets and eventually joined the First Scout Ranger Regiment that was deployed in various places in Mindanao. He led four different Task Groups Panther (TGP), the command and control unit that supervises the operations of Scout Ranger companies. The TGP that he led in Basilan in 1995 was credited for the neutralization of several Abu Sayyaf bandits who were responsible for the kidnapping of civilians in the area.
He was also the battalion commander of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion that was employed to confront the armed threats in Maguindanao and North Cotabato from 1997-2000. He successfully headed the Filipino Peacekeeping Unit that served under the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (Untaet) from 2001 to 2002. Holding then the rank of lieutenant colonel, he led the 604-strong Filipino contingent that helped international peacekeeping operations in East Timor during its transition to an independent state.
He also commanded the Army’s 105th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division in Basilan; and also the 1003rd Infantry Brigade, 10th Infantry “Agila” Division in the Davao area. He also served as the commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment, Special Operations Command, one of the elite units of the military.
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