AFP, US Army Pacific chiefs meet on mutual concerns

MANILA – United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) commander Gen. Charles Flynn met with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Andres Centino to discuss matters of mutual concern between the two services.

The meeting took place at AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday.

“The two military leaders discussed cooperation on capability development, joint training, and security matters of mutual concern,” AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Jerry Baclor said in a statement.

The USARPAC is set to conduct the “Salaknib” exercises with the Philippine Army (PA) on March 5 to 24 in various areas in Central Luzon.

“Salaknib” is an annual Army-to-Army bilateral training exercise to enhance defense readiness and interoperability between PA and USARPAC.

The participants are troops from the PA’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, Training and Doctrine Command, Army Support Command, 51st Engineer Brigade, Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Army Artillery Regiment, Aviation Regiment, Armor Division, Light Reaction Regiment, Special Forces Regiment, and First Scout Ranger Regiment and their counterparts from the USARPAC.

Sponsored by the USARPAC and hosted by the PA, the “Salaknib” exercise aims to enhance the defense readiness of both Filipino and American troops by developing tactical interoperability and at the same time showcase the US government’s resolve to fulfill its alliance obligations in the region.

Last January 21, the PA and USARPAC teams completed the three-day inspection of the proposed training sites in Central Luzon to ensure availability, suitability, and training-worthiness.