Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Courtney Glen White | CAMP EMILIO AGUINALDO, Philippines – U.S. Marine Sgt Maj. Howard L. Kreamer asks a...... read more read more
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CAMP EMILIO AGUINALDO, Philippines – Senior enlisted members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. service members gathered for the Philippine-U.S. Senior Enlisted Seminar and Team Building Event 2013 at the Commissioned Officers’ Club at Camp Emilio Aguinaldo April 6.
The seminar is part of Balikatan 2013, an annual bilateral exercise in its 29th iteration that provides a venue for AFP and U.S. military forces to develop and continue to enhance interoperability across a wide range of military actions.
The three-day seminar offers senior enlisted from the AFP and U.S. military an opportunity to share the wealth of knowledge they have acquired through years of unique military experiences with their counterparts.
“There are 11 senior enlisted service members from AFP and about eight from the U.S. military,” said Philippine Army Sgt. Maj. Guillermo P. Francisco, the sergeant major of AFP. “During the seminar, they will partake in guided discussions on leadership, training, education and senior enlisted empowerment.”
The focus of the seminar will be the sharing of knowledge by senior enlisted from both nations on how to adapt and improve enlisted training, develop an understanding of the differences in career progression and continue to strengthen military-to-military relations.
During the exercise’s planning conference, specific guided discussion topics were chosen to foster a great deal of participation from both sides, said U.S. Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. John J. Elliott, the operations chief for 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force.
“Both nations will discuss their roles and responsibilities, assignments and training,” said Elliott. “The topics which were selected allow each service present to have input and the ability to share their views.”
The seminar marks the first time the AFP Air Force and Navy senior enlisted have joined with their U.S. counterparts to discuss the issues facing each military in an academic setting, according to Francisco.
“Prior to this seminar, only our Army has been able to meet with our senior enlisted counterparts,” said Francisco. “This is a good experience for all those involved to get a better understanding for each other’s organizations.”
In addition to the guided discussions, the senior enlisted service members involved will visit training sites at Camp O’Donnell and Crow Valley to view the bilateral training of the exercise, said Philippine Army Master Sgt. Rogelio P. Caacbay, the director of AFP professional military education for enlisted personnel.
“Events like this seminar allow those involved to develop friendships and have a better undertraining of each other,” said Elliott. “This is important as we may work together on future operations.”
While the 19 senior enlisted participating in the seminar are an important piece of Balikatan, nearly 8,000 Philippine and U.S. service members are simultaneously participating in training centered around humanitarian civic assistance projects; a bilateral typhoon-based disaster relief scenario command post exercise; and knowledge sharing and interoperability field training exercises.
These wide array of events are scheduled to take place at several locations throughout Luzon including Camp Aguinaldo, Camp O’Donnell, Crow Valley, Fort Magsaysay, Clark Field, Subic Bay and the Zambales area. The exercise is scheduled to conclude April 17.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2013 02:29 |
| Story ID: | 105157 |
| Location: | CAMP GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO, PH |
| Web Views: | 238 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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