MALACANANG, Philippines – It was back to school for some U.S. Army and Philippine soldiers as well as many members of the Malacanang, Nueva Ecija community. The two countries came together with a common goal to clean up the Malacanang Central elementary school April 9. The mission is part of the Balikatan exercise (BK13), which began April 5 and will continue until April 18. The annual bilateral exercise brings the two countries together to exchange knowledge and ideas pertaining to humanitarian efforts and military training.
Although the students are currently on their two-month summer vacation, teachers, members of the community and military personnel from the two countries armed themselves with brooms and dustpans and commenced to clearing away garbage and debris in preparation for the upcoming school year. They swept up leaves, cleared away branches and provided any service that was asked of them.
Curious neighborhood children couldn’t help but be interested in the commotion at their school. Dozens turned out to catch a glimpse of the combined forces hard at work on their school grounds. Although it was hard work, the two forces enjoyed helping the community.
“I think the work is good,” said Cpl. Elpidio Cinio. 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army. “We also do this everyday, so it is good to be sharing this with the American soldiers.”
The atmosphere was filled with laughter and smiles as the forces mingled with the community and talked about the future of the school. Although Balikatan is on it’s 29th iteration, this is the first time US forces had the opportunity to visit with the Malacanang community.
“It feels really good to help clean up and to be out with the people,” said Spc. John Epperson, 184th Infantry Regiment, California National Guard. “When you get off the base, you get a different perspective.”
For Philippine soldiers like Cinio, having the extra help from their American counterparts make the job a little more fun.
“This isn’t the first time we joined one another,” Cinio said. “We work easily together, it’s like working with old friends.”
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2013 17:08 |
| Story ID: | 105224 |
| Location: | PH |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, It’s back to school for US and Philippine soldiers, by Danielle Coleman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
