The Philippine Army (PA) on Tuesday announced that one of its platoons participated in a two-day room-clearing combined interoperability exercise (COIE) with their US Army Pacific (USARPAC) counterparts in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija from April 3 to 4.

“The room-clearing drill is part of the series of CIOEs that will culminate in the military operations in urban terrain/airfield seizure joint interoperability exercise (JIOE) in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija,” Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement.

He added that troops from the 92nd Infantry Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division trained side by side with their USARPAC counterparts in attacking and clearing an airfield, involving isolating the objective and suppressing the threat.

This training also included advancing the assault element, assaulting the building, clearing the building, and consolidating and reorganizing the force.

PH, US Air Forces train on mass casualty exercise

As part of the “Balikatan” exercises, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said its personnel have trained with US Air Force units on mass casualty exercise (MASCAL) and other similar scenarios from March 28 to 31.

In a statement Monday night, Air Force spokesperson Col. Maynard Mariano said this subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) took place at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, and is part of the ongoing “Balikatan” exercises.

“The PAF and PACAF (Pacific Air Forces) exchanged dialogue of their best practices, knowledge, and skills which aims to enhance aeromedical evacuation or patient movement capabilities; civilian-military interoperability; and critical care air transport during MASCAL,” he added.

Mariano added that PAF personnel from the Office of Chief Surgeon Air Force, Office of Chief Nurse Air Force, 505th Search-and-Rescue Group, Aeromedical technicians, and Medical Admin Corps officers were present during the SMEE through video teleconferencing and face-to-face.

He said Covid-19 safety and health protocols were observed during the event.

“Balikatan” which means “shoulder-to-shoulder” or “shouldering the load together” is an annual joint and combined exercise hosted by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Indo-Pacific Command conducted to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences.

Around 8,900 Filipino and American soldiers are participating in this year’s iteration of “Balikatan”.

The annual bilateral exercises, hosted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Armed Forces Indo-Pacific Command, are geared at strengthening interoperability and enhancing capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences. (PNA)