By Francis Wakefield
Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana was on hand during the closing of the Philippine Army’s 12th Senior Leaders Conference in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Wednesday, March 20, 2019.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (photo courtesy of the Office of the Secretary of National Defense)
Lorenzana, who served as the Guest of Honor and Speaker of the two-day conference, conveyed the current thrusts of the Defense Department and implored the Army senior leaders to implement their learnings to the current security demands of the nations.
He emphasized professionalism, physical fitness, and keeping one's nose clean as the three attributes necessary in working with various stakeholders such as the media and the local government units in order to effectively address the different emerging threats the Army will be confronting.
Prominent leaders in government, private and security sectors spoke on their assigned topics to elevate the discussion.
Maj. Gen. Viet Xuan Luong, Commander of U. S. Army Japan said, “(Becoming a) strategic thinker doesn’t go overnight. (We must) maintain our professionalism in expertise and governance.”
On the other hand, former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista, in his talk on the topic of leading the nation against hybrid threats, said that “we can all learn to be a strategic leader.”
“We have the weapons in our hands now. Listen, gentlemen, everything in our power is here. Diskarte lang natin ‘yan on how to do it,” Lorenzana said.