The Philippine Navy (PN) has activated the command of a special unit composed of naval troops who are adept at operating in unconventional warfare in all waters.
Vice Admiral Adeluis Bordado, PN Flag Officer in Command, presided the activation of the Naval Special Operations Command (NAVSOCOM) as a regular combat support command of the Navy in Sangley Point, Cavite recently.
The NAVSOCOM is a special command in the Navy which covers all facets of unconventional warfare in all waters using unorthodox methods such as demolition, intelligence, and underwater operations among others.
It was involved in multiple counter-terrorism operations involving the fiercest hostile forces in the country, such as the Abu Sayyaf Group, and is heavily influenced by the United States Navy SEALs (sea, air, and land teams).
Bordado ceremoniously unfurled the NAVSOCOM’s new command symbol, formalizing its regularization into becoming a crucial part of the PN’s modern and multi-capable naval defense force.
Commodore Alfonspin Tumanda Jr., concurrent commander of the Naval Combat Engineer Brigade, was designated as the NAVSOCOM’s new “bullfrog” – a naval warfare term for a commander.
Tumanda is no longer new to the post, having been a former bullfrog when the team was just a smaller unit called the Naval Special Operations Group. He specializes in a multitude of areas including naval special warfare, budget, fiscal, finance, and logistics.
He took over from Captain Dwight Steven Dulnoan, who relinquished his post after three years of leading the unit.
Bordado, in a speech, vouched for Tumanda and said that his areas of specialization “prepared him for this significant role as he maneuvers the direction of this newly regularized Command.”
He also thanked Dulnoan for leading the Command during its “crucial” transformation period.
He said Dulnoan fearlessly took on the job which “requires a lot of patience, not only because circumstances are complex but because setting new goal posts for a newly regularized Command can be quite an exhausting and complicated process.”
“I want to thank NAVSOCOM for your competence in what you do. These accomplishments were solid reflections of NAVSOCOM personnel’s untiring professionalism and flexibility during the most volatile and highly critical or specialized contexts,” Bordado said.