The Philippine Army (PA) said Sunday, Sept. 11, that nearly 3,000 troops from the Philippine Army and United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) will join the scaled-up “Salaknib” exercise in 2023.
Salaknib (shield in Ilocano) is an annual combined exercise between the PA and US Army which aims to strengthen their interoperability in a spectrum of military operations.
“Nearly 3,000 troops from the USARPAC’s 25th Infantry Division and the Philippine Army are set to take part in the exercise’s two phases that will be held in Central and Northern Luzon, and Mindanao,” said Col. Xerxes Trinidad, PA spokesperson.
This is bigger compared to the 2,200 Philippines and US Army soldiers that took part in this year’s iteration of Salaknib held from March 5 to 24 in Central Luzon. Among the drills that the participants executed included High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HI-MARS) live fire, team to company level live fire exercises, engineering projects, artillery and fire support missions, and over 20 subject-matter expert exchanges.
Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., PA Commanding General, previously said that the annual Salaknib exercise “is a testament to the long-standing bilateral relations between the Philippines and US that will contribute to the pursuit of a common goal of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
Last Sept. 9, PA and USARPAC planners concluded a week-long planning conference in Pasay City to ensure that the scaled-up version of Salaknib 2023 will be smooth sailing.
In June, PA and USARPAC planners also met in Hawaii to review the exercise’s updated mission statement and area of operations, strategic objectives, exercise timeline, and scaled-up operations.