Army to launch combined arms exercise in March focusing on territorial defense

The Philippine Army (PA) will hold its first-ever service unit-wide Combined Arms Training Exercise (CATEX) "Katihan" on March 10 which will be participated by around 5,000 military personnel from various army units in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Colonel Louie Dema-ala, PA spokesperson, said the CATEX Katihan will bolster the army's shift to territorial defense operations.

The complex situation in the West Philippine Sea was among the many factors that prompted the Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to shift the security focus to territorial defense operation from internal security operation or those battles with communists, terrorists, and other domestic threat groups.

"This is the first ever exercise that will be conducted by the Philippine Army to check the gaps within our organization and integrate our new capabilities," Dema-ala said in a public briefing on Monday, February 26.

"We have newly acquired assets such as light tanks and armored vehicles but they are still undergoing techical inspection before being absorbed by the Philippine Army. Before that, we have also acquired self-propelled howitzers and big cannons. These all came from Israel and were procured as part of our modernization," he added.

Through the CATEX, the army will incorporate combat arms skills and warfighting functions of various army units to achieve mutually complementary effects in all service capabilities.

Different military assets such as infantry, armor, artillery, aviation, sustainment and other supporting elements will engage in simulation trainings that replicate actual combat scenarios to enhance their readiness and effectiveness for potential real-world missions and operations.

"This time, if we will look at the territorial defense operations, we are looking on how we could move, maneuver and sustain large troop formations," Dema-ala noted.

On March 1, minor activities for the CATEX Katihan will already begin but the major events will take place at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija on March 10. 

The army has yet to reveal the exercises that will be held during the CATEX but this may include urban warfare, convoy operations, live-fire exercises, and reconnaissance missions.

CATEX will be culminated during the Philippine Army Day on March 22 at the headquarters of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.

Meanwhile, the PA concluded a two-day Cyber Skills Development Activity in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Sunday, Feb. 25.

Cyber teams from eight schools, officers, and enlisted personnel took part in the activity which served as a platform for the participants to showcase their capabilities in defending the volatile cyber domain.