Philippines
National
AFP, US Armed Forces hold inaugural Information Warfighter Exercise in the Philippines
AFP, US Armed Forces hold inaugural Information Warfighter Exercise in the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and United States Armed Forces have trained together in the first ever Information Warfighter Exercise (IWX) held in the country as part of this year’s “Balikatan” Exercise, the military announced on Saturday, April 6.
The week-long exercise held from April 1 to 5 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City strengthened the interoperability of AFP and US military information operations (IO) planners, enhanced their IO capabilities, and set the standard for future local IO training programs.
“It is basically a decision-making exercise,” Col. Michael Logico, the executive agent for the Balikatan Exercise, explained.
The participants employed a matrix-style wargame framework to equip themselves with the requisite skills to strategize and execute operations within the complexities of the contemporary information environment.
Established in 2013, the IWX is a brainchild of the US Marine Corps Information Operations Center in Quantico, Virginia. This marked the first instance where the IWX has been hosted outside the United States.
In IWX, IO planners focus on the realistic application and execution of operations in the information environment (OIE).
OIE are the actions taken to "generate, preserve, or apply military information power in order to increase and protect competitive advantage or combat power potential within all domains of the operational environment," according to the US Marine Corps.
Aside from the AFP and US military, participants to the IWX also included personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, chief of AFP public affairs office, said the participation of other key law enforcement agencies into the IWX emphasized the comprehensive scope and significance of the exercise in strengthening national defense strategies.
Further, he said that the inclusion of IWX as one of the early activities for the Balikatan Exercise not only underscored the “unwavering commitment” of Manila and Washington to collaborative defense efforts but also served as a “significant milestone in the enduring partnership” of the two countries.
The 39th iteration of the Balikatan Exercise between the AFP and US Armed Forces will officially begin on April 22 but several activities have already started, including the IWX.
A total of 11,000 American and 5,000 Filipino military personnel will participate in the Balikatan Exercise.
Contingents from other countries will also be joining including 150 troops from Australia, and an undetermined number of military personnel and a frigate from France. Fourteen nations will also deploy contingents as observers to the war games.