Australian troops train W. Visayas soldiers
BACOLOD CITY — The Australian Defense Force (ADF) had trained Philippine Army soldiers in Western Visayas in combined urban operations, taking into consideration lessons learned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Battle of Marawi.
Captain Eduardo Precioso, chief of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Public Affairs Office, said on Friday that the month-long training was participated in by personnel of the 3rd ID, the 6th Light Armor Company, the 3rd Field Artillery Battalion, and the 53rd Engineering Brigade.
Other participants were soldiers of the 15th Infantry Battalion, who joined in the battle to liberate Marawi from the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorist group, who occupied Marawi for several months, before being neutralized by the AFP.
The training was aimed at enhancing the soldiers knowledge, interoperability, tactics, techniques, and procedures on combined urban operations. The Australians, while sharing their knowledge and skills in military urban operations, they also learned from the Filipino soldiers about rural warfare.
“We learned from them, they learned from us,” Precioso said, apparently referring to the cross-military training that, also strengthened the bilateral relationship between Philippine and Australian defense forces.
The Philippine-Australian Army Combined Urban Operations Training at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz, ended June 20, with a 20-minute capability demonstration vigorously performed by the personnel of the Operation Control (OPCON) units of the 3rd ID and ADF Joint Task Group 629, headed by Lt. Col. Judd Finger.
The combined urban operations training was supervised by a Land Advisory Team from Joint Task Group 629, and majority of the pool instructors came from 3ID, who also underwent training during the PhilippineAustralia Army to Army Exercise 2018-2 in March this year.