Fresh US troops to be deployed to Mindanao for anti-terror drive

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Hundreds of fresh US troops are arriving soon and will be deployed in Mindanao as part of the American contingent that is assisting Filipino soldiers in the fight against terrorism, an official said here.

Armed Forces of the Philippines officials clarified that the deployment of new US soldiers is only part of the routine rotation of those who have already completed their tour of duty in Western Mindanao and parts of Central Mindanao.

Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the transition of US troops will be done over the next month.

For security reasons, it was not revealed how many American troops are flying in during the rotation.

Military sources have disclosed that US troops deployed in Mindanao have reached more than 500 American servicemen.

Batara said during the transition period there will be a temporary increase in the number of US military aircraft operating in Cotabato and Zamboanga City.

The official said the rotation will not affect the overall number of US troops in the Philippine.

“The regular rotation of US troops is necessary due to the temporary status of the US military presence in the Southern Philippines, confirming the fact that the US does not maintain any permanent military base here in the Philippines,” said Batara.

Observers believed that while there is no permanent base in the country, the US camps set up by the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) are allegedly the forward staging areas of US forces.

Batara explained that US forces in Mindanao are here at the invitation of the Philippine government to provide advice and assistance to government troops that are conducting offensive operations against terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, the US troops participating in joint military exercises in Nueva Ecija will put up a defense exhibit on Saturday and Sunday at the former American base in Clark Field in Pampanga.

“Families can come here this weekend and not only see but also touch these modern aircraft they might have seen only in the movies,” said 2nd/Lt. Airos Marian Soria, spokesperson for the Talon Vision 2008 joint military exercises now going on here and at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

Soria said the aircraft exhibit will be open to the public, including the media, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday. She said visitors will be allowed to board the aircraft and take pictures at the exhibit site at the Philippine Air Force Haribon complex at the Diosdado Macapagal Airport.  – With Ding Cervantes