Brawner set to turn over command of battalion in Bohol

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Outgoing commander of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion of the Philippine Army, Lt. Col. Brawner will end his two-year stint in Bohol this August with an appeal to Boholanos to continue cooperating with the military and the police in blocking the re-entry of New People’s Army.

“Let us believe in the peace that we have achieved, let us maintain it. Let us help each other so that Bohol will continue to be a developed province and probably it could be the No. 1 tourist destination in the entire country,” he said.

Brawner also warned the public that the communists and its armed wing, NPA, had already their ideologies and have now reduced to a bandit group. “Yong pinaglalaban nila ngayon hindi na yong prinsipyo ng communism. ... I do not understand why dito may mga grupo pa rin na nagpipilit. So h’wag nating payagan ulit na makabalik itong mga armado ... because they had made it already their business to extort money just so they can survive,” he said.

The SF commander was supposed to turn over the command to Lt. Col. Julius Tomines last July 16, but the ceremony was moved to August, pending actual order from higher headquarters.

“This is a normal turn over; a normal procedure because, as commanders, we are given a stint of two years. It had been two years already since the time I arrived in Bohol in 2010, actually in the month of May. I was here May, but I was not yet the commander then. I took over the command of the battalion July 12, 2010. So nag-two years na ako last July 12,” Brawner explained.

Tomines is already here and Brawner said they are now in the process of transition. Brawner has started briefing Tomines on the activities of the battalion in Bohol, and has been introducing the latter to the people, especially those partners in peace and development in the province .

“The transition is normal routine, because as career officers, kailangan naming mag-serve sa combat. We also have to serve staff duty sa mga headquarters. In my case, I would be serving staff duty again sa Army or sa headquarters ng AFP. But this could also be considered a promotion because the mixed position that I’ll be occupying, although it’s a staff position, will prepare me for higher positions in the future,” he said.

Brawner said his new assignment involves planning operations for the whole AFP, and he is now looking forward to get the rank of colonel next year.

Brawner considered his assignment in Bohol as the best he had and the biggest achievement he had was having contributed to the peace and security of the province. “This is my best assignment, because the people here in Bohol are very friendly, and, of course, Bohol is such a beautiful place. ... We all know that Bohol is already experiencing high level of peace and security,” he said. — Angeline Valencia

He told The Freeman that keeping the peace is more difficult than waging war because military people like him consider war fighting as their corps competency. “Yon talaga ang trabaho namin, war fighting. So we consider it very easy if we go and engage the enemy in combat,” he said.

The military’s fight however is now in a different arena.”It’s not anymore the war where you fight force with force, guns with guns. We are fighting for peace and security and we are doing that by fighting for the hearts and minds of the people, because if we have the people supporting the programs of the government, and the development programs in general, then the progress in that particular area will be catapulted and very fast,” Brawner added.  - THE FREEMAN