Pacific Air Forces Command Chief visits Philippines for Balikatan 2012

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  • By Tech. Sgt. Matthew McGovern
CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines --  The U.S. Pacific Air Forces' command chief visited Clark Air Base here, April 17, during Exercise Balikatan 2012.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Brooke McLean's visit included a tour of various work centers on the base to see firsthand the Philippine-U.S. bilateral training in progress and an opportunity to interact with the service members from both countries.

"Having partnered nations and strong capabilities on both sides are very important," said McLean. "The Philippines have been a treaty ally with us for many years; one of five treaty allies we have here in the Pacific. We have a very enduring relationship with a lot of trust and support on both sides."

McLean also met with Philippine-U.S. military members from various professions including flight operations, communications, aircraft rescue and firefighting, security forces dog handlers and joint tactical air controllers.

During the tour, the command chief addressed questions and heard opinions of Philippine and U.S. BK12 participants.

"We appreciate that the U.S. is here in the Philippines," said Philippine Airman 1st Class Prime Rosaroso Jr., a pararescueman from the 505th Rescue Squadron, Philippine Air Force. "It's a big help for us; we are learning a lot, and we understand that this is a great opportunity."

BK12 is the 28th iteration in the Balikatan series and includes more than 4,400 U.S. personnel and nearly 2,300 Philippine service members, all training to strengthen partnership and cooperation, as well as enhance regional security.

"The main reason of the exercise is to develop military capabilities, but the relationships that develop within the different services and service components, is also important," McLean said. "It's a really unique opportunity, the more you get to know people the better it is (because) you never know when you're going to run across those people in the future."

Col. Isaias N. Espino, Philippine Air Force exercise director, has worked with the U.S. in prior exercises and can attest to the importance of the teamwork.

"We appreciate the partnership with the U.S.; we learn from them as the U.S. learns from us," said Espino. "I have seen the benefits of the exchange between our two countries and experienced the learning that has taken place. One of the main benefits is how it strengthens our humanitarian response. Time and time again, we see our interoperability come through in disaster relief such as earthquakes, floods, mudslides and typhoons."

Besides disaster response training, other exercise events include a command post exercise, interoperability field training exercises and multiple humanitarian civic assistance projects.

"We are very proud of the individuals that deployed here to participate in Balikatan; we thank them for their service, and hope they are safe and hope they make good use of the opportunity," McLean said.

"We also appreciate the Republic of the Philippines hosting the exercise and appreciate their continuing partnership with the U.S., and we look forward to many opportunities in the future," he concluded.