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Monday, March 05, 2007
Philippine-US joint military exercise in Sulu ends
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The US military has not disclosed what caused the death of an American soldier participating in the Balikatan 2007, as the joint military exercise came to an end over the weekend in the province of Sulu.
Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) information officer Major John Redfield said they have yet to receive a copy of the findings concerning the death of Corporal Timothy Lewis.
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Lewis died last February 15 in Jolo, a day after he and close to 400 other US troops arrived from a US base in Okinawa, Japan to participate in the military exercise.
Some reports said Lewis succumbed to a heart attack but Sulu Governor Benjamin Loong attributed the soldier's death to heat stroke.
Redfield said they could not make any statement on the serviceman's death until they receive a copy of the findings of the team investigating the incident.
Aside from Sulu, other venues of this year's exercises are Clark Field in Pampanga and Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The exercises are being conducted on a yearly basis under the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty and RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). This year's exercises are among the smallest since the training started decades ago.
Of the just concluded exercise in Clark Field in Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, Balikatan public affairs officer Captain Estevyn Ducusin said the "activities successfully promoted interoperability among Filipino and US forces."
Philippine Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Christie Datu presided over the closing ceremony in Clark. In his speech, Ducusin said Datu "congratulated both the Philippine and US soldiers and everyone who were behind the remarkable conduct of Balikatan Exercises 2007."
Even if the joint exercise already ended in Sulu, some US servicemen will remain in Jolo, a town in the province, to oversee the completion of unfinished Balikatan 2007 projects.
The US soldiers together with their Filipino counterparts have constructed an "all-weather road" linking the villages of Bato-Bato and Buansa in the town of Indanan.
They also renovated schools, a day care center, and a health clinic and repaired a boat ramp and pier in Sulu.
The soldiers conducted a total of 12 medical, dental and civic action programs in Sulu, Central Mindanao, and in Zamboanga City.
More than 6,000 Mindanao residents received free treatment while close to 400 animals were given free veterinary services.
A US embassy statement said Philippine and US military forces completed a combined task force staff exercise that emphasized crisis action planning in a maritime security scenario.
This will help the two countries learn to work together in addressing real-world challenges such as terrorist transit routes, piracy, drug smuggling, and critical infrastructure protection.
The embassy said the annual military exercise dubbed Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) is structured to further develop crisis action planning, enhance ability to effectively conduct humanitarian assistance operations, and promote interoperability between participating countries.
Balikatan 2007 was the 23rd RP-US military exercise conducted in Mindanao. It focused primarily on humanitarian projects in Mindanao. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (March 5, 2007 issue)
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