THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States of America (USA) have agreed to strengthen the interoperability between the AFP and United Sates military in addressing the security issues in Mindanao.

This, as the Staff Delegation (STAFFDEL) from the United States House Armed Services Committee (HASC) headed by Craig Greene visited Sunday, July 31, 2022, the AFP’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) headquarters.

The U.S. delegation, which consisted of three staff headed by Green, was received by Brigadier General Antonio Nafarrete, Westmincom’s deputy for internal defense operations at the Laong Laan Hall of the command at Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City.

“Mr. Greene and Brigadier General Nafarrete discussed approaches and best practices to strengthen the interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States of America in addressing the security issued in Mindanao,” the Westmincom said in a statement.

The U.S. had been training and providing technical intelligence to Filipino troops in combating terrorism particularly the Abu Sayyaf bandits which have ties with foreign terrorist groups.

During the visit, Greene and his party personally visited the U.S. Special Operation Task Force 511.2 based in Camp Navarro purposely to increase the US STAFFDEL’s awareness of U.S. efforts in support of Westmincom.

The HASC is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representative responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defense and the United States Armed Forces (SunStar Zamboanga)