Philippine Army trains 291 new recruits

THE 14-week training of the 291 Philippine Army aspirants kicked off on Monday, August 20, at the Army's 1st Infantry Division Training School (DTS) in Kuta Sang-an, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur.

Major Ronald Suscano, Army's 1st Infantry Division information officer, said the new recruits will comprise the Candidate Soldier Course Classes 567-18 and 568-18 of the command.

They consisted of 287 new candidate soldiers and four privates, who took oath as military recruits on Monday, August 20, in Kuta Sang-an with Brigadier General Jacinto Bareng, 1st Infantry Assistant Division commander, as the guest speaker.

Suscano said that 264 of the 291 Army aspirants are males and the remaining 27 are females, including a Maranao from Butig, Lanao del Sur.

He said the chosen candidates are considered the most competent among over 1,000 applicants. They passed the Armed Forces of the Philippines Service Aptitude Test (AFPSAT), physical fitness test (PFT), and physical and medical examination.

Suscano said they will undergo rigid training in the next 14 weeks at the Division Training School (DTS) and they will comprise the second batch of this year's candidate soldiers program of the Philippine Army.

The candidate soldier's training was broken down into three modules, namely: The "Transformation," "Basic Squad Training," and "Application of Knowledge," all aimed at molding them to become well-disciplined, competent, and capable soldiers to fill in the ranks of the Army.

Bareng told the candidate soldiers that the training is tedious, as they will initially experience an abrupt change from being a civilian to adapting the military lifestyle.

Bareng reminded the personnel of DTS to instill discipline and respect to the recruits, share all their knowledge, skills, and professionalism and to guarantee that they will develop a mindset of survival in the profession of arms.

He encouraged the new Army recruits to do their best and efforts to survive in the four months rigid training, as it will also test their mental, physical and spiritual capabilities if they are really fit to be soldiers.

Suscano said the recruitment is an annual program of the Philippine Army to fill up the vacancies left by the retirees and those who separated from the military service. (SunStar Philippines)