Photo By Lance Cpl. Kasey Peacock | Brig. Gen. Craig Q. Timberlake, left, greets Lance Cpl. Derek E. Arbuckle at Clark Air...... read more read more
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CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines – Brig. Gen. Craig Q. Timberlake visited Marines working at Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines April 6 during exercise Balikatan 2013.
Timberlake, commanding general of 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force greeted Marines with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, as they planned for future training evolutions scheduled to take place during the exercise.
“As Marines we are trained to respond to any crisis, and so far we are proving that by demonstrating our capabilities here during Balikatan,” said Timberlake. “Our partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines has been a long-standing alliance based on trust, mutual respect and dedication to one another.”
The exercise, in its 29th iteration, is an annual bilateral training evolution aimed at ensuring interoperability of the Philippine and U.S. militaries during planning, contingency and humanitarian assistance operations.
Timberlake visited the MAW to gather knowledge on its capabilities, and gain a better understanding of its role in the exercise.
“We wanted to show the general our expectations for the exercise, and how hard our Marines are working to get us there,” said Col. Jeff K. Arruda, commanding officer of Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III MEF. “We got a lot of guys putting in a lot of hours to make sure everything runs smoothly for this exercise. Our goal is to demonstrate what we are capable of to the best of our ability.”
The MAW’s capabilities for the exercise include approximately 262 personnel, four MV-22B Osprey’s, one KC-130J Hercules and seven F/A-18 Hornets.
“A lot of preparation has been done on our part to ensure this exercise runs efficiently,” said Capt. Chris J. Kapey, a pilot with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, 1st MAW, III MEF. “The bilateral training that we conduct out here not only increases our readiness in the Asia-Pacific Region, but keeps with our lasting relationship with our Filipino counterparts.”
Throughout the exercise, the MAW will conduct mishap drills, navigation flights, day and night tactical recover of aircraft and personnel, aerial refueling, ship to shore extractions and other bilateral training with the AFP.
Other units participating in the exercise will conduct training in multiple regions throughout the Republic of the Philippines to include humanitarian civic assistance, ground military training operations and a natural disaster response command post exercise.
This year, the Philippines and the United States have invited a number of personnel from other regional partner nations to attend or observe the exercise including Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The exercise is scheduled to run from April 5 to April 17.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2013 23:53 |
| Story ID: | 104770 |
| Location: | CLARK AIR BASE, PH |
| Web Views: | 443 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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