HONOLULU – Representatives from the Philippines, as well as more than 20 other partner and allied militaries, gathered to discuss the value of amphibious operations during the Pacific Amphibious Leadership Symposium, or PALS, in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 21-24, 2018.
The symposium brings together militaries with established amphibious capabilities, as well as those looking to further develop their own, and is designed to foster greater stability and prosperity by facilitating multilateral/bilateral discussions and engagements to plan, foster and encourage amphibious development.
“It brings together all the leaders, commanders in the field, which is to strengthen the comradery and the relationships within the organization,” said Philippine Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Alvin Parreno, commandant, Philippine Marine Corps. “The sharing is very much helpful, as we gain the best practices of each nation, of each organization, and it bridges the gap among nations because this is one of the things that will make us closer in terms of relationships, as we think of ourselves a family, and we brought out the best in us.”
PALS was created to enhance amphibious operability and crisis response capabilities and mutual international relationships.
“We’re sharing ideas with 22 [militaries], you can bet somebody is trying something new,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. David H. Berger, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Force, Pacific. “So you can accelerate your learning, you can build your readiness if you are humble enough to accept other countries who are on the same path as you are, and that’s the whole purpose of this.”
The topics and ideas discussed in the symposium will be taken by each nation to help bolster interoperability and strengthen military ties.
“We learned a lot and we will bring all the knowledge that we get from here and we will tell our government that we need to support similar symposiums like this,” Parreno said. “It will bring the leaders together, where interoperability is very important, because nowadays the byword is not separation, but jointness, combined, synchronization and integrity.”