CESAR BASA AIR BASE, Philippines — U.S. Air Force security forces personnel conducted a subject matter expert exchange with members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) at Cesar Basa Air Base, Philippines, April 4, 2019, as part of the 35th iteration of Exercise Balikatan.
Approximately 30 PAF security forces members assigned to the 554th Ground Base Air Defense Group participated in the training to share best practices with the 736th Security Forces Squadron (SFS) assigned to Anderson Air Base, Guam.
"We have an opportunity to learn additional knowledge and refresh our memories as security forces personnel," said PAF 2nd Lt. Berjune Lamorte, a 554th Ground Base Air Defense Group administrative officer and native of Paranaque City, Philippines. "It's a big help for us to be able to shoot our weapons and have a little sparring practice to fortify our fighting skills."
The 736th SFS is the force protection element of the 36th Contingency Response Group at Anderson Air Base, Guam, and one of their main missions is to conduct regular training sessions with U.S. Indo-Pacific allies to share and gain knowledge.
Topics covered included executing proper combative techniques, counter improvised explosive device detection, and tactical combat care while under fire.
"Our goal is to enhance our interpersonal relationships with the PAF and also show them how we operate," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Darryle Masnayon, a member of the cadre assigned to the 736th SFS and a native of Guam.
The combined team finished out their five-day exchange with a field training exercise where they applied their newly sharpened skills.
All PAF and U.S. personnel who completed the course were presented a Pacific Defender Security Forces Subject Matter Expert Exchange certificate to mark their achievement.