Philippine Army soldiers from the 5th and 7th Infantry Division and U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division conduct helocast training during the Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, April 27, 2025. As part of Exercise Balikatan 25, Soldiers trained under the 25th Infantry Division’s Lightning Academy Mobile Training Team on helocasting, an airborne technique used by small unit forces to insert troops into a maritime insertion point.
Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen our ironclad alliance, improve our capable combined force, and demonstrate our commitment to regional security and stability....
Fort Magsaysay, Luzon, Philippines - On a balmy morning in Central Luzon, the thunder of marching boots echoed through the grounds of Fort Magsaysay as Soldiers from both the United States Army and the Philippine Army took part in an 8.3-mile road march to honor the 83rd anniversary of the Bataan Death March. The event served as a powerful tribute to the bravery, resilience, and enduring alliance between the two nations forged during one of...
