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U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Ryan Flynn, a senior instructor pilot for the CH-47 Chinook assigned to Task Force Saber, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, speaks on his role during the long-range maritime air assault operation as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport, Lal-lo, Philippines, April 25, 2026. Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military that represents the strength of our alliance, improves our capable combined force, and demonstrates our commitment to regional peace and prosperity. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. Olivia Cowart)
Transcript:
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;16
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I'm CW3 Ryan Flynn. I'm a senior instructor pilot for the CH-47 in the 25th CAB.
00;00;06;09 - 00;00;11;12
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I was the air mission commander for the long range maritime air assault to Ibayat.
00;00;11;12 - 00;00;17;25
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It is an operation to allow us to seek and hold key terrain. Specifically for this operation.
00;00;17;28 - 00;00;25;11
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It was to hold the island Ibayat and be able to in place long range fires for a training operation.
00;00;25;11 - 00;00;35;10
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We perform air movement with the ground forces via aerial envelopment. We also enable long range fires and command and control.
00;00;35;10 - 00;00;47;01
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Well, we cover a lot of terrain, right? And we're over water, which adds another layer of complexity. Also, it is foreign terrain to us. We don't know the backyard like we do in Hawaii. So there's a lot of -s out there.
00;00;47;07 - 00;00;49;20
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We moved approximately 200 people.
00;00;49;20 - 00;00;57;14
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One way is 150 nautical miles. We did that twice, so we covered 600 nautical miles there and back.
00;00;57;14 - 00;01;02;17
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We transported supplies, troops and equipment and vehicles.
00;01;02;17 - 00;01;18;10
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Our Philippine partners are very resilient. When we don't have the exact answer to where we want to land or where we want to operate. They're familiar with the area. It's their own backyard, right? So taking guidance from them, tips from them is extremely valuable.
00;01;18;10 - 00;01;22;07
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Well, they're experts in their own backyard. There's a lot of -s here in the Philippines.
00;01;22;10 - 00;01;30;21
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They're the subject matter experts when it comes to operations in the Philippines. So the expertise and the local area and the terrain was valuable.
00;01;30;21 - 00;01;46;00
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The joint planning that occurs with the ground force, the side by side planning we're doing with the Philippine partners, the Australian partners, the army partners and marine partners working together in the same office, the same building coming up with a plan.
00;01;46;00 - 00;01;58;18
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Well, as for the U.S. Army, we could be anywhere, anytime, doing training and other operations, humanitarian, in the future. So it is important for us to keep those relationships open. And, then we learn a lot from them as well.
00;01;58;18 - 00;02;01;01
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And we teach them as well.
00;02;01;12 - 00;02;16;28
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Overall, the mission was a great success. I'm very proud of the way all the air players and the ground players work together. Meaning the Apaches. We're talking to the Chinooks. The ground force they’re talking to us. We loaded a lot of people on a lot of helicopters, and we got them a long distance successfully.
00;02;18;01 - 00;02;38;15
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Supporting the ground force is my job, right? So I love to look at the ground forces mission improvements and give them different options and how they could complete their objective. Being creative, not every mission is the same. So, instead of a cookie cutter approach, going there with options for the ground force and coming up with the best possible plan is my favorite part.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2026 07:57 |
| Category: | Interviews |
| Video ID: | 1005738 |
| VIRIN: | 260425-A-XD912-8685 |
| Filename: | DOD_111682807 |
| Length: | 00:02:39 |
| Location: | PH |
| Downloads: | 1 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Balikatan 2026 Interview: U.S. Army CWO 3 Ryan Flynn on Task Force Saber long-range maritime air assault, by SGT Olivia Cowart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
