A record of safety

Title

A record of safety

Language

English

Source

Philippine Armed Forces Journal Volume IX (No. 3) January 1956

Year

1956

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Feared By Authorities to Bear a High Percentage of Casualties, the Maneuver of the 3rd Infantry Division Turned Out a Record of Safety Which Belied Manuals T HE LAST tactical :'ar mancu- Armed Forces of the PhiliJipines vcr of the 3rd D1vis1on was, in an operation where Jive ammu acco!'ding to some observers, bril- nition was used. lianUy executed. Held in Norza- Thel'C l1ad been an inevitable garay, Bulacan, early in Dccl.'mber tenseness at the stal't of the batlast year, the maneuver, which in- tic. Strong speculations loomed clu•led both artillery and ai1· sup- in the air as to the percentage' !JOrt, had the largc.o;t body of men of casualties that would result ever to be put together by the from the action. Casualty cannot be avoided in spite of strict p1·ecautions. Training manuals have it that o1·dinari!y, up to 6% casualty can be expected from such maneuvers. However, when the battle ended and the last Vt!S· \ tige of smoke had cleared away a thorough checking up was made, and the maneuver turned out to be a record of safety. No casualty. More tl an that, no accidents! It may aptly be concluded that the success was due not only to the remarkable coordination among all the units participating in the maneuver and the thorough preparation of the battleground but also and largely to the efficient training the men who took pal"l in Among weapons uoed by lraineu "'"'" lOS MM ~owitzerr together witb li~e obells i properly ••rviced by Ordnance per<onnel Ellecti•e JogisliCJ operation kept the big gun. firing ol imaginary enemy, lour·divi1ion Jlrong. it have had before they were finally put to test for their proficiency in combat. The simulated battle area, referred to as danget· zone, is bounded on the west by the town of Sicaw, on the nor-th by the town of Rabatuan, on the south by tht> town of Lyang and the area two miles west of Babatuan. Because live 105 Howitzers were u~ed and the assaulting troops were supported by the Philippine Air Foree planes which dropped live bombs, all necessary precautions were made. The civilians who lived in and around the vicinity were taken care of. They "cre warned against getting in or ncar the battle zone. Those who live in and around the rna+ neuver areas had been cautioned to be quiet and avoid being panicky. They were assured that all precautionary measut·es to insure their safety had been taken. Civilian activities and traffic flow were not interferred with or hampered. Men, women, and children were warned not to touch any unexploded ammunition.'·shclls and flares, and in case they found any, to report to the nearest army or police stations so that these may be disposed properly. Where damages to real property occured as a result of the exercises the civilians concemed wen advised to file at once their claims and report to the division head rl ,_ JANUARY 1951 Suppli•• flowed deod•iy lo the ··front "•• •" br meon1 of /I.FI' 8ose S~op-repoired vehicle• moinloined by "dvonce personnel of t.loe OrdltOIICI Sftwice. quarters at Fort William McKin- maneuver, although for tactical ley, Rizal. purposes, the imaginary strength The people, appreciative of the l'f the troops was two divisions, army's concern over their well- and the imaginary enemy had being, had been very cooperative. the strength of four divisions. They did as they were told, and Supported by PAF planes with even went as far as offering what help they could extend to the army. The tactical phase of the maneuver in the area began as soon as the troops, some 930 trainees and 45 officers of the 2nd battalion under Lt. Col. David Pelayo, had cleared the initial point of maneuvers which was the base camp for command, logistical, and advninistrative installations. The assaulting t1·oops actually constituted only one regiment in cargoes of live bombs, the troops began their assault using live ammunition on December 8. It was so realistic that the observers, including foreign military personnel, breathlessly followed the movement and action. It was really a test in the proficiency of the AFP-trained 20-year-olds on all aspects of military operation phases like personnel, intelligence, operation, and logistics. Even the transfer of captured pl·isoners of war during the man-- -- ----euver was done in such precision that some observers could not help but utter words of praises as the mock ~r went on. In a real war as in a simulated one like this maneuver, while the frontline roars with fire, explosives, and action, other units stay behind. And one of these is the Ordnance Service which, like othN units, is kept very busy seeing to the steady flow of arms and am~ munition, to the combat units. It is never less heroic in battle than the frontline units and the t'est of the other units because much depend upon it whether in war Ol' in peace, when the proper maintenance and storage of ordnance supplies and equipment of the Armed Forces is as vital the h·aining of its manpower. Without PHILI\'PINES ARMED FORCES JOURNAL the ordnance, the army could be immobile, paraly:~:ed. After the action, its bomb disposal squad clears every vestige of explosives to render the battle tone safe again. For the efficient showing of the Ordnance Service during the 3rd Division tactical wa1· maneuver, Brigadier General Alfonso Arellano, then Commanding General of the 3rd Division, at present Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, in a letter of appreciation to Colonel Bias Alejandre, Ordnance Chief, wrote:' " ... More than I expected, you and your men have gone far beyond rout· normal call of duty so as to be able to furnish timely and adequate supply and maintenl'r•covlionorr m•o•ur•• w•r• tohn to ob~iol• injury to lroineu 01 well 01 dvi. lion1 Ruoi/len rill" ond ammunition "''" leJI·Iired belott th• mon•uur, p<1r· licipot•d in by PAF pion•• whoc~ dropped li~• bomb1 ,., A oleady Jlreom of ammunition mo•ed to t~e front through the efforlr of the Ordno:'"ce men, o group of whom ore •hown in photo obon. Air-ground coordination is con,id•••d precise ancc services to the 3rd Division, formance of your Explosive Ordwithout which the training mis- nance Disposal Squad, in clearing sions of this unit and the result- the site of both the Battalion ing combat preparedness of our Tests and Regimental Field Exertroops could Flave been adversely cises of the 9th Infantry in Noraffected. I need not mention spe- zagaray, Bulacan, of explosives cific examples of these fine ac- and other hazards to the life and complishments of your service for limb of the participating troops they are known to all. Neverthe- both before and after the maneuJcss, I feel I shall be doing an vers, is also worthy of mention. injustice if I do not make speci- I am sure that without this supfie mention, amcng others, that port, the tho1·ough training of your personal attention and su- the 9th Infantry Regiment and the p{'rvision which you unselfishly other units of the 3rd Division imposed upon yourself in prompt- would not have been possible." ly servicing MDAP vehicles and Chief of Staff of the Armed 'weapons made possible the ade- Forces, Lieutenant General Jesus quate training of our 20-year·old Vargas, also took cognizance of trainees. The magnificent per- the "splendid cooperation" the PHI LIPPI NES AR~Um 1-'0R(.:t;!; JOU AI. Mock wa r"'"''" r•aliltic tltot obt••"•"· 1/town in photo obou bt ing bri•l•d &1 lrig Gen. Alfonso Arellano l!tondingJ pri<>r to the 1/tom botrl••• Jot•r followed b~tothleu/7 tit• troop movement ond oction, Ordnance Service accorded to the 3rd Division during the maneuver. "Unde1· your leadership," General Vargas, in his Jetter of appreciation to Col. Alejandre said, "the personnel of the Ordnance Service demonstrated a high sense of devotion to duty and unstinted cooperation without which the tests and exercises would not have been a success." Reports say that by June next yea•·, t he division command will be ready to launch a full division mock exercises. It is expected that by that time, the 2nd regiment which has started t;.3ining will be ripe for a tactical war maneuver. With the spirit the countr·y's 20-year-olds take their t1·aining and with their proficient showing in time of action it is hoped that the next tactical war maneuver will be another record of safety.

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