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Opening ceremonies of the Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024. ABS-CBN News

Opening ceremonies of the Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024

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Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Marine Aviation Support Activity or MASA 2024, the biggest military drills so far between the marine corps of the Philippines and the United States, formally started on Monday. A ceremony for the opening of the three-week bilateral exercise was held at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.A total of 3,175 personnel will participate in the exercises to be held in Batanes, Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, Tarlac, Metro Manila, Cavite and Palawan until June 21. Of this figure, 975 will come from the Philippine Marine Corps, Marine Reservists, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard and Naval Air Wing, while 2,200 will come from the US Marine Corps, US Army, US Special Forces and US Air Force. <div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Opening ceremonies of the Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024. ABS-CBN News" src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1717425185323060324_MASA%202024.png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"/><figcaption>Opening ceremonies of the Marine Aviation Support Activity 2024. ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>PMC Deputy Commandant Brigadier General Romeo Racadio explained that aviation-supported operations require coordination, precision and synchronization. Hence, exercises such as the MASA provide the Marines, as well as other organizations like the PAF and the PCG, an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the seamless integration of aviation assets to support ground forces. &quot;We need these exercises to improve our skills and capabilities… without reference to other best practices, we won&#x27;t be able to improve our systems and processes… It&#x27;s all heavy on the use of air assets,&quot;Racadio told reporters in a press briefing after the opening ceremony in Taguig City. &quot;Forces coming from marine aviation from the two marine forces, which will capitalize on the use of aviation assets in support to the conduct of our military operations… This is something not unique but focused on that aspect. But we also took advantage of putting some ancillary activities, SMEEs, and sharing of tactics and procedures, among others. That&#x27;s why we also included the participation of our PAF because they operate the air assets, as well as the PCG and our Naval Air Wing,&quot;he added. For his part, Commanding Officer of the USMC&#x27;s 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit Colonel Stuart Glenn said this year&#x27;s MASA will further strengthen not just the collective defense capabilities, but also the alliance shared between Manila and Washington to enhance interoperability in conducting air domain awareness. &quot;One of the highlights of the exercise for us is working on gaining and achieving better air domain awareness and so the marine corps had a force design, where we are focusing more on understanding what&#x27;s in the air above us. We have some new technologies and capabilities alongside the PMC and the AFP to better understand what&#x27;s in the air to better control our aviation assets,&quot;Glenn said in the same press briefing. &quot;It&#x27;s not just the F-35 or the FA-50 that&#x27;s flying, but it&#x27;s all the support that goes behind that. That&#x27;s what we&#x27;ll work on, it could really advance side by side with the Philippines,&quot;he added. Among the highlights of this year&#x27;s drills is the littoral live fire exercise that will be conducted in Ilocos Norte on June 15 and 16. &quot;We will have a live fire exercise in Camp Bojeador in Ilocos Norte. That&#x27;s the designated place of one of our marine brigades, the 4th Marine Brigade. So, we will do the exercise inside the brigade. We will use artillery weapons,&quot;Racadio said. &quot;Our goal is for us to be able to put the capabilities that can support and defend our territory. This is all about how to defend the Philippines.&quot;He clarified that the location of the drills, with relatively close proximity to Taiwan, has nothing to do with the geopolitical challenges in the region.&quot;It&#x27;s not because of the specific geography or political jurisdiction fronting our northern Philippines,&quot;Racadio said. &quot;Most of the deployment of the PMC are all in the southern Philippines, so we adjusted our deployment so we can cover the 7,000 islands so we can provide a good maritime security posture in our archipelagic nation,&quot;he added.<div> </div>

The Marine Aviation Support Activity or MASA 2024, the biggest military drills so far between the marine corps of the Philippines and the United States, formally started on Monday.

The Marine Aviation Support Activity or MASA 2024, the biggest military drills so far between the marine corps of the Philippines and the United States, formally started on Monday.

PH, US marines kick off biggest joint military drills

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PH, US marines kick off biggest joint military drills

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 03, 2024 10:37 PM PHT

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Philippine Marine Corps

US Marine Corps

Marine Aviation Support Activity

MASA 2024

joint drills

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