Marcos: Troops must adapt to new ‘battlefield’

In a visit on Thursday to Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City, Marcos said that times are changing and that new threats to national security have become commonplace. He also reminded the troops that the battlefield “is changing,” and will be far removed from the traditional fighting they have developed in traditional training.

“I call on you to develop the skills that are going to be required to combat these new forms of warfare, including those that extend up to the digital realm,” he added.

Marcos was particularly concerned about the fight against the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation, and the false narratives that seek to provoke conflict among Filipinos.

One strategy to watch out for is the possible infiltration by enemies of “the very communities and institutions the government and security institutions seek to protect.”

Marcos supports the troops’ readiness to fight and carry out countermeasures designed to foil attempts to destabilize the country’s safety and security.

As for military operations, the President encouraged the country’s security forces to keep up the momentum in the fight against terrorist cells, while using government programs to defeat insurgency in the countryside.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. encouraged the young cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Bagong-Sinag Class of 2024 to always listen to the instructions of their seniors to avoid casualties in the battlefield.

“Do not think that you know everything or you are better particularly those who you will command in the future of lower rank but with greater field experience than you,” Teodoro said on Thursday’s awarding ceremony for outstanding cadets and Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines (CCAFP) Units at the Philippine Military Academy located in Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City.

Teodoro related a review of after-battle reports where casualties in the field were the direct result of freshly-minted lieutenants not listening to the procedures of more experienced officers.

He urged the 224-male- and 54-female-strong soon-to-be Armed Forces’ junior officers to always listen to their corporals and sergeants as they are “the best sources of mentoring”.

“I do not want to see anymore casualty reports because freshly minted lieutenants were remiss in their basic duties because perhaps of taking troop leading procedures lightly and not listening to advice of their sergeants,” the defense chief said.

The PMA Bagong-Sinag Class of 2024 will graduate on May 18th, Saturday. The President is expected to attend the ceremonies.