ZAMBOANGA del
Sur--The 1st
Infantry Division formally opened the two-month reorganizational training of the
32nd Infantry Battalion after a short opening ceremony at its headquarters
at Kuta Cesar Sang-an, Labangan, this province recently.
Lt. Col. Alex R. Rillera, assistant
Chief of Staff for Education and Training, said the 32IB will undergo
retraining as part of the Implementation Plan Pagsasanay Alfa of the Philippine
Army and will run up to September 27.
The training aims to develop the
combat fighting skills and knowledge of the soldiers, he said.
“We will also refurbish their mobility
equipment and at the same time strengthen their operational readiness towards
excellent mission accomplishment’, said Rillera.
Meanwhile, BGen. Felicito Virgilio M.
Trinidad Jr., acting commander of 1st Infantry Division, welcomed
and commended the accomplishments of 32IB in its long years of deployment.
In his welcome remarks he said, “Our
core competencies, as soldiers, is fighting wars and battles, because that is
what we are trained for. And we need to hone that competency so that we are
always on the upper hand to protect our people and defend the integrity and
sovereignty of our country against threats.”
Trinidad added the objectives of the
organizational training which summed at under the acronym “TRAIN” is Total Unit
Readiness, Responsiveness or Responsibility as a unit and as individual
soldier, Acquisition of knowledge and skills, Imbibe the culture of
professionalism, discipline and excellence, and Nurture the spirit of service
and people oriented individual soldier and unit.
The 32IB had its last retraining
sometime in 1998 and since then, the Battalion became one of the fightingest
units in the Philippine Army.
The unit successful
internal peace and security initiatives significantly contributed to improved
socio-economic development in the island of Basilan for the past four ye
