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By Jefferson Antiporda, Reporter
Filipino soldiers, despite lacking standard
equipment and high-technology gadgets, in military training are
better than their American counterparts.
They are “the best when it comes to attitude
and character,” Second Lt. Mario Mendoza said.
Training in the local military is more
“hardcore” than that in the US military, added Mendoza, a
graduate of the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
He and four other Filipinos, also graduates of
American military schools, on Thursday called on Alexander Yano, the
chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The Americans “have a lot when it comes to
technology,” Mendoza also told Yano during the call made at Camp
Aguinaldo, the general headquarters of the Philippine military in
Quezon City.
For Navy Ensigns Carlo Roy Catalan and Amando
Berjuega, both graduates of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, the
Filipino soldiers also show exemplary attitude to authorities and
the military service itself.
Though American troops, Catalan and Berjuega
said, are also hardworking and professional, they tend to
“complain a lot.”
They and Mendoza were joined by Army Second Lt.
Christy Asis Achansar and Army Second Lt. Mario Feliciano, both
graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York.
They had been chosen from among candidates from
the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), and major commands to attend
the US military schools.
The five graduates initially will be assigned
for six months at the PMA for them to impart lessons and experiences
from their studies in the United States. They will be fielded to the
major services in the Philippine military after six months.
At present, there are 14 cadets studying in
military schools in other countries—eight in Australia, three in
the United States, one in South Korea and two in New Zealand. They
are expected to graduate between 2009 and 2012.
The only female cadet studying in Australia is
expected to graduate next year.
Achansar, the first Filipina to attend West
Point, called on other Filipino women who want to join the military
service to go for it.
She said female soldiers can do what male
soldiers can do whether in combat operations or organizational
matters.
Feliciano, a Filipino-American, was a cadet
regimental commander at West Point, the highest position that can be
attained by any international cadet.
According to Yano, there are only four regiments
in the premier US military academy.
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