Life in Gloria’s Enchanted Kingdom

The Palace press office blurted out “PGMA orders the granting of extra pay for soldiers in combat assignments.”

Good idea!

But how about better leadership, up to date equipment, and ammunition that actually works so that those soldiers can live long enough to enjoy their extra pay?

Ginagago ninyo ang mga dakilang sundalo natin!

Below is what retired Gen Dominguez told Jarius Bondoc of Philippine Star about today’s AFP.

In a paper for the Association of Generals and Flag Officers, retired Army lieutenant-general Romeo Dominguez gives the answer: “The enemy has not become a better fighter; our fighting capability has deteriorated.” The former head of AFP units in West Mindanao, Samar-Leyte and North Luzon focuses on three issues (excerpted here for space):

“Poor leadership. The soldiers seemed lost on the ground, with neither a single commander orchestrating their actions nor any operational center monitoring them… No real action on the ground was unleashed to pursue the enemy. Soldiers could have proceeded without delay, without the writs to pursue the fleeing bandits — and might have surprised the Albarka bandits who, according to reports, had gathered for a victory feast not far from the scene of the crime… A commander should spend time reinforcing his unit’s team spirit and competence through sports and record firing; unit maneuvers, field tests, combat rehearsals and review of combat SOPs; and discussion of enemy tactics.

“Insufficient training. In each case, the entire movements, the mode used, and individual demeanor reflected an organization that has forgotten its training lessons. But looking at our shrinking military camps, what kind of unit training can really be done in them? Training environments should hew closely to battlefield situations; sadly no AFP camp today has the right space to offer this . . . Are units trained and equipped to fight and win the kind of battle the enemy is waging? Are personnel in combat-support and service units trained to believe in their hearts that their collective reason for being is to ensure the survival and efficiency of the man in the frontline, and thus accordingly trained in their respective expertise? How come the choppers in Basilan could not fly allegedly because no aviation fuel was available?

“Inadequate logistics. Radio compatibility has been a nagging problem for two years. Ground commanders had to put their own radiomen and equipment onboard choppers to ensure better communications between pilots and soldiers on the ground. Interoperability it seems has yet to sink into the consciousness of our logistics commands. As for dud ammunition, there’s an SOP for checks before jump-off in every operation — on top of tests made upon receipt of delivery . . . Not too long ago a massive fraud in the procurement of 105-mm Howitzer artillery rounds was uncovered. No one was punished for the crime. Higher headquarters’ priority in allocating resources needs review. There should be strong emphasis on combat effectiveness of line units rather than sprucing up of major camps in Metro Manila as show window. Fill-up of combat units according to Table of Organization and Equipment should never be sacrificed nor delayed for purposes of savings. How many times have we heard of battalion commanders complaining of how their units are undermanned and ill-equipped, while at the end of the fiscal year GHQ and major service command headquarters ask around for ‘special projects’ to generously fund out of ‘savings’ from operations and personnel services?”