Far East Command sets up Frontiersmen Unit in Philippines

The Legion of Frontiersmen Far East Command is pleased to appoint Lieutenant Colonel (Reserve) Fabian A. Go, Philippines Armed Forces (Reserve) in the Headquarters of Far East Command to establish a leadership team in country to explore joint exercises with the Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM). A courtesy visit by the Commander Far East Command is scheduled in early 2019.

Who is ARESCOM

The ARESCOM or RESCOM; Filipino: Pangasiwaan ng Panlaáng Kawal ng Hukbóng Katihan or PPKHK) is a Major Support Command of the Philippine Army. It was created for the sole purpose of Reserve Force management, organization and Government Arsenal procurement. 1991 saw the birth of a new reserve force when Republic Act 7077 (Reservists Act of 1991) was signed into law on July 1, 1991. This new legislation directed the AFP to organize and create units with the sole purpose of reservists management.

On May 12, 1992, the Reserve Command, Philippine Army, was again reactivated pursuant to HPA General Orders No. 392 and was later again renamed as the Army Reserve Command on October 1, 1999 (HPA GO Nr 1300) and was given its marching orders to maintain, administer, develop, train, and organize reservists units to help enhance and sustain National Security and Development.

Training by ARESCOM

Training is the major task handled by ARESCOM. Its primary arms are the university/college-based Department of Military Science and Tactics-administered mandatory basic and the optional advanced Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC); and the territorial unit-administered Basic Citizen's Military Training (BCMT).

Basic ROTC is the only component required by a tertiary (college) level student to have completed as requirement for completion of the National Service Training Program. Military subjects are provided similar to how military instructions are conducted in the service academies and graduates are automatically enlisted in the reserve force of the particular service branch (Army) administering the training.

Basic Citizen's Military Training (BCMT) is a military training course conducted by the Philippine Army through the Army Reserve Command. It is an entry level training course undertaken by Filipino Citizens wanting to enlist in the reserve force. BCMT instruction is administered by a joint training pool of military instructors from both regular and reserve forces and is usually conducted inside any of the Philippine Army's training camps. Guest instructors are requested from other government agencies and non-government organizations (NGO) for specialized instructions. Special Basic Citizen's Military Training (SBCMT) is a special course conducted by the Philippine Army in response to a request from a Local Government Unit (LGU). Funding is usually provided for by the requesting agency as compared to regular BCMT which receives funding from the Army.

There are currently two types of reservists in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Reserve Force: Categorization of reservists and reserve units Section 12, Article 5, of Republic Act 7077 breaks down and categorizes reservists and their units based on various criteria cited by this law. First Category Reservists - Able bodied reservists aged eighteen (18) years of age up to thirty five (35) years of age, inclusive. Second Category Reservists - Able bodied reservists aged thirty six (36) years of age up to fifty one (51) years of age, inclusive. Third Category Reservists - All able bodied reservists aged above fifty (51) years of age.

Classification of reservists and reserve units Section 13, Article 5, of Republic Act 7077 clearly cites the classification of reservists based on their operational readiness for immediate deployment or mobilization. Ready Reserve - physically-fit and tactically-current reservist personnel that are always on constant alert and training; ready to mobilize once a mobilization order has been given. Standby Reserve - reservist personnel who do not maintain currency in specialization qualifications but the base for expansion, support and augmentation to the Ready Reserve Force as needed. Retired Reserve - composed of citizens who are qualified for retirement either by length of service or age.

Editor’s footnote:

There is a Philippine Detachment of the LOF 6th Regiment, "Dona Isabel's Own" which is currently headquartered in Germany but with members around the world. This detachment is also the Secretariat of the Philippine Branch of the Association Européenne des Membres de Corps & Organismes Publics de Sécurité et de Défense (AE-COPSD). http://aecopsd.eu/