On May 8, the 25th Infantry Division, working alongside military partners from the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, kicked off Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center-Exportable Exercise (JPMRC-X). A specific part of the exercise called Salaknib (meaning Shield) also began, launching a large-scale force-on-force combat training exercise.
Troops from 2nd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 25th Infantry Division deployed to Luzon and began conducting long-distance mobility insertion. After several days of rugged combat training alongside international partners, the training took a new shift, focusing on drone swarms as demonstrated by the troops from Australia and New Zealand. By mid-May, the exercise pivoted again, with the 25th Infantry Division troops hitting their training targets while also having to counter threats from notional enemy drones.
“Our alliance with the Philippines is steeped in history for over 75 years as the oldest treaty ally,” explained Col. Adisa King, who commands the 3rd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “What you are seeing here at JPMRC-X is the future of that alliance in action. We aren’t just rehearsing old tactics; we are rapidly integrating new technologies, such as UAS [Unmanned Aerial Systems], alongside our multinational partners.”
In addition to deploying with and integrating unmanned drones into their training, the 25th also deployed with the new M7 rifle and M250 automatic rifle, considered to be the next generation of infantry combat weapons.
Japan's participation in the exercise is also notable, once unheard of but now becoming much more common. Japan has had a fraught relationship with some of its neighbors in East Asia due to historical grievances, but the threat of a new hegemon in the Pacific, namely China, appears to be helping all parties put aside past differences.
“Being here in the Philippines to train alongside both American and Filipino forces is an invaluable opportunity,” said MG Yanagi Hiroki, who is the commanding general of the 12th Brigade, Eastern Army, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. “It allows us to build the deep trust and mutual understanding necessary for multilateral cooperation. When we sweat together in this environment, we ensure that our nations can operate as one united front for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
