Military Review English Edition November December 2016 | Page 109

PACIFIC PATHWAYS

Pathways

A Division Commander’s
Observations in the Pacific
Maj. Gen. Charles A. Flynn, U.S. Army

A

s dawn broke across the Manila skyline, it
seemed like a normal April morning in the
Philippines. But, for the thousands of U.S. soldiers, marines, and airmen working shoulder to shoulder with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),
the day was anything but routine. Exercise Balikatan
2016 continued at full speed despite the death of
eighteen Filipino soldiers who were killed fighting Abu
Sayyaf militants in Mindanao the night before.1 Also,
the omnipresent tension over the militarization of the
South China Sea added layers of complexity and purpose to the ongoing efforts in this region.
The AFP were using this year’s exercise with the
25th Infantry Division (ID) to work through their
“Philippine Army 2028,” a comprehensive redesign of
their army. I was scheduled to meet with Lt. Gen. Ano,
Philippine army chief of staff, to discuss the exercise,
but our engagement was cancelled so he could attend
a speech by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter,
who had just arrived in Manila. Carter was to discuss
the recently signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation
Agreement, which would allow the U.S. to build and
operate facilities on Philippine bases and rotate troops
into the country for extended periods. These are interesting times in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Theater, with
many lessons to be learned.

Filipino soldiers demonstrate methods for preparing food for soldiers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division,
during jungle survival training 5 April 2016 as part of Exercise Balikatan 2016 at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines. Training with host-nation
forces helps bridge language barriers, correct misconceptions, and
overcome bias, ultimately forging strong relationships and enhancing
readiness. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Meillettis Patton, U.S Army)
MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2016

A New Paradigm
Years before, as a young major in the 25th ID, I
played a role in many of the U.S. Pacific Command
(USPACOM) theater-security-cooperation exercises
that seemed to be scattered extensively across that half
of the globe. My experience then, almost two decades
ago, was extremely different from what one might
experience today. In the late 1990s, we moved companies and battalion task forces (TFs) to partner nations,
spending thousands of dollars on travel costs, conducting mostly unilateral training, and ultimately missing
the partnering (or advise and assist) aspect of the exercise. The outcomes were singular and predictable.
Today is very different—so much so that we have
had to embrace a new paradigm. In fact, if you served
in the 25th ID before the advent of Pacific Pathways in
2014, you would not even recognize the scale, scope,
and complexity of the missions now associated with
our theater security cooperation exercises. You would
also be amazed at the
professional and resilMaj. Gen. Charles A.
ient “Tropic Lightning”
Flynn, U.S. Army, is the
soldiers. On any given day,
deputy commanding
the 25th ID is deployed
general-south for U.S.
across fourteen time zones
Army Pacific. He holds an
in ten to twenty different
MS from the University
countries, continually
of Rhode Island, an MA
conducting shaping and
from the U.S. Naval War
deterrence operations in
College, and an MS from
2
support of USPACOM.
the National Defense
The sun never sets on the
University. He commandTropic Lightning Division.
ed the 25th Infantry
Balikatan 2016
Division from May 2014
was the third of three
to August 2016.
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