The U.S. Army is exporting its Joint Pacific Multinational Combat Training Center to the Philippines to enhance and modernize its defense strategy. The training center will be located at Fort Magsaysay in central Luzon. The Philippines Armed Forces lack a training center at the scale of the JPMRC.
The first JPMRC rotation in the Philippines will begin this month, following the completion of major exercises such as Salaknib and Balikatan. During Balikatan, long-range air assaults were executed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team projecting force into the islands in the Luzon Strait.
The JPMRC X event will allow the Army to collect data and monitor operations in a combat environment. The infrastructure for the training in the Philippines is being set up, including towers with sensors and technology flown in from Hawaii.
The JPMRC X event is part of a series of exercises in the Pacific region. The Army plans to continue participating in future exercises, such as Operation Pathways. The 25th ID will also have its annual JPMRC rotation in Oahu and Palau. JPMRC is likely to be taken to Thailand for the Cobra Gold exercise and back to the Philippines for next year’s Balikatan and Salaknib exercises.
