MINDANAO ISLAND, Philippines — U.S. Navy
Special Warfare sailors are helping the
Philippine navy learn to control the waters
around islands where they’re fighting Abu Sayyaf
terrorists.
Special Warfare Combatant Craft crew and
their MK V special operations craft and rigid
inflatable boats have followed the Philippine
navy on more than 4,000 “visit, board, search
and seizures” since arriving in the Philippines
in October, said Chief Petty Officer Michael
Andre, a RIB detachment commander.
The crewmen and an accompanying group of Navy
SEALs are based at Coronado, Calif., and are
supporting the Joint Special Operations Task
Force-Philippines by training counterparts in
the Philippine naval special operations
units.
“Most of our stuff is at night,” Andre said
of the four- to six-hour-long missions cruising
the waters off Jolo Island following the
Philippine navy while they search for
terrorists. Military officials said Abu Sayyaf
has taken to moving via small boats since
Philippine marines have established camps in the
center of the kidney-shaped island, blocking the
traditional east-to-west land route.
Andre said the heavily armed U.S. boats —
with such weapons as twin .50 caliber machine
guns, M-203 grenade launchers, shotguns and 9 mm
pistols — stay a “safe distance” away as the
Philippine sailors conduct their operations.
And he’s impressed with their work.
“I have seen their waterborne tactics
drastically improve thanks to the Philippine
leadership and their willingness to learn,” he
said.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Moody, an MK V
navigator, said he’s learned a lot from the
Filipinos.
“Their ability to adapt with what little
amount of gear they have” is incredible, he
said.
Navy Special Warfare task unit commander Lt.
Cmdr. Robert Reitz said his people have been “in
the water since the second day” after their
arrival in the Philippines.
The goal is to help build the Philippine
navy’s capacity to where “we work our way out of
a job,” he said.
The maritime interdiction work ranges from
“stop and say hello” to “completely opposed,”
Reitz said.
“It’s getting to know who’s out in the
water,” he said. “Getting to know the all the
fishermen … so it’s easy to see what’s an
anomaly.”
He said his Philippine counterparts need
“less and less input and support” in their
missions and are securing the waters.
“They are absolutely denying [Abu Sayyaf]
free access through the water and transit
lanes,” he
said.
