190 new soldiers officially join the ranks of 3ID
Division Public Affairs Office, Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz—- One hundred ninety (190) candidate soldiers were sworn in as Privates into the Armed Forces of the Philippines by Major General Vicente M Porto, Commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division during the graduation ceremony of Candidate Soldier (Matikas) Class 209-09 held in Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz last Thursday, Dec 17, 2009.
The class started with 200 able-bodied recruits who began their training last July hailing from different parts of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros islands. Their training consisted of 3 months honing their basic military skills and another 2 months of application through the Jungle Warfare and Mountain Operations Course (JWMOC) held at the 33,100 Ha Military Reservation in Jamindan.
Maj Gen Porto, the Guest of Honor and Speaker of the ceremony, congratulated the graduates during his speech and urged them to be loyal and serve to protect and enhance the name of the Armed Forces of the Philippines particularly the Philippine Army. He also underscored the role of the new privates as catalysts for peace and development in our country. “As new soldiers, you must posses the qualities of SARS- a combination of Skills, Attitude, Responsibility and Spiritual Guidance,” Porto added.
For this year alone, the 3ID has already graduated a total of 286 soldiers after being given a ceiling of 300 for recruitment. These soldiers will be distributed to our different subordinate units to replenish their ranks and to maintain our effective strength so that we may continue to perform our mission in Western Visayas. There are still currently 300 fresh recruits undergoing training in Camp Peralta who were divided into two Candidate Soldier Courses: CSC Class 218 with 100 recruits and CSC Class 231 with 200 recruits. We expect them to complete their training by April of next year.
The Spearhead Division takes pride in producing professional and service-oriented soldiers and this is why so many of our fellow citizens are inspired to take up the profession of arms. This is shown by the increase in the turnout of applicants for this year’s recruitment. Your army is optimistic that in our future recruitment efforts we can hope to entice more applicants with professional skills as we continue to enhance our technology as well as our capabilities.
