US military ensures safety of troops in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – US troops in Mindanao are safe, according to a US military official. 

Lt. Col. Robert Boone, US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) chief of staff, said they are always concerned with the safety of their soldiers. 

“We travel with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the islands and we travel with groups,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after the turnover of command at Naval Force Western Mindanao, Boone said US troops are continuously present in Mindanao to help eliminate the terrorist threat.

“The terrorists are still here,” he said. “So we would like to remain here as long as the government of the Philippines wants us to or until we have all those terrorists eliminated and bring development to the community.” Boone said the US, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have issued travel warnings based on intelligence reports.

“I think that advisory from the embassies of the respective countries got some intelligence that there’s a viable threat,” he said. “I understand that some targets are in Metro Manila.” 

Boone said some US troops are also based in Metro Manila. “But the same thing here we generally travel in teams, some folks travel with the Armed Forces of the Philippines – some kind of escorts,” he said.

Boone said their mission is to advise and assist the Filipino troops, not to secure US citizens. “We focus on our mission and we don’t have additional people to spare,” he said.

US troops have been deployed in Mindanao for the past nine years to assist and advise Filipino troops on counterterrorism. The US has around 600 to 700 servicemen deployed in Mindanao on a rotation basis, according to reports.