ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The Western Mindanao Command this week honored a US military unit in the Philippines.
Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., Westmincom chief, led the donning of the rank on newly-promoted US Marine commander working with Filipino troops in the southern Philippines.
Rosario put the rank on US Marine Lt. Col. Paul Bailey, commander of the US Special Operations Task Force 511.2 (SOTF 511.2), in a private military ceremony at Camp Don Basilio Navarro in Zamboanga City.
Westmincom released information about the ceremony Wednesday night.
The US has made its presence felt in Zamboanga City recently, with US Secretary to the Navy Carlos Del Toro visiting the Westmincom headquarters, followed by a US House Armed Services Committee (HASC) soon after.
During the program on Tuesday, Rosario also presented awards to Lt. Col. Bailey and all the members of SOTF 511.2 for their deployment as Westmincom foreign liaison in the past eight months.
Task force members were given Military Civic Action medals as they ended their tour of duty in the Philippines.