Philippine Interoperability Exchange
Approximately 700 III Marine Expeditionary Marines and 650 Philippine Marines participated in the opening ceremonies for the first bilateral Marine-to-Marine exercise termed Philippine Interoperability Exchange today at Ternate Marine Base.
The purpose of the three-week exercise is to enhance the combat readiness and interoperability of U.S. and Philippine Marines by exchanging effective training techniques and staff planning.
Philippine Interoperability Exchange 03 exercise (PIX 03) is a battalion level field training exercise focused on jungle warfare training, ground-air integration training, command and control, fire support, and intelligence fusion. The exercise will give both US and Philippine Marines a better understanding of unit capabilities at all levels while enhancing the professional relationship shared between the services.
III MEF has designated a Marine Air Ground Task Force for the exercise. The MAGTF is led by 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment with components from 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Force Service Support Group, and Marine Air Group 12 from Okinawa and Iwakuni, Japan.
The exercise is a regularly scheduled training evolution between the US and Philippine Marines in accordance with our Mutual Defense Treaty. PIX 03 is the first bilateral Marine-to-Marine exercise in this region. This unique bilateral training opportunity, also referred to as Marine Interoperability Training (MIX), allows both countries to enhance forces readiness and interoperability for any disaster relief, humanitarian aid, or contingency in the Asian-Pacific Region.
