By Priam Nepomuceno/PNA
MANILA — The Philippine Army (PA) formally welcomed to its ranks its newest Scout rangers and snipers during a short ceremony at Camp Tecson, San Miguel, Bulacan on Wednesday.
1st Scout Ranger Regiment commander, Brig. Gen. William N. Gonzales, presided over the closing ceremonies for Scout Ranger Course Class 206-2018 and Scout Sniper Course Class 25-2018.
Meanwhile, PA Chief, Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto, and Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Director General Oscar D. Albayalde, led the pinning of Scout Ranger and Scout Sniper badges to the 129 graduates.
These can be broken down into 58 students from the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR), four from the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) (SFRA), 14 from the Light Reaction Regiment, four from the AFP Special Operations Command, and 49 from various infantry divisions.
The 21 new snipers included 15 from the FSRR, one from the SFRA, and five from various Infantry Divisions. In addition to the class of SR 206-2018, the Philippine Air Force has one graduate while the PNP has 16, bringing the total number of graduates to 146.
The students from the SR 206-2018 class underwent 10 months and one day of training while those from the SS 25-2018 class went on seven months and three days.
Alberto, in his speech, called on members of the regiment to maintain the highest standard of discipline.
“Fight the way we trained and train the way we fight,” he said.
