By Martin Sadongdong
The future of the Philippine Army (PA) looks bright as a total of 285 aspiring soldiers will undergo rigid training in Maguindanao in the next 14 weeks to be the country’s next military officers, the PA’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) announced.
Of the number, 256 are male aspirants while 29 are females, according to Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the PA’s 6ID.
Sobejana said the aspirants comprised the second batch of this year’s candidate soldiers program of the Army.
Sobejana adds they will be sent to the Division Training School (DTS) in Barangay Semba, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao after they took their oath Friday at the 6ID Grandstand at Camp Siongco.
The chosen candidates are considered to be the most competent ones among over 1,000 applicants after they passed the strict selection process and the physical, medical, neurological, and psychological examinations, Sobejana said.
The candidate soldiers’ training were broken down into three modules namely the “Transformation,” “Basic Squad Training” and “Application of Knowledge,” all aimed at molding them to become well-disciplined, competent and capable soldiers to fill in the enlisted ranks of the Army.
“The candidate soldiers’ training is fundamentally stressful as they will initially experience an abrupt change from being a civilian to adapting the military lifestyle,” Sobejana explained.
“I am reminding the personnel of DTS to instill discipline and respect to the recruits, and to guarantee that they will develop a mindset of survival in the military profession,” he added.
