Who is the AFP’s new chief Romeo Brawner?

MANILA, Philippines — Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner Jr, who has been named as the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), has a storied career in the military that spans more than three decades.

According to Malacañang, the Baguio-native Brawner was a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao” Class of 1989 and has served in the military in different capacities ever since.

He has three Master’s Degrees, namely an Information Management degree from the Ateneo de Manila University; a degree in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand as well as from the European School of Management in Oxford, United Kingdom; and lastly, a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

During his tenure in the military, Brawner held many titles, which included the following stations:

• Company Commander of the 6th Special Forces Company
• Battalion Commander of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion
• Operations Officer of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne)
• Chief of Staff of the 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division
• Chief, Public Affairs of the Philippine Army
• Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Commander of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment
• Brigade Commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade during the aftermath of the Marawi Siege in 2017

Notably, Brawner’s role in the aftermath of the Marawi siege included hunting down the remnants of the Islamic State-inspired Maute terror group, ensuring an orderly elections plebiscite and ratification of Bangsamoro Organic Law, as well as the rehabilitation of Marawi City.

In 2021, Brawner was the commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, which saw the death of New People’s Army (NPA) leader Jorge Madlos.

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