Army activates expanded anti-terrorist unit Thursday

Army chief Lieutenant General Noel Coballes. Photo courtesy of Army Public Affairs

MANILA, Philippines-The military’s Light Reaction Regiment will be activated tomorrow, Thursday, during the 23rd Founding Anniversary of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at its headquarters in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.

With the activation, the former battalion would be expanded into a regiment composed of six companies which would be put under the command of Colonel Teodoro A. Llamas, who was provisionally activated on January 1.

Formerly known as Light Reaction Battalion, the Light Reaction Regiment would include the 4th Light Reaction Company which is expected to be activated this year while the 5th and 6th Light Reaction Companies would be formed not later than 2015.

In an earlier statement, Army Chief Lieutenant General Noel Coballes said that the battalion has proven its mettle in the country’s counter-terrorism efforts during the Zamboanga siege.

Among the unit’s expertise are hostage rescue operations, special reconnaissance, special operations target interdiction, direct action operations and counter-terrorist operations.

Related story

Army installs new commanders