Special delivery: Fast food dropped for Ayungin Marines

Chicken meal or burger and fries combo?

Marine troops stationed on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal a little over a month now took their pick and had more to spare when they received a treat from the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday morning: a bundle drop containing a typical fast-food meal of chicken, beef burgers and french fries, as well as bottled water and notes of encouragement, including one written by AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista himself.

“Hold the Line!” Bautista wrote the soldiers, signing his note “Manny Sundalo.”

Letters from students were also sent to the soldiers who began their tour of duty in Ayungin Shoal on March 29.

They replaced the nine Marine soldiers forced to extend their three-month tour of duty at the Sierra Madre for nearly five months after China Coast Guard vessels blocked resupply and troop rotation missions by the Philippines.

The troops were also sent canned goods, assorted bread and magazines.

An Army Special Forces airborne jumpmaster was on the Navy Islander flight to ensure that the bundle drop, which used a parachute, would not hit the water.

The bundle landed right on the Sierra Madre’s deck—a successful operation.

In a statement, the AFP Public Affairs Office said the bundle drop was “conceived by concerned citizens and civil groups who wanted to show their support to our soldiers who spend between three to six months guarding our detachment in Ayungin Shoal.”

Safe delivery

“They sought the assistance of the AFP to ensure the safe delivery of the goods intended for the troops on BRP Sierra Madre,” the AFP statement said.

The military has been rallying public support for the Philippines’ defense of its territories that are being claimed by China as its own under the nine-dash line marker in its maps, which the Philippines and the United States do not recognize.

At the Philippine Navy change of command ceremonies on Wednesday, President Aquino expressed admiration for the bravery of the soldiers deployed to guard the Philippine territory in Ayungin Shoal.

It is a real “Waterworld” in Ayungin Shoal, he said, referring to the 1995 post-apocalyptic science fiction film starring Kevin Costner in which nearly all land is submerged in water.

Isolation

The soldiers and the Sierra Madre are isolated, surrounded only by the waters of the West Philippine Sea and China Coast Guard vessels.

The AFP prefers not to mention the exact number of soldiers garrisoned in the Sierra Madre but they are believed to be no more than a platoon.

“The AFP is doing all it can to support and uplift the morale of our troops assigned in one of the remotest military posts within our territory. Little comforts being sent to our troops are always welcome and will surely have a positive effect on their commitment to defend what is ours. The AFP is grateful for the outpouring of support given by our citizens to our soldiers,” the military said.

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