Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines, a Comprehensive Overview

The next edition of the magazine The Weekly Standard includes an article (available online now) written by Max Boot and Richard Bennet that provides an overview of the ongoing work of the Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P) .

At the request of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), U.S. military personnel routinely deploy to the Philippines to provide support to its efforts to defeat violent extremists. The approximately 600 men and women of JSOTF-P provide direct support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in areas that include information sharing, tactical training programs, and help with providing humanitarian assistance.

JSOTF-P activities are part of an interagency approach that requires close coordination, integration, and unity of effort within the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. State Department, and other agencies. The Weekly Standard article also notes that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is active in the southern Philippines. This “whole-of-government” approach has been the key to providing effective support to the GRP in its efforts to counter violent extremists.