New School Latest Improvement in Ongoing JSOTF-P, AFP Partnership

A new school building in Basilan, Philippines, built by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with support from Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTF-P) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was turned over to local leaders in the village of Sumisip last week.

The school was reportedly one of two burned to the ground by terrorists in March, as noted in a JSOTF-P news story.

This project is the latest example of an ongoing effort between the AFP and JSOTF-P, working often with government agencies such as USAID and the Philippine Department of Agriculture to improve infrastructure and opportunity in the Southern Philippines as a means of countering violent extremism.

Since January 2008, the AFP-U.S. team has completed 100+ infrastructure projects, including new schools, roads, piers, water wells, medical centers and local government buildings.

JSOTF-P is comprised of 500 to 600 personnel from all four military services temporarily deployed to the Philippines at the request of the Philippine Government in a strictly non-combat role to advise and assist the AFP, share information, and to conduct joint civil military operations.

Interact and keep up with the work of JSOTF-P on the Task Force’s new blog/website.