The Philippine Army recently revealed that up to 5,000 soldiers are expected to take part in the first army-wide Combined Arms Training Exercise or CATEX “Katihan” scheduled next month.

Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said the CATEX “Katihan,” scheduled on 22 March, is aligned with the country’s paradigm shift from internal defense to defending territorial against external threats.

“This exercise will make us realize our capabilities and the gaps that we may be fixed because of simulating scenarios, once we are able to understand these gaps,” said Galido, adding that the upcoming exercise will bolster the Army’s shift to territorial defense operations involving around 4,000 to 5,000 troops from Army units in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“We have to understand — in the Army — how we will be able to address gaps in the area of defense, such as how we are going to sustain a large group and the conflicts that we are going to address,” Galido said.

“You see, this is the most challenging aspect in the area of defense -- how to sustain large units. How do we feed these 4,000 people or how do we supply them,” he added.

The Army chief also stressed that the upcoming large-scale exercise — set to be held in Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in attendance — is crucial to the Army’s efforts to enhance its ground commanding capabilities and operations.

“This undertaking has never been experienced by the Philippine Army because we are used to dealing with internal threats that we can easily sustain small units,” Galido said.