The Gun Digest Book of

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u.s. Marine Lt. Col. USMCR (Ret.) Robert K. Campbell David Steele

Jack Lewis

7th Edition

Filipino CQB Combat Training

THE MOST COMPLEX weapon on the battlefield is the infantry soldier: the natural warrior. However, in modern warfare, nine out of 10 soldiers support those who do battle. For that one individual, special training is often a necessity if he is to stay alive. "A lot of Europeans - and Americans - don't want to think about close combat these days," David Steele contends. "They prefer 'virtual reality' and an easy life through technology. Even during World War II, some instructors in the art of close quarters combat had trouble selling realistic training to the establishment." One example that comes to mind is William Pilkington, an instructor for English spies and saboteurs, who admitted "some of my ideas were blacklisted by our War Office as un-British; crude, unthinkably brutal methods."
These days, however, it has been established that in Third World and jungle warfare, close quarters combat is a likely thing. Guerrilla campaigns in the Philippines at the turn of the last century and much later in Vietnam saw frequent clashes at combat distance, especially at night. More recently, house-to-house fighting in Iraq has become a way of life for our troops. "Particularly in the Philippines, after the SpanishAmerican War, there developed a style of in-fighting that worked when no guns were available - and it worked even better when in conjunction with firearms," Steele's investigations show. "Actually starting when Lapu Lapu killed Magellan's adventurers in 1521, Filipinos have created new methods of combat called escrima, Kali or arnis de mano. These methods are still useful in modern warfare."

Tim Waid of Survival Edge Systems is a hands-on instructor who teaches CQB to selected clients including the military in the Philippines.

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When looking at Filipino efforts, one must remember that these islands have been an almost continual scene of conflict and strife for well over a century. The Philippine Archipelago is made up of 7,107 islands and had been a Spanish possession for three centuries prior to the 1898 Spanish-American War. With the U.S. taking control of the islands in 1899, 65,000 soldiers were dispatched to put down a native insurrection led by Emilio Aguinaldo. This uprising for independence lasted three years, with sporadic resistance continuing for another decade. Out ofthis fiasco came the development of the Colt 45 automatic, since the issue Colt M1892 38 New Modern Army revolvers were not sufficient to put down the fanatical Moros. During World War II, the Japanese occupied the islands, but U.S.-equipped Philippine Scouts acted as guerrillas in aiding landings of U.S. troops and General Douglas MacArthur's much-heralded "return to the Philippines." The Philippines became independent in 1946 and the Philippine Constabulary became the Philippine National Police. According to Steele "This was a paramilitary unit armed with 50-caliber machineguns, rifle grenade launchers, Thompson submachine guns, selective-fire U.S. M-2 carbines and M-16 rifles." "Today, the M-16 rifle is still part of the PNP's table of equipment, but there also are Remington pump-action shotguns, Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns, 38caliber revolvers from Smith & Wesson, Taurus and Squires-Bingham, as well as 9mm autos from Glock, SIG-Sauer and Smith & Wesson." The Philippine National Police are in a continuing process of seeking professionalism, with local and American instructors adding to their expertise, but "as with any Third World country, the agency is constantly short of money and resources. After the U.S. Navy left its Subic Bay base, a so-called economic zone was created to be policed by an American-trained Subic Bay Municipal Authority, which now is under Philippine control. Several years ago, David Steele was one of those imported civilian instructors. Others on that particular assignment included Bram Frank, who runs Common Sense, an organization devoted to training others in self-defense and street combat. He operates out of Clearwater, Florida. Another instructor was Timothy D. Waid, who makes his home in the Philippines these days and heads up Survival Edge Systems. The mission of his organization is to train Philippine law enforcement, military and security agents. For this instructional session, Steel liaised with Daniel "Snooky" Cruz, Jr., who is an investigator attached to the U.S. Embassy as well as being a SWAT instructor for the PNP. Among those instructed in this session were two diplomatic security agents, a Philippine special forces major and several other American and Filipino officers. "We met initially at a Philippine Navy small arms range for a pistol and submachine gun training session," Steele recalls. "One of the instructors put the gathering through a series of Gunsite-style pistol exercises. For this, I was using a borrowed Beretta M92FS." Following this initial exercise, trainees became familiar with the HK MP5, Colt M635 and the FN P90 submachine guns. "The FN P90 is a unique personal defense weapon developed for support troops and special operations and is especially suited to the rather small stature of most

Filipinos," Steele noted. "The P90 we fired belonged to the Philippine Army major and probably was an 'orphan import' provided by FN in hopes of an expanded market for what is best described as an unusual gun." The P90 fires semi- and full-automatic from a 50round magazine carrying 5.7x28mm ammo. Designated as the SS190 cartridge, unlike the 9mm Parabellum,

The Subic Bay Municipal Authority's SWAT team undergoes U.s.-style training and is armed primarily with u.s. equipment.

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In David Steele's opinion, "Neither is likely to find much of a market in the Third World, where large procurement contracts may have to be underwritten by the United States. The standard auto rifle in the Philippines is the U.S. M-16A1 with the M193 cartridge, a Vietnam-era combination. These are likely to be replaced by the U.S. M-16A2 rifle and the SS109 cartridge." Supplementing the PNP for both private and foreign interests are other sorts of armed protection. Hotels, bars, banks and even department stores often hire uniformed security. This usually is a man wearing a white shirt, with a 38 Smith & Wesson K-frame revolver carried in a Border Patrol-style holster. Six 158-grain RNL cartridges usually are carried in a belt loop holder. "Labor costs are low in the islands," Steele explains, "so an armed security agent is less expensive than the purchase and installation of electronic devices." He adds that "the 38 revolver has not become obsolete in Asia. Used by PNP, security guards and private individuals in the Philippines, it also is an issue weapon for Marine guards at the U.S. Daniel Cruz, observing in the background, spends part of his time training Philippine Embassy. By governmental agreement, troops in quick-fire techniques. these Marines are limited to "defensive weapons," which happen to include their this particular round can penetrate a Kevlar helmet at S&W 38 revolvers, Remington Model 870 shotguns, 150 meters. Ruger Mini-14 rifles and Uzi submachine guns." More recently, the manufacturer has introduced The Marine Corps guards share Embassy protective a semi-automatic version ofthe P90 as well as a responsibilities with the PNP, contract security and 20-round 19-ounce pistol for the cartridge they call the special agents of the State Department's Diplomatic Five-SeveN. Security Section. The DS agents carry Beretta MK92FS and SIG-Sauer P228 pistols, as well as shotguns and submachine guns. Philippine police practice their exit from a patrol car while under fire. In addition to protecting the embassy staff, these agents are also charged with investigating passport and visa fraud and providing a protective detail for visiting U.S. and foreign dignitaries. As might be expected, the U.S. Embassy also houses personnel from other agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as assigned military officers. Each of these individuals may be issued sidearms within their own agency's guidelines. "During the period - September 1998 - when I was training and researching in the Philippines, there were several bomb threats and demonstrations directed at the embassy. These were immediately following the damaging attacks upon our embassies in Kenya and the Sudan," Steele recalls. "All U.S Embassies were on alert, especially those in countries with large Muslim populations. A Special Forces team was sent to Manila to reinforce

embassy defenses. Its specific mission at that time still remains classified. It also has been learned that the USMC guards may soon carry standard infantryissue Beretta M9 pistols and M-16A2 rifles; a slight but imageenhancing increase in firepower." Since the end of the Marcos regime and martial law, some Philippine civilians have been permitted to carry concealed pistols. Others, according to Steele's findings, "have given themselves permission, sometimes employing homemade pistols and shotguns called paltik, a term that also means slingshot. These weapons are especially popular at election time, while the dress code at many bars forbids wearing pistols or other deadly weapons." It has been found that traditional knife and street fighting have been adapted to modern street defense as well as military training. Civilian instructor Leo T. Gaje, whose style of arnis de mana is called Pikiti-Tirsai, and his associate, Daniel H. Cruz, a DEA investigator attached to the u.s. Embassy, is also involved in training Philippine National Police officers as is the case in this photo. Tom Waid of Survival Edge Systems, have developed a course for the so-called Bolo Battalion and other Philippine Army and Marine units. It is carried a pair of Spyderco Endura knives, as well as his Steele's belief that "the Philippine martial arts are as Beretta M92FS. Generally speaking, the Filipinos like Americans good as any in the world upon which to base a Close and there is no reason to fear for one's safety more Quarters Battle Course." than in a large U.S. city. However, American travelers It is pretty well established that some Filipino men and government personnel must be aware of the power are characteristically touchy and warlike. "Poverty has created a ready pool of assassins," according to Steele. "It changes in the region that have taken place in the century-plus, since Admiral Dewey sailed into Manila Bay. has been found that some of the country's professional hit men practice the draw-and-shoot routine with cocked and unlocked Colt 45 autos. The Daniel Cruz (left) watches a DEA special agent fire the FN P90 submachine gun. pistols are concealed down the front of the assassin's pants and pushed up with the left hand in the pocket to present the grip for the right hand. "Some of these are the same men who, as children, practiced opening and closing the Balisong butterfly knife on barrio street corners!" The U.S. State Department continues to list the Philippines as a "high risk" area mainly due to the Muslim terrorism and kidnappings in Mindanao. Steele points out that the casual visitor will not have access to firearms, adding that "a good knife is advisable, if one has the skill to use it." During his own visit, Steele carried a Spyderco Military model wherever he went. He found that one of the Embassy Diplomatic Security agents