Camp Melchor F dela Cruz, Upi,
Gamu, Isabela - The 5th
Infantry (Star) Division , Philippine Army had just opened Candidate Soldier
Course Class 358 and 359 with the total of 245 trainees from different
provinces of the country. The opening of
the course was done in a simple but meaningful ceremony as it was jibed with
Monday flag raising which was held at the Division Grandstand on June 09.
BGen Ricardo B Jalad AFP, the Assistant Division Commander, who was the
Guest of Honor and Speaker during the occasion said that the new candidate
soldiers are the chosen ones from among thousands of aspirants during the
pre-qualification phase as part of the Army’s program in recruiting the best
and the brightest. They are expected to separate them from boys to men.
BGen Jalad emphasized to the Candidate Soldiers that the training they
will undergo will be rigid and challenging as their trainers’ will give them
the best preparation. “You will be exposed to difficult situation not only to
test your endurance and presence of mind but also to encourage you to be the
best. By the time you finished the
course, you are expected to handle situations with confidence. It is expected that you will exert your best
effort in the duration of your course” he added.
The 5ID Assistant Division Commander urged the Candidate Soldiers to
remain united and committed to learn the basic of soldiery so that they will
always prevail over difficult situations.
He encouraged them to survive the challenges and tests that will mold them
to be the best.
The two classes came from different regions of the country. The CSC
class 358 composed of 150 trainees of whom 89 of them came from Region 2, 57
came from Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and 4 came from other
regions. On the other hand, the CSC
class 359 is composed of 95 trainees of whom 53 of them came from Region 2, 28
came from CAR and 14 came from other regions all over the country. These trainees are expected to excel in their
field of endeavors for six (6) of them
are Board Passers, 28 are college graduates, 61 are college level, 11 are
vocational graduates, 73 are high school graduates with TESDA, and the rest are
high school graduates with different skills highly needed by the Philippine
Army.
After the training, they will be enlisted in the Regular Force as
Privates.
