15th Infantry Division (Philippines)

15 Infantry Division (Ready Reserve)

Unit Seal of the 15th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve)
Active 10 July 2006 - Present
Country Philippines Philippines
Allegiance Philippines Republic of the Philippines
Branch Philippine Army
Type Army Reserve
Light Infantry Division
Role performs multiple military roles in Conventional and Unconventional Warfare, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HA/DR), and Civil-Military Operations (CMO)
Size 5 Brigades, 15 Battalions. Total is 6,320 trained and operational citizen-soldiers
Part of Under the Philippine Army Reserve Command
Garrison/HQ NCRRCDG Cpd, Fort Andres Bonifacio, Metro Manila
Nickname "Defender & Builder Division"
Motto "Defender & Builder"
Mascot Crossed Rifle & Shovel
Anniversaries 10 July 2006
Decorations
Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge
Battle honours None
Commanders
Current
commander
BGen Marcelo B Javier Jr (RES) AFP
Notable
commanders
BGen Marcelo B Javier Jr (RES) AFP
Insignia
Search and Rescue Tab
Laang Kawal Seal
Philippine Army Infantry Branch Insignia

The 15th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve), Philippine Army,[1] known as the Defender & Builder Division, is one of the Army Reserve Command's ready reserve infantry divisions.

The unit specializes in Urban Warfare, Urban Search and Rescue, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and Civil-Military Operations. It operates in the National Capital Region.

History

Brigadier General Marcelo B Javier Jr (RES) AFP; the commanding general of the 15th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve).

The Philippine Army felt the need to re-organize its reserve units in the National Capital Region (NCR) when the 9th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve) was deactivated and the newly created regular infantry division (9ID) took its numerical designation.

On the 16th of June, 2006, pursuant to the directives of the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, the Army Adjutant General published General Orders number 290. The order is tasking the Army Reserve Command to activate a Reserve Infantry Division to fill in the vacant post of the former 9ID(RR).[2]

Finally on July 20, 2006, with further consultation from his staff, Brigadier General Emmanuel Cayton AFP, then Commander; Army Reserve Command transferred operational and administrative control of the 15th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve) under the NCRRCDG pursuant to General Orders Nr. 233 and Colonel Marcelo B Javier Jr INF (GSC) RES PA was installed as its first commanding officer.[3]

The 15th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve), then was composed of line task units re-organized from the deactivated 9th Infantry Division (Ready Reserve) PA. Additional units were later added as the actual division grew to full complement.

The Commission on Appointments, confirms the promotion of Colonel Javier Jr to Brigadier General on September 21, 2012.[4]

On December 3, 2012, Colonel Javier Jr was sworn in as a Brigadier General by President Benigno S. Aquino III, together with other newly promoted generals of the AFP at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace.[5]

The division, since its activation, has performed countless Civil-Military Operations, Search and Rescue Operations and directly assist then AFP National Capital Regional Command and now the AFP Joint Task Force-National Capital Region in fulfilling its mandate of ensuring peace and order within the National Capital Region.[6][7]

Mission

Vision

A well disciplined, organized, trained and non-partisan citizen army, able to augment the regular force and respond to national disasters and threats to national security, during peacetime, war or rebellion mandated to perform tasks of Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW).

Lineage of Commanding Officers

Organization

The following are the Base/Brigade units that are under the 15th Infantry Division (RR).

Base Units

Line Units

Trainings

The following are division-level special trainings undertaken by the unit soldiers:

Training is supervised and course-directed by reserve officers who are occupational specialty qualified, former active duty members, and already incorporated in the ready reserve force.

Unit soldiers also undertake regular courses from the AFP and regular Army TRADOC and special schools. There are reservists who are already authorized to don infantry, ordnance, civil military operations, psychological operations and airborne badges. The unit reservists also undertake specialized trainings from other government agencies.

Many unit officers and personnel have already served the fixed two-year called-to-active-duty tour in the regular force. As a modern reserve force, many possess advanced degrees, technical and professional certifications that fill skill gaps in the regular force. Most of the officers and personnel are also employed in local government administration and private and government security services. Reservists of the unit are considered excellent force multipliers in internal security and external defense operations.

Operations

Awards and Decorations

Campaign Streamers

Award Streamer Streamer Name Operation Date Awarded Reference
Presidential Unit Citation BadgeSAR/DRR Ops, TS Ketsana & TS Parma4 February 2010 General Orders No. 112, GHQ-AFP, dtd 04 Feb '10
Presidential Unit Citation BadgeGeneral Elections, Philippines1 July 2010General Orders No. 641, GHQ-AFP, dtd 1 July '10

Badges

Military Badge Badge Name Operation Date Awarded Reference
AFP Election Duty BadgeGeneral Elections, Philippines21 May 2010 General Orders No. 513, GHQ-AFP, dtd 21 May '10

Gallery

See also

References

Citations
Bibliography