The Republic of Korea Marine Corps participated in the "2026 Kamandag Exercise" conducted in the Luzon Island area of the Philippines from the 14th of last month through the 1st of next month, the Marine Corps said Friday.
The Kamandag Exercise is a multinational combined drill that the U.S. and Philippine Marine Corps have conducted since 2017 to strengthen counterterrorism capabilities and cultivate coastal defense and combat skills.
The Korean Marine Corps has participated in the exercise with a company-sized unit every year since 2022, following a proposal from the U.S. and Philippine Marine Corps in 2021.
The Marine Corps formed a combined command post with participating nations and conducted staff exercises, mastering command and control procedures among multinational forces and strengthening interoperability.
For this exercise, the Marine Corps deployed maintenance personnel from a technical exchange team to share operational and maintenance know-how for the Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicle (KAAV), which the Philippine military has introduced and is operating.
The Marine Corps plans to participate in various overseas combined exercises this year, including the U.S. Combined Arms Exercise (United States), Super Garuda Shield (Indonesia), and Khaan Quest (Mongolia).
