The hungriest beast of them all on this blog is our Photo Of The Day. It consumes hundreds of images every month, and it has been doing so for over 8 years. Above you can spot an Australian Operator with the 2nd Commando Regiment, Special Operations Command. He participates in an amphibious raid during Balikatan 22 at El Nido, Palawan, Philippines, April 1, 2022 .I don’t know what’s up with his magazine, perhaps the carbine is set up to fire blanks?

Below: Members of the Philippine Navy Special Operations Group, U.S. Navy SEALs, and Australian Operators with 2nd Commando Regiment, Special Operations Command, conduct an amphibious raid during Balikatan 22.

Below: Carrying the wounded. Note the Australian flag on the soldier to the right. Seen here are Philippine Navy Special Operations Group, U.S. Navy SEALs, and Australian Operators.

Balikatan is an annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral interoperability, capabilities, trust, and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences. Balikatan, Tagalog for ‘shoulder-to-shoulder,’ is a long-standing bilateral exercise between the Philippines and the United States highlighting the deep-rooted partnership between both countries. BK22 is the 37th iteration of the exercise and coincides with the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation.

Below: A member of the Philippine Navy Special Operations Group.

Below: An Australian Operator with 2nd Commando Regiment, Special Operations Command.

Photos by U.S. Marine Corps, Sgt. Mario A. Ramirez.