American Hero

By Joanne Rae M. Ramirez, People Asia Magazine

That ours has become a borderless world hits you when you realize that the chief of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) and US defense representative to the Philippines is a Cavite-born American who likes laing and Bicol Express, with a fierce devotion to baseball and the Virgin of Peñafrancia.

JUSMAG chief Col. Mathias Velasco - the first Filipino-American and the second Asian-American to assume the post since 1947 - was born in Sangley Point in Cavite to Matias Velasco, a Navy man from Bicol and a naturalized American citizen, and his wife Remedios. An American citizen from the day he was born, Mathias Velasco attended the International School in Manila, and among his classmates were Imee Marcos, the daughter of a Philippine president, and Angel Ramos, the daughter of a future president.

He has always had a liking for pancit and spicy Bicolano food, and has devotion, like his mother has, to the Lady of Peñafrancia of Bicol. In a glass-encased cabinet in his office at the US Embassy in Manila, a statue of the Lady of Peñafrancia occupies a prominent space amongst an impressive array of awards, medals, military books and other paraphernalia. On a wall in his office are photos of American baseball legends. Truly an all-American guy with Pinoy tastes.

That he is the first Fil-Am to become JUSMAG chief was no big deal to him. His wife Michele - a California girl who has learned to cook Filipino dishes - was the first to point this out to Velasco. "I did not pay attention to it because I go to postings where the military tells me to go," explains this dutiful soldier.

Thus, it did not mean that he worked harder or gave his job the extra effort, just because he happened to be posted in the land of his forebears. He has been giving his best since Day One, from New Jersey to Germany, from South Korea to the Philippines, where he was posted in 2002.

Velasco commanded units in New Jersey, Germany and South Korea, and held various staff positions at Fort Dix, NJ, Fort Hood, TX, Fort Leavenworth, KS, Germany, South Korea and the Pentagon.

"I don't believe (being Fil-American) affects my mission here. But, at the same time, there are challenges being the chief of JUSMAG no matter who you are. You not only have to work within the US government and military to do the training and the advising with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. You also have to work with the AFP and Department of National Defense so that both countries' efforts are aligned in terms of cooperation. It's challenging in that the Philippine military is in the long process of trying to reform itself," says Velasco, a father of four and a grandfather of one (going on two in November).

Still, one might think Velasco was more warmly received than his predecessors in a country where bloodlines run deep and where a lot of people share his surname.

"Being Fil-Am does not automatically give me the inside scoop to anything. It's still a matter of you having to show your competence and your ability as well. You have to earn the Filipinos' respect. To most Filipinos, I'm just another American coming to be in charge of JUSMAG."

However, it can be an advantage when you speak the language, he concedes.

So, I ask him, "Naiintindihan mo ba ako?" ("Do you understand me?")

"Opo (yes)," he smiles.

Growing up in a military base in Sangley, Velasco, an only child, looked up to his father and wanted to be like him. "My dad gave me a good example of service to country. He instilled in me the belief that it is not only loyalty to country that is important, but also service."

Velasco wanted to join the Army right after graduating from IS in Manila, but was prevailed upon by his father to seek a college degree first. It was sound advice that he took to heart, and with no regrets.

He went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, where he obtained a BA in Psychology. He later earned a master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Velasco's troop unit experience included tours with the 5th Infantry Division (mechanized), 2nd Armored Division, 37th Transportation Group and 4th Transportation Brigade. His teaching assignments as Professor of Military Science and as Combat Service Support Battle Operating System Chief, Battle Command Training Program (BCTP) include teaching young cadets in ROTC and observing/controlling leadership in corps and division level war fighters.

Velasco is Airborne and Ranger qualified. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Soldier's Medal, Defense Meritorious, Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster and Army Staff Badge.

I express admiration for his decorations, and Velasco shrugs me off, saying, "Everybody is a decorated soldier. Everybody gets awards. A lot of that has got to do with longevity. I've been in the service for 28 years now."

To those who have worked him, Velasco is making a difference in his posting here, not because his forebears are Filipino, but because by serving his country well, he is contributing to the cause of peace and progress in his Philippine post.

"I believe more and more Filipino military officers and defense personnel are finding they may be able to do reform in the military. We are assisting the DND through schooling. We send a lot of Filipino officers and enlisted men to US military schools. We give them advice in terms of, how do you train a battalion? We bring subject matter experts to the Philippines. We even assist them in buying equipment. (Editor's note: In the fiscal year 2004, $84.68 million in US military aid was channeled to the Philippines, excluding aid that went with military exercises). A lot of the assistance we provide, especially now, is technical. For example, in the basics of infantry tactics, we sent Filipino soldiers to train in Louisiana."

Velasco is not daunted by the fact that one of his predecessors - Col. Nick Rowe - was assassinated in the line of duty. He knows that risks are inherent in his post, but refuses to let the risks alter the way he and his wife live their lives.

"On weekends, my wife Michele and I go by ourselves around Makati and Greenhills. My wife rides public transportation," he reveals.

Taxicabs? "No jeepneys, buses and the LRT," Velasco corrects me. "She's not scared of anybody. We have a van and although she drives it around, parking is tough. People leave her alone."

Velasco, however, hopes that one day, Filipinos - and not just foreigners - will feel safe in their homeland. "I look forward to the day when the Philippines would not have to worry about insurgencies. The day when anyone can come to the Philippines and Filipinos can go anywhere in the Philippines without having to worry about terrorists or insurgencies."

Having lived here in his youth, and in the past three years, he has seen the immense potential of Filipinos and is sad it remains largely unfulfilled.

"I wish the Filipinos will reach the potential that they have. At some point they can and should lead in Southeast Asia. It's a matter of whether they take that ball and run with it, and start thinking about the Philippines, instead of just their communities."

He stops short of talking politics, which he believes is not a soldier's turf. "We don't do politics," stresses Velasco. "We support the constitutional government of a country. That hasn't changed for anyone and it holds true for the ambassador and the military guys as well. We're very careful of what we say. It's not useful, especially here, to favor one over the other. I always tell the AFP, we support your constitutionally elected government, we support your continued support of that government, that Constitution. Your oath is to your country and Constitution. It's the same for us."

Can the military ever be detached from politics?

"We are detached from politics. In the US, from our perspective, it's irrelevant to us who the president is. We vote. We do not always agree on whom we vote for, but once the president, congressman or senator is elected, our job is not to do anything illegal because that individual has been democratically elected. The same thing here. The best case for the AFP moving towards being apolitical and being representative of the people and the country is the statement that General (Efren) Abu made. He said, 'Hey, our job is not to be involved in political matters. Our job is to support and defend the Constitution. We are to stay out of these political matters because it doesn't do us or the country good.'"

I ask Velasco, one of whose daughters is a lieutenant in the US Army, if he can name me two Filipino officers he admires.

"I can name you 20 if you want," he says seriously. Offhand, he names me three. "For example, in Basilan there are two officers who are doing yeoman's work: Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer and Col. Darwin Guerra. They're helping to transform Basilan into a productive and economically vibrant province by showing the people that the military is not the enemy. They do civic action projects.

"There are a lot of officers out there who were not involved in Oakwood, who know that the way to fix the problems is not through a mutiny or illegal means but within the system. It does not necessarily make them popular nor does that make their voices heard, but they're fighting every day to get their military going. A lot of them are very young. They do good work, unseen, unheard."

Velasco feels for the Filipino soldier and believes he is largely taken for granted. "The insurgency in Mindanao has been going on for 30 to 40 years. I believe the AFP is tired. They've been fighting for too long. I also believe that the people are complacent about the way the AFP has been fighting. I don't think Filipinos see the AFP fighting. They just see the bad side of it. War isn't news anymore when it's everyday. A Filipino soldier gets killed every day in the Philippines - by the New People's Army, the Jemaah Islamiya, by all sorts of people. That's part of the reason why the military is not seen here as the protector of the people, because no one thinks it's a war. In the US, we know we're at war."

For Velasco, an officer and a gentleman is, "A professional, competent officer who believes in loyalty to country first; who believes in doing his job to the best of his ability, who believes fighting for country is right no matter the consequences."

Being JUSMAG chief may just be another post to Velasco, one to which he gives his heart and might, as he has always done in his 28 years in the US Army. But his Philippine post obviously touches a chord on his soul, and the chord connects his to us.