9th Infantry (SPEAR) Division

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Ninth Infantry Division


caption= Coat of Arms of the 9ID
dates= October 1, 2004 - Present
country= flagicon|Philippines Philippines
allegiance=
branch= Philippine Army
type= Infantry
role= Conventional Warfare, Anti-Guerrilla Operations
size= 2 Brigades, 6 Batallions. Total is 4000+ soldiers
command_structure= Under the Philippine Army
current_commander= BGen Arsenio R Arugay AFP
garrison= Camp Elias Angeles, Pili, Camarines Sur
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= "Spear Division"
patron=
motto= "Second to None"
colors=
march=
mascot= Spear
battles= Anti-guerilla operations against the NPA and local criminal elements
notable_commanders=BGen Santiago Prejido AFP
anniversaries=October 1
decorations=
battle_honours=
identification_symbol_label=Unit Patch
identification_symbol=9ID Unit EmblemThe 9th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, known officially as the Spear Division, is the Philippine Army's primary Infantry unit assigned to combat communist insurgency in the Bicol Region.

History

The 9th Infantry (SPEAR) Division, Philippine Army stationed at Camp Elias Angeles, San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur commanded can be traced to the former 9th Infantry (Orgullo) Brigade (Separate) which was formally activated pursuant to General Orders Nr 456 dated 02 September 2002 assigning BGEN SANTIAGO S PREJIDO AFP as its first Commanding General; and was finally upgraded into 9th Infantry Division (Provisional) pursuant to General Orders Nr 56 dated 26 January 2004 and became a regular Infantry Division on 01 October 2004 pursuant to General Orders Nr 517, Headquarters Philippine Army dated 06 October 2004 during the stint of then MGEN JOHN D BOLHAYON AFP as its Commanding General. MGEN RICARDO G NOBLEZA AFP was assigned Commanding General from 06 December 2004 to 30 June 2006.

The recent activation of an Infantry Division in Bicol Region was in relation to the reorganization of Area Commands into Unified Commands based on Letter Directive dated 07 May 2002 from the AFP Chief of Staff's Office. The Commander of the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) recommended for the activation of a Brigade (Separate) in Bicol region due to the sizeable number of enemy activities within SOLCOM Area of Operation. These were further compounded by the prevalence of different leftist-infiltrated sectoral organizations in Region IV and V.

It was also then realized that the current location of the 202nd and 203rd Infantry Brigades were considerably far from the 2nd Infantry Division Headquarters, which makes supervision, as well as administration, logistical support, and orchestration of combat operation the Command and control of tactical units in Bicol region has become extremely difficult for the Commander of 2nd Infantry Division considering the off-centered location of his Division Headquarters. Furthermore, personnel of the Brigade and Battalion in Bicol have to travel to Tanay for admin-related matters, re-supply, hospitalization, and others.

There was an immediate need to rationalize command and control, redeploy forces, and reconfigure the AOR of tactical units in order to minimize, if not totally eradicate, administrative and logistical problems, similarly, command and control of combat support and combat service support units need also to be rationalized in order to be responsive to the requirements of combat units.

Mission

Their mission is to conduct sustained Internal Security Operations (ISO) in the Bicol region, excluding Masbate (8ID), to neutralize the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) and the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New Peoples Army (NPA) in order to create a physically and psychologically sound environment conducive for development and commerce of the Bicol Region.

Units

The following are the Brigade units that are under the 9th Infantry Division.
* 901st Infantry (Fight 'Em)Brigade
* 902nd Infantry (Fight and Serve) BrigadeThe following are the Battalion units that are under the 9th ID.
*2nd Infantry (Second to None) Battalion
*22nd Infantry (Valor) Battalion
*42nd Infantry (Tagapagtanggol) Battalion
*31st Infantry (Charge) Battalion
*65th Infantry (Stalwart) Battalion
*9th Infantry (Sandigan) Battalion

Operations

* Anti-guerrilla operations against the New People's Army
* Anti-terrorist operations against local terrorists operating in their AOR.

References

* [http://www.army.mil.ph/Army_Sites/INFANTRY%20DIVISIONS/9ID/9ID_updated/index.htm Official Site of the PA 9ID.]