Salaknib 2026: Task Force Saber Conducts Joint Air Assault on Calayan Island

Video by Sgt. Olivia Cowart

Download

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

June 14, 2026 | 1:11

U.S. Army Capt. Justin Mettling, an AH-64 Apache aviation and assistant operations officer assigned to Task Force Saber, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, talks about the air assault mission, a part of Operational Maneuver. U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Mobile Brigade, alongside Philippine Army 54th Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Division, and Royal Australian Regiment 5th/7th Battalions, conducted this joint mission as part of Exercise Salaknib 2026 at Cagayan North International Airport, Lal-lo, and Calayan Island, Philippines, on June 15, 2026. Exercise Salaknib highlights the enduring U.S.-Philippine alliance, enhancing interoperability and readiness through combined arms operations, multi-domain integration, and humanitarian assistance efforts for regional stability. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. Olivia Cowart) (Envato production music via Defense Media Activity, U.S. Army Pacific music license)

Up Next

Now Playing

Salaknib 2026: Task Force Saber Conducts Joint Air Assault on Calayan Island

8th TSC mariners rescue distressed sailboat near Honolulu
October 4, 2024 — FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii - Army mariners assigned to the 8th Special Troops Battalion, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, responded to a vessel in distress after receiving a radio call off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii, Sept. 26, 2024. ... MORE

Left to right, Sgt. Daniel Koster, Spc. Nathanial Breaux, and Spc. Jace Spivey, Army Mariners with the 8th Special Troops Battalion, 8th Theater Sustainment Command stand for a photo in their High-Speed Maneuvering Surface Target boat on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, October 1, 2024.

USARPAC honors outgoing and incoming deputy commanding generals
October 1, 2024 — The U.S. Army Pacific bid farewell to Lt. Gen. James B. Jarrard the Deputy Commanding General for the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC), and welcomed Lt. Gen. Maj. Joel B. Vowell, who has been on three combat tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. Lt. Gen. Vowell was also a War College Fellow at Stanford University and later was the Army Chief of Staff’s Senior Fellow to the Brookings Institution. The Flying V ceremony held at historic Palm Circle, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, September 30, 2024... MORE

U.S. Army Pacific incoming Deputy Commanding General Lt. Gen. Joel B. Vowell salutes the formation during the Flying V ceremony Sept. 30, 2024, at the Palm Circle, Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers train in Fiji at Exercise Cartwheel 2024
September 17, 2024 — Over the past week, In the remote jungles of the Nausori Highlands of Fiji, National Guard Soldiers retraced the steps of history in the South Pacific during Exercise Cartwheel – a military training event that echoes its namesake, the pivotal World War II Operation Cartwheel... MORE

U.S. Army Spc. Caleb Lewis, a M249 Squad Automatic Rifle gunner with the Nevada Army National Guard’s 609th Engineer Company, instructs Australian soldiers on the functions of his weapon during Exercise Cartwheel 2024 in Fiji’s Nausori Highlands Sept. 12.

US Army Pacific Commander Meets with Allied Army and Marine Leaders for Summit on Strengthening Deterrence
September 16, 2024 — United States Army Pacific Commanding General Charles A. Flynn met with Army Chiefs from Australia, Japan, and the Philippines along with the Commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne... MORE

U.S. Army Pacific Commander Meets with Allied Army and Marine Leaders for Summit on Strengthening Deterrence. The leaders agreed upon new measures for integrating deterrence activities among regional land forces.(Photo by Capt. Alexander McLoughlin)

Commemoration of 80 years: U.S. Army Pacific remembers WWII
September 14, 2024 — On December 7, 1941, the Nation saw itself thrust into war as the attack on Pearl Harbor would forever change the landscape of the country, but more specifically the Pacific Theater as combat operations would take place through 1945. Now, nearly 80 years later, The U.S. Army is looking to honor and remember those who served in some of the bloodiest and most strategic battles of World War II... MORE

Graphic commemorates WWII in the Pacific.

Tags

Up Next

25th Infantry Division Band Strengthens US-Fiji ...

25 Days at the Top of the World: Inside the Army...

Home Again: Mongolian-Born Soldier Returns in US...