19 August 2025
It is not often Australian Defence Force members get to deploy overseas on operations or exercises only to find themselves back in the neighbourhood they grew up in.
But that is precisely what imagery specialist Leading Seaman Ernesto Sanchez Jr experienced on his recent deployment to the Philippines for Exercise Alon 25.
Born in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, where the Australian Joint Task Force has established its headquarters, Leading Seaman Sanchez had a heartfelt reunion with his family while serving the ADF in his capacity as an imagery specialist.
“I am blessed to have had this opportunity,” Leading Seaman Sanchez said.
“I was last here in 2023, and I do not know when I will be back again to see my family, although we speak on the phone every day. They’re all so proud to see me in my uniform.
“We’re a large family and they all mean the world to me, so it has been incredibly emotional to drop in and see them while I am deployed here. It was a bit unexpected for them, so a wonderful surprise for when they finished school and work.”
As well as capturing the exercise through a lens, Leading Seaman Sanchez is double-hatted as a civil-military engagement liaison, utilising his knowledge of the local area, culture, language skills and community to build ties between Australia and the Philippines.
'We all know each other, and I speak the language – I grew up here.'
“Our role is to support the Joint Task Force by forging connections and relationships on Palawan with the Filipino people,” Leading Seaman Sanchez said.
“Through meeting with community leaders and participating in activities at schools and Catholic Masses, we are building important person-to-person connections with the people of Palawan for our future operations.
“What better way to do that than with Filipinos like me. We all know each other, and I speak the language – I grew up here.”
Exercise Alon 25 is a bilateral training activity between the ADF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and is Australia’s largest overseas military exercise for 2025.
The exercise demonstrates the strength of the partnership between Australia and the Philippines and allows both nations to practice multi-domain warfighting skills while collaborating on regional security.
It involves more than 3600 personnel from the ADF and AFP, as well as the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Marines Corps’ Marine Rotation Force – Darwin.
