New forum member from the Philippines

[wilked aka Khun Deng]

Spunger, Well I did come back with two kris and two gunong and the one kris IS the best piece in my collection (till my other Dha arrive from Mark). Not converted but definately an enthusiast. Sorry I missed you also however where you were was much more interesting than were I was.

Bob, with your permission I'd like to pass on your article to our guys who are going to leave in a few weeks as well as our Civil Affairs coordinator down there. We are continually looking for for Non Government Organizations who have the experience we lack and whose efforts we can support. The more we can convince the the Philippine forces to support these efforts the better the stability of the region, we have found that a concerted effort, executed in coordination, has a much better sustainability factor than individual efforts.
Surprising that it was an Italian company. One who became a great friend of mine down there was one Armando DeRossi who has lived and worked in the area for 30 years and besides his construction company runs a NGO called Peace and Prosperity for the Philippines, he also was named a Sultan for his humanitarian efforts throughout the region, in fact it was at his invitation that I was allowed to participate in the events at Tamparan and Malabang.

Will I get back down there, hard to say but possible, my boss has just extended me another 18 months here in Japan, partially because of my experience in the area and the fact that my unit has the mission for the near term. i hope so and the next time I'll fight harder to get out of the office and amongst the people. You'll be one of the first to know - guaranteed!

Dan