Major Lucky Valenzuela: Logistical Czar of the Marawi Victory

MAJOR NESTOR LACSON VALENZUELA II O-14877 (Ordnance Service) PA is a hero of the Marawi Siege because it was through his tireless efforts that the soldiers who battled the ISIS from May to October 2017 remained mobile, armed, and equipped with the latest military transportation and technology to stand head to head with these foreign and local Muslim extremists.

Hence, he is a hero of the Marawi Siege not just for battling the ISIS terrorists who held the city hostage in May 2017, but also for ensuring that the troops defending the city received the necessary transportation and enough ammunition, explosives, firearms, and supplies on time to sustain the five-month fight.

Victory would have been more elusive, if not impossible, had he and his office failed to send, replenish, and upgrade the fighting troops with the  necessary transportation and with enough ammunition, explosives, firearms, and supplies—on time, every time, in real time—to sustain the five-month fight. And he accomplished these by pure, brute strength from point to point.

 

Marawi’s Power Supplier. Unlike the ease by which we see heavy yet delicate artillery and bullets transported by mechanized means in the movies, then Captain Valenzuela had to manually transport all the necessary implements by hand. Thus, the biggest challenge was to literally load-unload-load all these arms from truck to PAF aircraft and PN ship in Luzon to truck in Mindanao for Marawi.

As Packing, Crating, Hauling, and Transporting Officer of ASCOM, he was responsible for the timely and efficient delivery of these supplies to the war-torn city. This was not as easy as it appeared because the hardware had to be secured all the way from the Ammunition, Armaments, and Ammunition Battalion in Camp Aquino in Tarlac.

Transporting Arms by Hand. From there, he coordinated the delivery to the Logistical Hubs in Villamor Airbase in Pasay and Clark Airbase in Clark, Pampanga by plane and to Pier 13 in Manila and Sangley Point in Cavite by ship. From Clark, as the Luzon depot, all the requested equipment were sent straight to Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental in Mindanao.

To address this very tedious process of sourcing arms, centralizing supplies, transporting equipment, and dispatching materiel, he adhered to the so-called RSOI—Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration. This eased out traffic by properly transitioning incoming personnel and equipment to make deliveries efficient and distribution more effective.

The most remarkable thing here, however, is that Captain Valenzuela personally oversaw every step of the logistic operations. He came and went with every delivery. As Convoy Commander and Escort Officer, he flew onboard the Philippine Air Force C-130 every time supplies were dispatched—from the time the Siege erupted to the Liberation in October 2017.

The Enabler behind the Siege. Without the consistent delivery and deployment of military vehicles, logistical supplies, and military hardware, it would have been impossible for the Philippine troops to stand face-to-face with the Muslim extremist groups in battle. Filipino soldiers would have been easily neutralized without these implements delivered on time.

Saving the lives of Marawi’s residents and what remained of the beautiful city’s Muslim structures from the constant barrage of terrorist attacks would have been just as futile without Captain Valenzuela’s efforts. The successful delivery of provisions and materiel spelled victory for our Filipino soldiers as they fended off bloody assaults, stealthy attacks, and lawless violence.

Consistent Untiring Service. Captain Valenzuela, to date, continues to transport and supply hundreds of vehicles, armored tanks, and mission essential engineering equipment to Marawi City to facilitate its rehabilitation. This ease in performing such a herculean task has been the product of his continuous service as ASCOM’s PCHT Command since May of 2014.

Right after the Liberation, he was assigned to the Philippine Army Head Quarters as AC, Mobility Branch, OG4. There, he handled the programming and procurement of the repair and build program for all Army vehicles, while he sat on various Technical Working Groups and on the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee of Ordinance and QMS Supplies.

Multitasking Arms Point Person. Today, Captain Valenzuela is back to being PCHT Officer of the Army Support Command. He, however, multitasks as Logistics/Ordnance Officer, specializing in Explosives Ordnance Disposal, and as OIC of the Ammunition Depot in Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang. He has surely come a long way from delivering the Army’s Kia Motors nationwide.

He is now in-charge of frontloading all classes of Army supplies, from soldiers’ uniforms to ammunition to explosive armaments. Thus, he has at his disposal and command: all military air, land, and sea transport available, as well as all logistical freight forwarders. Indeed, he has mastered the craft of providing the Philippine Army everything it needs when they need them.

Years of Mastering Logistics. After having served the 73^rd Infantry (Neutralizer) Battalion, 10^th Infantry (AGILA) Division for seven years since September 29, 2006, he rose from the rank of Platoon Leader to Company Commander and Battalion Staff, until he was assigned the post of PCHT in 2014, which he mastered through his selfless and untiring service for the last five years.

Continually training in ammunition management, explosives disposal, and logistics at CSSS, TRADOC, PA, he has been certified in International Logistics Transition VI by the U.S. Transportation Command in Illinois. To top it all, Captain Valenzuela, 38—a member of OCC Class 30-2006 and a family man with three children—has, as of press time, just been promoted to the rank of Major.