FORT BONIFACIO, Philippines — Under the clear morning sky of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ largest military headquarters, soldiers in crisp formation stood at attention as the Philippine Army marked both an ending and a beginning — the retirement of a career officer whose three decades of service traced the arc of the institution’s modern transformation.
Colonel Haron S. Akaz, Director of the Training Support and Services Center of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, was formally recognized during the Philippine Army’s weekly simultaneous flag-raising ceremony on February 23, closing a 34-year career that began in the country’s restive southern battlefields and culminated in shaping how the Army trains its future leaders.
The ceremony, held at Headquarters Philippine Army in Fort Bonifacio, carried the quiet gravity reserved for soldiers who have spent a lifetime in uniform. As the national flag rose and the band’s brass notes faded, Army Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Efren F. Morados stepped forward to deliver the message of Army Chief Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete.
He spoke not only of years served but of institutional memory — of officers whose careers bridge generations of doctrine, conflict, and reform.
“Your 34 years of dedicated service stand as a testament to professionalism, leadership, and unwavering commitment to the nation,” Morados said, addressing the retiring colonel before assembled troops and officers. “The Philippine Army is stronger because of leaders like you who invested their lives in developing both capability and character.”
For Colonel Akaz, the recognition marked the final chapter of a soldier’s journey that began as a young platoon leader in Charlie Company, 27th Infantry Battalion of the 6th Infantry Division — a unit long engaged in counterinsurgency operations across Mindanao. In those years, junior officers learned command under conditions that tested endurance and judgment: jungle patrols, remote detachments, and fragile engagements with communities caught between armed groups and state forces.
Colleagues recall that Akaz gravitated early toward Civil-Military Operations, a field that would become central to the Armed Forces’ evolving approach to internal security. His later assignments included serving as Executive Officer of the Joint Civil-Military Operations Task Force under the National Capital Regional Command and leadership roles within the Civil-Military Operations Battalion of the 5th Infantry Division in Northern Luzon.
Those postings coincided with the military’s gradual shift from purely kinetic counterinsurgency toward community-focused stabilization — programs that blended security, development, and public engagement. Officers in CMO roles often worked at the sensitive intersection of governance and security, coordinating with local officials, civil society, and affected populations.
“Civil-military operations demand not just tactical skill but empathy and patience,” said one retired general who served alongside Akaz and asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly. “He understood that the Army’s legitimacy depends on trust as much as force.”
In his final assignment at the Training and Doctrine Command — the Army’s intellectual and institutional engine — Akaz oversaw training support and services that underpin the professional education of soldiers across career stages. TRADOC’s Training Support and Services Center provides curriculum resources, instructional systems, and operational training support essential to modernizing how the Army prepares its personnel.
The role placed him at the center of what Army leadership now calls “human capital development,” a doctrine emphasizing education, leadership cultivation, and professional competence as core to force readiness. Under this framework, training institutions are seen not merely as schools but as strategic drivers of capability.
Army Chief Nafarrete has repeatedly underscored that modernization depends as much on people as on equipment. In that sense, the retirement of a senior training official carries institutional symbolism: the passing of experience from one generation of officers to the next.
The Philippine Army’s tradition of honoring retiring senior officers reflects this continuity. Flag-raising ceremonies recognizing departing leaders have become a regular feature of headquarters observances, intended both as tribute and as reminder of service ideals. Officers are cited not only for rank or position but for competence, performance, and leadership potential demonstrated over time.
In the military’s structured culture, retirement ceremonies often blend formality with understated emotion. For many officers, service defines identity — years marked by postings, operations, and the rhythms of command. Stepping away from uniform life can feel less like departure than transformation.
Akaz’s career spanned a period of significant transition in the Philippine security landscape. When he entered service in the early 1990s, the Armed Forces were still heavily oriented toward internal security threats. Over the decades, insurgencies waned, peace agreements advanced, and the military gradually pivoted toward external defense while retaining domestic stabilization roles.
Training institutions such as TRADOC were central to that shift, revising doctrine, integrating lessons from peacekeeping and joint operations, and expanding professional education. Officers with operational and civil-military backgrounds, like Akaz, helped translate field experience into institutional learning.
At the ceremony’s close, soldiers applauded as the retiring colonel received commendations and farewells from fellow officers. The moment was brief — military protocol rarely allows extended sentiment — yet the symbolism was clear: a career rendered visible, then entrusted to history.
The Philippine Army, in its official statement, described retiring senior officers as having “dedicated their lives to serving the people and securing the land,” echoing its enduring motto. The recognition also reiterated the command’s emphasis on developing leaders whose competence and character sustain institutional strength.
As the formation dispersed and headquarters returned to routine, Colonel Akaz stepped out of ranks for the last time as an active-duty officer. Beyond the ceremony grounds, Fort Bonifacio continued its daily cadence of drills, briefings, and deployments — the ongoing work of a military shaped by generations of service.
For the Army, such transitions are constant. Officers retire; new leaders rise; doctrine evolves. Yet each departure carries the imprint of a life spent in uniform — a personal narrative woven into the broader story of national defense.
On February 23, amid the ordered ceremony of flags and formations, the Philippine Army marked that passage once more: welcoming a new day by honoring one who had served through many.