U.S. Navy Lt. Col. John Cranston talks to Armed Forces of the Philippines Col. Loumer Bernabe before the opening ceremony for Amphibious Landing Exercise 2013 (PHIBLEX 2013) aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard, Olongapo, Zambales, Republic of the Philippines, Oct. 8, 2012. PHIBLEX 2013 is a bilateral training exercise conducted annually in the Republic of the Philippines to enhance amphibious readiness of both militaries and to strengthen interoperability. New initiatives for PHIBLEX 2013 include increased use of the Subic Metropolitan Authority areas, such as Subic International Airport for the duration of the exercise as a Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief command and control center and medical capacity building events in Zambales and Palawan.