Profile:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL BENJAMIN P DEFENSOR JR AFP

Making A Difference  

Benjamin in the Holy Bible is the beloved of Yahweh, on whose shoulders Yahweh dwells. The narrative of the invasion of the Promised Land in Joshua 2-9 takes place in the territory of Benjamin and affirms that the story of invasion was the story of invasion of all Israel. The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest tribe of David, but the tribe was the fiercest and fightingest of all. Benjamin had 700 stouthearted men who were the best in soldiery and combat. All his left-handed slingers were deadly accurate. Benjamin's men routed their enemies at the first encounter.

The Benjamin in the annals of the Philippine Air Force has had command of more than 700 men and women, all similarly stouthearted, ready to defend the land and equally skilled in “slinging” the enemy. As Commander of the Tactical Operations Command, the national command of the PAF, he brought the might of the OV-10 Broncos, the MG-520 and Huey helicopter gunships and the F-5 fighters to bear and account, in the words of the ground troops, for 75% percent of the government’s signal victory against the MILF in Mindanao. The job was familiar. As a young helicopter combat pilot, he made AFP history by earning two Gold Cross Medals within 24 hours of continuous operations in Jolo, Sulu against Muslim insurgents.

He is as fierce in keeping and propagating the faith. In all his assignments, his first projects revolved around the Church and the Blessed Mother. At Clark Air Base, he built the Plaza of Our Lady. In Fernando Air Base; he retouched the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church along the original theme and lines of the Church at the Rue de Bac in France. His latest masterpiece is a 95-foot Sacred Heart Tower, featuring a 20-foot Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located at the highest point of Mactan, in Benito Ebuen Air Base, and a military-religious Museum below, a first of its kind in the AFP.

Then Major General Benjamin P Delensor, Jr has the habit of achieving and making a difference.

When he graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1969, he held the unequalled distinction as Master of the Sword and Defense Press Corps Journalism Awardee, for athletic excellence and best performance as Editor–in-Chief of PMA's magazine.

As the Chief Planner of the Air Force (A-5), he authored the PAF Strategic Plan and Modernization Program, which became the model of the AFP Modernization Program. In his first command position, as Commander of Clark Air Base, he created the first metropolitan community in the AFP, the "Air Force City", which eventually won the Best Air Base Wing Command Award in 1998. Transferred to Fernando Air Base, he transformed 100th Wing into the Summer Capital of the Philippine Air Force and bested his former creation, the Air Force City in the PAF Model Base competition for 1999, setting the record as the first Commander to have won two Best Air Base Wing Awards in two consecutive years, in two different commands. He likewise engineered the activation of the Air Education and Training Command, consistent with the PAF Modernization blueprint that he developed.

Then designated in January 2000 as Commander of the PAF Tactical Operations Command, the then Major General Benjamin P Defensor Jr redefined the PAF tactical character through superb demonstration of airpower against the MILF. He is the only Air Force Commander to be conferred the Presidential Award for Military Leadership by President Estrada for outstanding performance against the MILF insurgents. He is a recipient of the Golden Aviator Award for Leadership and Command, the highest award given by the Air Force to any alumnus of the PAF Flying School for leadership excellence.

To this day a fierce competitor in all fields of endeavor, he regularly outpaces younger officers in morning runs and could very well still qualify in competitive swimming and other sports. He has started a fitness run for all officers and men as requisite for promotion.

This outspoken and leading advocate of airpower holds the distinction as the first to be promoted Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in his class, ahead of four older classes, and the first to ascend to the rank of Major General, ahead of nine other senior AFP Generals. Significantly, he is the only Air Force Commander to have commanded two of the five major commands of the Philippine Air Force.

He is also simultaneously the Chairman of PMAAAI PAF Chapter, President of the PAF Flying School Alumni Association, Inc., and President of PMA Class '69, the Class to watch.

A consistent scholar and topnotcher in all schoolings, Lt Gen Defensor completed with distinction his GSC at the Air Command and Staff College, Air University, Alabama, USA, in 1985 and had flying training courses in the US and Europe. His postgraduate studies include Master in Mass Communications from UP Diliman, Public and Business Management from De La Salle University, and Air Transport Course at the Asian Institute of Management.

He is presently working for his doctorate in management.

On 10 October 2000, in highest recognition of his achievements, then Major General Defensor was named and formally installed by the President of the Republic as the new Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force.