History21st century (2002)Philippineshigh confidence

The United States began deploying Special Forces to the southern Philippines in 2002 to advise and assist against terrorist and insurgent groups.

Notes on verification

Confirmed by multiple independent, high-quality sources including a U.S. Embassy fact sheet, USNI News, Britannica, and the Modern War Institute, all consistent on date, location, and mission details. [cascade flags: aggregator_dropped_primary_exists | tier=silver indep_score=0.95 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]

Sources