TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono arrived at the coastal region of Banongan, Situbondo, East Java, on Friday, May 3.
The two departed from Surabaya using KRI Makassar warship, and went to the shore using a Landing Vehicle Tracked amphibious tank. The LVT tank that brought SBY arrived at around 05.30 Western Indonesian Time, followed by a tank which brought Boediono only five minutes after.
SBY-Boediono visited Situbondo to observe the joint training of Indonesian Military at the Marine Combat Training Center in Karangtekok, which involved 16.745 soldiers.
After they landed, they observed the attraction of 2,000 marines making a beach landing with 17 units of BMP-3F amphibious tanks from 36 warships.
The 2013 Joint Training Task Force Commander, Col. Bedjo Suprapto, stated that the training was the largest training the soldiers ever had.
"We used all military equipments," he said.
Besides Naval equipments, the Indonesian Air Force planned to deploy five Sukhoi SU 27/30 twin-engine super maneuverable fighters, five Hawk SPO, five F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighters, and 11 C-30 aircrafts. On the other hand, the Indonesian Army planned to show 14 Scorpion Tanks, 12 Mi-17 helicopters, 21 cannons, and 12 Bell Helicopters.
IKA NINGTYAS
