TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An evacuation task force formed by the government succeeded in repatriating Indonesian citizens (WNI) from Afghanistan on Saturday, August 21. The evacuation used a Boeing 737-400 Air Squadron 17 with a call sign "Kencana Zero Four".

The repatriation of Indonesian citizens from Hamid Karzai Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan had its obstacles. The airport area is surrounded by mountains, where many of the navigation and control facilities of the airport are not functioning.

Quoting from the Indonesian Air Force Information Service, the evacuation involved 25 Indonesian Air Force personnel, six of whom were members of the elite Satbravo-90 Paskhas. The Satbravo-90 is known as the Indonesian Air Force's special anti-terror team.

The Bravo 90 or Satbravo-90 unit is the special operations unit for the Special Forces Corps (Paskhas). Quoting from the official Paskhas website, this unit is usually tasked with intelligence operations and opponent sabotage to support air operations and action upon air hijack terrors.

Satbravo-90 is relatively young because it was only formed in 1990 when the First Marshal Maman Suparman served as Commander of Puspaskhas.

Citing Bisnis.com, the formation of this force was based on General Guilio Douchet who stated that it would be easier and more effective to destroy the opponent's air power by sabotaging the base and its defense equipment on the ground rather than having to fight in the air. This troop has the motto 'Catya Wihikan Awacyama Kapala' which means 'Faithful, Skilled, Successful'.

Satbravo-90 is also a member of the National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Crisis Control Center (Pusdalsis) together with Counterterrorism Special Detachment 81 (Densus 81) of Indonesian Army (TNI AD), Denjaka (a special counter-terrorism force of TNI's Navy), and the 1st Gegana Regiment of the Brimob Police Corps. These troops are assigned to deal with acts of terrorism and are on standby to be dispatched in the event of terrorist activities.

Read: Chronology of 26 Indonesians Evacuation from Afghanistan

Eiben Heizier | Maudey K. Setyakusuma