TNI to Deploy 44 Personnel to Help Tackle Australia Bushfire

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) will send 44 personnel to Australia to help tackle the bushfires blazing the country. The House of Representatives (DPR) has approved the plan, and the soldiers will be sent to Australia on February 1, 2020.

"Indonesia's Garuda Task Force (Satgas) will leave by February 1 and arrived on February 3 in Richmond. They will travel overland since it's about 490 kilometers long," said TNI commander, Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto in a meeting with the House's Commission I in Jakarta on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Of the 44 personnel, 36 are from the Garuda Task Force including 26 Army personnel, 6 Navy personnel, and 4 Air Force troops. Other personnel is 6 personnel from the License Officer (LO) consisting of 3 Indonesian military personnel, 2 National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) personnel, 1 personnel from Consulate General of Republic Indonesia for Sydney, as well as 2 personnel Health Team from the army.

TNI Headquarters disbursed the humanitarian aid at around Rp1.7 billion and BNPB's at Rp8.6 billion. 

Hadi said that he would provide the soldiers with equipment such as chainsaws, and procure heavy equipment such as bulldozers and backhoe which will be purchased in Australia. 

All factions in Commission I expressed their agreement and support for the government's plan. "Indonesian House of Representatives' Commission I approves the government's request to send an Indonesian Army Engineer SST Zeni on a humanitarian assistance mission to Australia," it was written in the conclusion of the meeting.

Australia bushfire has been burning many areas in the country since September, with fires killing 29 people and millions of animals, and destroying more than 2,500 homes while razing an area roughly a third the size of Germany, as quoted from Reuters.