Indonesia, United States Kick Off Super Garuda Shield Joint Military Exercise with 8 Partner Nations

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian military (TNI) and the United States armed forces officially kicked off the Super Garuda Shield joint exercise on August 26, 2024, marked with an inaugural ceremony at Juanda Air Force Base in Surabaya. 

The US Embassy explained that the Super Garuda Shield is the largest annual military exchange between Indonesia and the United States. Since 2022. The exercise invites several partner nations to participate in Super Garuda Shield. This year, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand joined Indonesia and the US in the joint exercise. Twelve other countries are invited as observing nations this year. 

“Every aspect of this year’s iteration of Super Garuda Shield should challenge us to collectively work together and achieve our training objectives,” noted Chief of Staff and Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. Joseph R. Harris II during the opening ceremony. “I encourage all participants to take advantage of the excellent opportunities provided for professional and cultural exchanges.”

Air Vice Marshal Widyargo Ikoputra, the Deputy Commander of Kodiklat TNI said, “Super Garuda Shield in 2024 is a means to create and build mutual trust in the military sector, strengthen bilateral military-to-military relations, and multilateral relations.”

According to updated figures from the US Embassy Jakarta Office of Defense Cooperation, Super Garuda Shield 2024 involves approximately 5,500 combined national forces, approximately 2,500 of which are US service members. 

The joint military exercise serves to strengthen the US-Indonesia defense partnership according to the Defense Cooperation Arrangement in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, including by improving the ability of participating governments to securely and automatically exchange data regardless of geographical, political, or organizational boundaries.

Service members from partner nations will engage in various training opportunities, including airborne operations, amphibious operations, and operability information exchanges. The 2024 iteration will also include a Cyber Exercise to better prepare service members for cyber threats. 

The exercise begins with expert academic exchanges and professional development workshops, followed by a command-and-control exercise, a joint field training exercise, and ending with a live fire event. Regular exercises and engagements with allies and partners are instrumental in cultivating civil-military cooperation, increasing emergency preparedness, and enhancing bilateral response capabilities.

Since 2006, Indonesia has partnered with the Hawaii National Guard as part of the State Partnership Program, a United States-led initiative that now includes 96 partnerships around the globe.

TEMPO.CO

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