TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) will form a Joint Special Operation Command comprising personnel from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
“What we will make is not a special force, but a joint special operation command,” TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko said after inaugurating the TNI Information Museum at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta on Tuesday.
Moeldoko said the new command would be able to respond immediately to threats—both foreign and domestic—and emergencies.
“All countries have their own operation force to deal with such matters. The operation force will be ready at all times,” he said, adding that the first batch of members of the planned force would become a standby force and stationed in Sentul, Bogor, for the first six months.
“We will designate a place, give them accommodation and logistics, so whenever they are needed by the TNI commander they will be ready. If there is any threat anywhere, the TNI commander can deploy them,” he said.
Moeldoko said the Commandant General of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) would become the first commander of the joint special operation command. “Perhaps next the commander will be from the Marines, and then the commander of the Air Force’s Special Forces (Paskhas), in rotation,” he said, adding that the unit could be readied in minutes, or even seconds.
According to Moeldoko, the joint command would comprise 70 people at maximum, as a special unit would underscore quality rather than quantity.
ANTARA