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Jokowi inaugurates former adjutant as Air Force commander
Before taking over the Air Force’s top post, Tonny led the Second Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan II) and served as Jokowi's adjutant and military secretary.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right) presents epaulettes bearing the insignia of air chief marshal to Mohamad Tonny Harjono during the latter's inauguration as the new Air Force chief of staff at the State Palace in Jakarta on April 5, 2024. Jokowi appointed Tonny, who once served as the President's adjutant, to lead the Air Force, replacing retiring Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated Air Chief Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono as the new Air Force chief of staff at the State Palace on Friday, making him the latest of the President’s former aides to be appointed to one of the country’s strategic posts.
Attending the ceremony were Vice President Ma’ruf Amin; Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Hadi Tjahjanto; Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, House of Representatives Commission I chair Meutya Hafid of the Golkar Party, Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto and National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo.
The other chiefs of staff, namely the Army’s Gen. Maruli Simajuntak and the Navy’s Adm. Muhammad Ali, as well as Tonny’s predecessor Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo, were also present during the Friday ceremony.
Tonny succeeds Fadjar who is set to retire on April 9 after serving as the Air Force commander since 2020.
In his first official statement after the inauguration, Tonny, 52, said he would continue to push the Air Force’s role in safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty and airspace and maintaining regional security.
“A strong Air Force doesn’t mean that we want to threaten any enemy or wage war with our neighbors, but to maintain stability and peace in the region,” he said.
Read also: Jokowi places more loyalists in top positions ahead of elections
