On Sunday, President Prabowo Subianto presided over a ceremony in Batujajar, West Java to inaugurate dozens of new units in the military. The event was attended by top government officials, including Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and top military officers.

At the event, Prabowo formally established six new regional commands of the Army (Kodam), 14 of the Navy (Kodaeral) and three of the Air Force (Kodau). He also created one air operations command, six groups of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus), 20 territorial development brigades, 100 territorial development battalions, five infantry battalions for the Navy's Marine Corps and five commando battalions for the Air Force's Rapid Force Corps (Kopasgat), among others.

The President said the expansion was necessary to bolster national defense, amid global instability emanating from ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East.

“A big nation like us needs a strong military. No nations can be independent without having a strong military,” Prabowo said in his speech on Sunday, adding that Indonesia “must strengthen our defense to protect our sovereignty and resources”.

Sunday’s ceremony also marked a significant organizational shift as Prabowo appointed Gen. Tandyo Budi Revita as TNI deputy commander, the first to hold the position in over two decades. The post was scrapped in 2000 but was revived by then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2019.

Prabowo also upgraded the ranks of the commanders of elite forces across all branches, the Kopassus, the Marine Corps and the Kopasgat, from a two-star position to a three-star general position.