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View all search resultsAgus appointed as TNI commander
The House of Representatives officially named Monday Navy chief of staff Adm
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T
he House of Representatives officially named Monday Navy chief of staff Adm. Agus Suhartono as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, replacing retiring Gen. Djoko Santoso.
Agus was the sole candidate for the post of next TNI chief proposed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the House, and elected after passing a “fit-and-proper” test by the House’s Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs.
Commission chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said the commission unanimously agreed the nomination.
The test, he said, delved into Agus’ views on priority defense issues, including TNI reforms, how to mobilize the “minimum essential force”, improvement of soldiers’ welfare, and strengthening of military forces on the country’s borders.
“He must be able to complete TNI internal reforms and make it more effective with tighter selection and recruitment,” Mahfudz said, adding the new chief had to maintain TNI neutrality in politics.
Agus was born in Blitar, East Java, in 1955, and is married to Tetty Sugiarti, with two children: Ramadhani Aditama and Bayu Adiya Nugraha.
He finished his military education at the Naval Academy in Surabaya in 1978, and his military career included serving as commander of the Indonesian Navy Eastern Fleet’s Sea Combat Taskforce and as assistant to Navy chief of staff on operations.
He previously commanded five Indonesian warships: KRI Kakap, KRI Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin, KRI Hasan Basri, KRI Samadikun, and KRI Ki Hadjar Dewantara.
Agus was the Defense Ministry inspector general before being appointed as the 22nd Navy chief of staff in November 2009, replacing Adm. Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno.
Agus’ nomination fitted the tradition of rotating the TNI chief position between the Army, Air Force and Navy chiefs of staff as started by former president Abdurrahman Wahid in the early 2000s.
The current TNI Chief, Gen. Djoko, was the former Army chief of staff, and his predecessor Marshal (ret.) Djoko Suyanto, currently the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, was former Air Force chief of staff.
Agus will start serving as the new TNI commander as soon as President Yudhoyono inaugurates him.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) military observer Jaleswari Pramodhawardani said as she commented on Agus’ appointment that he was the right figure to lead the military, given his “nearly- complete” career experiences both in administrative work and as a field commander.
“His experiences while serving at Navy headquarters and as an official at the Defense Ministry have enriched him and will help him — as the TNI commander — to implement the country’s defense strategies, as well as execute military strategies and operations,” Jaleswari told The Jakarta Post.
