Indonesian Army : Unmatchable Bird with Noble Goals

Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat

Indonesian Army

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The Indonesian National Armed Forces (Indonesian: Tentara Nasional Indonesia, literally "Indonesian National Military"; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL), and Air Force (TNI-AU). The President of Indonesia is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. In 2016, it comprises approximately 395,500 military personnel including the Indonesian Marine Corps (Korps Marinir), which is the branch of the Navy.

The Indonesian Armed Forces was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when it undertook a guerrilla war along with informal militia. As a result of this, and the need to maintain internal security, the Armed forces including the Army, Navy, and Air Force has been organised along territorial lines, aimed at defeating internal enemies of the state and potential external invaders.

Under the 1945 Constitution, all citizens are legally entitled and obliged to defend the nation. Conscription is provided for by law, yet the Forces have been able to maintain mandated strength levels without resorting to a draft. Most enlisted personnel are recruited in their own home regions and generally train and serve most of their time in units nearby.

The Indonesian armed forces are voluntary. The active military strength is 395,500 with available manpower fit for military service of males aged between 16 and 49 is 75,000,000, with a further 4,500,000 new suitable for service annually.

Military spending in the national budget was widely estimated 3% of GDP in 2005, but is supplemented by revenue from many military-run businesses and foundations. The defence budget for 2017 was $8.17bn. The Indonesian armed forces (Military) personnel does not include members of law enforcement and paramilitary personnel such as the Indonesian National Police (Polri) consisting of approximately 590,000+ personnel, Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) of around 42,000+ armed personnel, the Civil Service Police Unit (Municipal police) or Satpol PP, Indonesian College Students' Regiment or Resimen Mahasiswa (Menwa) which is a collegiate military service consisting 26,000 trained personnel, and civil defence personnel (Linmas or Public Protection Service Corps, which replaced the old Hansip in 2014).

Indonesian Army Special Force

Kopassus

Kopassus. ©Kopassus

Kopassus (a portmanteau of Komando Pasukan Khusus or "Special Forces Command") is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, intelligence gathering and Special reconnaissance (SR). Kopassus was founded on 16 April 1952. It gained worldwide attention after several operations such as the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and the release of hostages from Garuda Indonesia Flight 206.

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The Special Forces spearheaded some of the government's military campaigns: putting down regional rebellions in the late 1950s, the Operation Trikora (Western New Guinea campaign) in 1961–1962, the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation from 1962–1966, the massacres of alleged communists in 1965, the East Timor invasion in 1975, and subsequent campaigns against separatists in various provinces.