Air Force keeps its women feminine<\/p>\n
By T. Sima Gunawan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): She wanted to become a stewardess, but ended up
\nan Air Force policewoman.<\/p>\n
\"I applied to Garuda Indonesia, but I failed. My aunt, who is
\nin the Air Force, told me the force also has stewardesses and she
\nsuggested that I join the force,\" Ranny said.<\/p>\n
Ranny, a high school graduate who had never thought about
\nbeing a member of the Armed Forces, sent an application and was
\naccepted.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe this is my destiny. Now that I have become a provost, I
\ndon't want to become a stewardess anymore,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Sgt. Ranny, 22, is one of 10 Air Force policewomen, known here
\nas provost.<\/p>\n
Four of the women provost are deployed at the national Air
\nForce Headquarters in Jakarta, two at the Halim Perdanakusuma air
\nbase in Jakarta, two at the Iswahyudi air base in Madiun, East
\nJava, and two others at the Adi Sucipto air base in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Nine of the provost -- one was sick -- were in Jakarta to
\ncelebrate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force at the Halim
\nPerdanakusuma air base on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The women, most in their early 20s, all have different reasons
\nfor joining the Air Force. Policewomen Susilowati and Basiah
\njoined for the discipline, and JB Adveni was interested in the
\nphysical exercise. Dwi, Nurhidayati, Rina, Titik and Indah all
\nsaid Air Force members were \"neat and cool\".<\/p>\n
\"Since I was a kid, I wanted to join the Armed Forces. I lived
\nnear an Armed Forces housing complex in Surabaya and I saw how
\ngorgeous the officers were in their uniforms. I loved to see them
\nmarching. They looked tall and strong,\" Dwi said.<\/p>\n
Female provosts must be at least 156.5 cm tall -- 3.5 cm less
\nthan the minimum height requirement for national policewomen.<\/p>\n
The women's four-month boot camp began in January 1994, at the
\nAdi Sumarmo air base training center in Surakarta, Central Java.
\nThe 30 students learned basic military skills before being
\ndivided into career paths: the provost section, the
\nadministration section and the personnel section.<\/p>\n
The top 10 students were selected as policewomen and were
\ngiven another five months of special training. They learned how
\nto guard airplanes and radar installments, and to keep order on
\nair bases. They also took a one-month parachute course before
\nundergoing investigation training for three months.<\/p>\n
The Air Force had some female provost officers in the 1960s,
\nbut they were transferred to other departments. Only 30 years
\nlater were female provost recruited again.<\/p>\n
Capt. Agung, head of the Adi Sumarmo air base training center,
\nsaid the Air Force decided to recruit female policewomen to help
\ninvestigate sex-related cases.<\/p>\n
\"Victims of such cases will be more open to female
\ninvestigators,\" he argued.<\/p>\n
He said female provosts are also needed to help screen
\nrecruits by checking if the newcomers have birthmarks or scars.<\/p>\n
\"We could not ask the females to strip, so we let them wear
\ntheir panties and undershirts. But now that we have female
\nprovosts, they can help us do the screening,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The officers must pass psychoanalysis, be healthy and be
\nphysically strong.<\/p>\n
\"They must be able to stand the heat. As you know, there are
\ntimes when they have to stand in the field for hours under the
\nsun,\" Agung said.<\/p>\n
Maj. D. Pranajaya, provost marshal at the Halim Perdanakusuma
\nair base, said that male and female provosts have basically the
\nsame job.<\/p>\n
\"I have to admit that no female provosts are on duty in the
\nfield at night. But in the future they will have to work at
\nnight, too,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to their routine, the female provosts guard
\ndignitaries who visit the air bases. Each noncommissioned officer
\nis armed with a Colt revolver.<\/p>\n
They might soon begin cutting swaths through traffic with 500
\ncc Harley Davidsons to open the way for privileged guests.<\/p>\n
\"That's cool. I'd love that,\" one female provost said.<\/p>\n
There are about 1,000 provost in the Air Force. More than 120
\nof them work at Halim Perdanakusuma, the main Indonesian air
\nbase. There are 20,000 people in the Air Force, a small number
\ncompared to the nation's total Armed Forces of 448,000.<\/p>\n
Similarly, there are 5,000 national policewomen but only 800
\nwomen in the Air Force. Another 800 women serve in the Navy and
\n2,000 women belong to the Army.<\/p>\n
The Army and the Navy also have female provosts, but very few
\nwhen compared to the male officers.<\/p>\n
As with all women in the Armed Forces, the single provost must
\nlive in dormitories.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, a big dormitory near the Halim Perdanakusuma air
\nbase houses the single female members of the Air Force. About 150
\nwomen live in the dorm.<\/p>\n
\"Every morning we have breakfast at 5:30 a.m. At 6 a.m. we are
\ntaken to our office at the national Air Force Headquarters. The
\nwork finishes at 3 p.m. Usually we have arrived at the dorm by 4
\np.m.,\" Titik said.<\/p>\n
They usually work out or play sports in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
They are allowed to receive guests until 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"If we want to go out, we have to tell the one on picket in
\nour dorm,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Anyone who wants to spend the night outside the dorm must ask
\npermission from the head of the dorm.<\/p>\n
Most women in the Air Force are based in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati said she shared the Air Force dorm in Yogyakarta
\nwith 13 other single women.<\/p>\n
\"In our dorm, the guests have to leave at 9 p.m.,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Susilowati, from the Madiun air base, said there were only six
\nsingle women in her boarding house. Visiting hours end at 9:30
\np.m.<\/p>\n
Cosmetics<\/p>\n
The provosts are paid Rp 250,000 a month, which includes a
\nmeal allowance and a \"cosmetics allowance\".<\/p>\n
\"The special allowance is provided for all women in the Armed
\nForces to keep them feminine,\" spokesman of the Air Force, Col.
\nAtmadji, said.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Roekmini, who is in charge of the development of
\nwomen in the Air Force, said that women in the military should
\nnot forget that they are women. They must wear makeup unless they
\nare in the field.<\/p>\n
\"They have to wear makeup, but not heavy. For lipstick, the
\nbest color is the same as the lip. They mustn't use purple
\nlipstick,\" she explained.<\/p>\n
She said they are not allowed to wear accessories like
\nearrings, necklaces and bracelets, or paint their nails.<\/p>\n
Both policewomen who made general, Brig. Gen. Jeanne Mandagi
\nand Brig. Gen. Roekmini Koesoema Astoeti, are now retired.
\nCurrently, the highest ranking woman Air Force officer is a
\ncolonel.<\/p>\n
\"We don't have a female general now, but who knows? We might
\nhave one in the near future,\" Lt. Col. Roekmini said.<\/p>\n
The Air Force stopped recruiting women in 1966. It did not
\nrecruit another woman for 10 years.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know why they did not recruit women in those years.
\nIf they did, we could have had some female generals in the Air
\nForce now,\" Roekmini said.<\/p>\n
Roekmini and 11 other women joined the force in 1976.<\/p>\n
Roekmini said the Air Force employs 10 air hostesses to serve
\nofficials on board its planes.<\/p>\n
\"We used to have 14 stewardesses, but some stopped after they
\nare married. Stewardesses often have to spend the night out of
\ntown and their husbands might object,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Roekmini said the Air Force could ask them to hostess again if
\nthey were really needed. Preference is given to single women.<\/p>\n
\"That is in accordance with Air Force policy,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Policy also limits women to non-combat roles. Therefore, the
\nseven female pilots are not allowed to fly fighters, like
\nIndonesia's F-16s. They are allowed to fly troops into combat
\nareas.<\/p>\n
\"The pilots don't fly fighters, but I believe that they are as
\ncapable as their male counterparts. They would be able to fly the
\nfighters if they got the chance,\" Roekmini said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/air-force-keeps-its-women-feminine-1447893297",
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