Marine Corps plan new assault battalion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Marine Corps is currently forming a new
\nassault battalion designed for landing and amphibious operations
\ndespite questions surrounding the financing of the sophisticated
\nweaponry needed for such a unit.<\/p>\n
Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tanto Koeswanto disclosed on
\nMonday that the new unit, which will be the third assault
\nbattalion in the Corps, is needed to protect Indonesia's vast
\nmaritime territory.<\/p>\n
\"This battalion will consist of 2,000 troops and will be
\nequipped with weapons systems comprising amphibious tanks, tank
\nlanding ships, helicopters and standard arms,\" Tanto told
\nreporters after inducting Brig. Gen. Djoko Pramono as the new
\ncommandant of the Marine Corps to replace Maj. Gen. Gafur Chalik,
\nwho will become the Navy's inspector general.<\/p>\n
The additional battalion is one of the programs comprising the
\nrecently launched Fifth Military Strategic Plan from 1994 to
\n1998.<\/p>\n
Tanto said he did not foresee any problems in recruiting 2,000
\npersonnel for the new battalion, but added that financing
\nquestions remain to be solved.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that such a battalion requires a minimum of 12
\nhelicopters, between 32 and 36 amphibious tanks, 10 to 12 tank
\nlanding ships (LST) and weapons.<\/p>\n
\"Imagine how much we will have to spend for such an array of
\nmilitary equipment,\" he said, reminding reporters that military
\nspending takes low priority in the government's budgetary plans.<\/p>\n
He argued however that Indonesia desperately needs a third
\nMarine Corps assault battalion because of the huge area that
\nneeds to be patrolled -- six million square kilometers of marine
\narea and more than 17,500 islands.<\/p>\n
\"The marine corps in Thailand, which has one tenth the
\nmaritime territory of Indonesia, is the same size as
\nIndonesia's,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the plan is in keeping with the principle of
\nmaintaining a streamlined but effective military force, which was
\nused as part of a major rationalization program in the 1980s.
\n\"The size should be proportional to the territory,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides the present two assault battalions, the Marine Corps
\nhas six infantry battalions, five reserve battalions and six
\nbattalions for administrative affairs.<\/p>\n
All the battalions are located in Jakarta and Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The Marine Corps, a command established in 1945, has played a
\npivotal role in past various military operations, including the
\nquashing of communist coups in 1948 and 1965, the campaign to
\nregain Irian Jaya from the Dutch in the 1960s and the military
\nconfrontations against Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
The corps have also participated in United Nations
\npeacekeeping missions in Congo, Vietnam, the Middle East, Iraq
\nand Cambodia. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marine-corps-plan-new-assault-battalion-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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