Air Force keeps its women feminine

Air Force keeps its women feminine

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): She wanted to become a stewardess, but ended up
an Air Force policewoman.

"I applied to Garuda Indonesia, but I failed. My aunt, who is
in the Air Force, told me the force also has stewardesses and she
suggested that I join the force," Ranny said.

Ranny, a high school graduate who had never thought about
being a member of the Armed Forces, sent an application and was
accepted.

"Maybe this is my destiny. Now that I have become a provost, I
don't want to become a stewardess anymore," she said.

Sgt. Ranny, 22, is one of 10 Air Force policewomen, known here
as provost.

Four of the women provost are deployed at the national Air
Force Headquarters in Jakarta, two at the Halim Perdanakusuma air
base in Jakarta, two at the Iswahyudi air base in Madiun, East
Java, and two others at the Adi Sucipto air base in Yogyakarta.

Nine of the provost -- one was sick -- were in Jakarta to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force at the Halim
Perdanakusuma air base on Tuesday.

The women, most in their early 20s, all have different reasons
for joining the Air Force. Policewomen Susilowati and Basiah
joined for the discipline, and JB Adveni was interested in the
physical exercise. Dwi, Nurhidayati, Rina, Titik and Indah all
said Air Force members were "neat and cool".

"Since I was a kid, I wanted to join the Armed Forces. I lived
near an Armed Forces housing complex in Surabaya and I saw how
gorgeous the officers were in their uniforms. I loved to see them
marching. They looked tall and strong," Dwi said.

Female provosts must be at least 156.5 cm tall -- 3.5 cm less
than the minimum height requirement for national policewomen.

The women's four-month boot camp began in January 1994, at the
Adi Sumarmo air base training center in Surakarta, Central Java.
The 30 students learned basic military skills before being
divided into career paths: the provost section, the
administration section and the personnel section.

The top 10 students were selected as policewomen and were
given another five months of special training. They learned how
to guard airplanes and radar installments, and to keep order on
air bases. They also took a one-month parachute course before
undergoing investigation training for three months.

The Air Force had some female provost officers in the 1960s,
but they were transferred to other departments. Only 30 years
later were female provost recruited again.

Capt. Agung, head of the Adi Sumarmo air base training center,
said the Air Force decided to recruit female policewomen to help
investigate sex-related cases.

"Victims of such cases will be more open to female
investigators," he argued.

He said female provosts are also needed to help screen
recruits by checking if the newcomers have birthmarks or scars.

"We could not ask the females to strip, so we let them wear
their panties and undershirts. But now that we have female
provosts, they can help us do the screening," he said.

The officers must pass psychoanalysis, be healthy and be
physically strong.

"They must be able to stand the heat. As you know, there are
times when they have to stand in the field for hours under the
sun," Agung said.

Maj. D. Pranajaya, provost marshal at the Halim Perdanakusuma
air base, said that male and female provosts have basically the
same job.

"I have to admit that no female provosts are on duty in the
field at night. But in the future they will have to work at
night, too," he said.

In addition to their routine, the female provosts guard
dignitaries who visit the air bases. Each noncommissioned officer
is armed with a Colt revolver.

They might soon begin cutting swaths through traffic with 500
cc Harley Davidsons to open the way for privileged guests.

"That's cool. I'd love that," one female provost said.

There are about 1,000 provost in the Air Force. More than 120
of them work at Halim Perdanakusuma, the main Indonesian air
base. There are 20,000 people in the Air Force, a small number
compared to the nation's total Armed Forces of 448,000.

Similarly, there are 5,000 national policewomen but only 800
women in the Air Force. Another 800 women serve in the Navy and
2,000 women belong to the Army.

The Army and the Navy also have female provosts, but very few
when compared to the male officers.

As with all women in the Armed Forces, the single provost must
live in dormitories.

In Jakarta, a big dormitory near the Halim Perdanakusuma air
base houses the single female members of the Air Force. About 150
women live in the dorm.

"Every morning we have breakfast at 5:30 a.m. At 6 a.m. we are
taken to our office at the national Air Force Headquarters. The
work finishes at 3 p.m. Usually we have arrived at the dorm by 4
p.m.," Titik said.

They usually work out or play sports in the afternoon.

They are allowed to receive guests until 10 p.m.

"If we want to go out, we have to tell the one on picket in
our dorm," she said.

Anyone who wants to spend the night outside the dorm must ask
permission from the head of the dorm.

Most women in the Air Force are based in Jakarta.

Nurhayati said she shared the Air Force dorm in Yogyakarta
with 13 other single women.

"In our dorm, the guests have to leave at 9 p.m.," she said.

Susilowati, from the Madiun air base, said there were only six
single women in her boarding house. Visiting hours end at 9:30
p.m.

Cosmetics

The provosts are paid Rp 250,000 a month, which includes a
meal allowance and a "cosmetics allowance".

"The special allowance is provided for all women in the Armed
Forces to keep them feminine," spokesman of the Air Force, Col.
Atmadji, said.

Lt. Col. Roekmini, who is in charge of the development of
women in the Air Force, said that women in the military should
not forget that they are women. They must wear makeup unless they
are in the field.

"They have to wear makeup, but not heavy. For lipstick, the
best color is the same as the lip. They mustn't use purple
lipstick," she explained.

She said they are not allowed to wear accessories like
earrings, necklaces and bracelets, or paint their nails.

Both policewomen who made general, Brig. Gen. Jeanne Mandagi
and Brig. Gen. Roekmini Koesoema Astoeti, are now retired.
Currently, the highest ranking woman Air Force officer is a
colonel.

"We don't have a female general now, but who knows? We might
have one in the near future," Lt. Col. Roekmini said.

The Air Force stopped recruiting women in 1966. It did not
recruit another woman for 10 years.

"I don't know why they did not recruit women in those years.
If they did, we could have had some female generals in the Air
Force now," Roekmini said.

Roekmini and 11 other women joined the force in 1976.

Roekmini said the Air Force employs 10 air hostesses to serve
officials on board its planes.

"We used to have 14 stewardesses, but some stopped after they
are married. Stewardesses often have to spend the night out of
town and their husbands might object," she said.

Roekmini said the Air Force could ask them to hostess again if
they were really needed. Preference is given to single women.

"That is in accordance with Air Force policy," she said.

Policy also limits women to non-combat roles. Therefore, the
seven female pilots are not allowed to fly fighters, like
Indonesia's F-16s. They are allowed to fly troops into combat
areas.

"The pilots don't fly fighters, but I believe that they are as
capable as their male counterparts. They would be able to fly the
fighters if they got the chance," Roekmini said.