Army chief nominees revealed, Djoko Santoso tipped to get job
Army chief nominees revealed, Djoko Santoso tipped to get job
Tiarma Siboro and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on Monday he
had proposed four senior Army officers as candidates to succeed
him as part of an imminent reshuffle of the Indonesian Military
(TNI)'s top brass.
The four candidates include the deputy to the Army chief of
staff, Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso, commander of the Army's Strategic
Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Hadi Waluyo, the TNI's
Inspector General Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman, and Military
Education Training Commander (Kodiklat) Maj. Gen. Cornel
Simbolon.
A TNI source said that Simbolon would be made a lieutenant
general on Tuesday.
"This reshuffle, which will affect all chiefs of staffs and
the TNI commander, is required in order to bring about a
regeneration in the military," Ryamizard told reporters in
Bandung.
"Ideally, an officer who has held a certain posting for at
least three years should be replaced or be moved to another
posting."
Ryamizard, who has been in his current post for more than
three years and will reach mandatory retirement age in April of
this year unless the President extends his service, has been
widely tipped to become the next TNI commander, replacing Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto.
Rumors of a reshuffle affecting all three chiefs of staff have
been rife since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's announcement
that he would replace Endriartono Sutarto this month.
The Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff have reportedly also
proposed candidates to fill their shoes to the TNI chief.
A source at the Vice Presidential Office told The Jakarta Post
that Susilo had received the lists of candidates to succeed the
three current chiefs of staff from the TNI commander, and had in
fact decided to appoint Djoko Santoso as the new Army chief of
staff; Vice Adm. Djoko Soemaryono, currently the secretary at the
Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs, as the new Navy chief of staff; and Rear Marshall Djoko
Soeyanto, the current operations assistant to the Air Force
chief, as the new Air Force chief of staff.
Both Djoko Soeyanto and Djoko Soemaryono are from the class of
1973, which also included Susilo, while Djoko Santoso is from the
class of 1975.
No confirmation either from top military officers nor the
presidential office was forthcoming.
"Yes, all the chiefs of staff have proposed candidates, but I
can't confirm who has been picked by the TNI commander to lead
each arm of the military. It all depends on the TNI chief and the
President. Just wait and see," TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
Sjamsoedin told the Post on Monday.
Sjafrie, a 1974 graduate, is among the senior officers who are
likely be promoted; it is believed that he may get a three-star
generalship, according to a source.
It is still not clear when the TNI commander will announce the
replacement of the three chiefs of staff, but reporters have been
invited to TNI Headquarters on Tuesday to attend a blood donation
drive. According to Sjafrie, the TNI commander will also be
present at the event.