Government continues efforts to increase Komcad membership

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is continuing its efforts to increase the number of personnel in the reserve component (Komcad) so that citizens can have uniform basic military capabilities to strengthen the total people’s defence and security system (Siskamhanrata).

“In addition, this Komcad training also aims to enhance the spirit of nationalism and love for the homeland among citizens,” said the Head of the National Reserve Agency of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General TNI Gabriel Lema, during a press conference at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.

According to him, the Ministry of Defence currently has around 50,000 Komcad members.

“They are structured and composed, including regular reserve components, reserves from civil service apparatus (ASN), and have been initiated by the Ministry of Defence,” he said.

This number has been counted since Komcad was established by the Ministry of Defence in 2021, and some Komcad members have even been assigned to various places, such as within the Ministry of Defence environment.

In addition, some local government ASN are beginning to participate in training as Komcad.

He stated that this step is very appropriate because the number of ASN in Indonesia is very large, making them suitable to support the existence of Komcad.

“There are approximately nearly five million ASN across Indonesia. This is the greatest potential defence force, and of course, the preparation process must be undergone and prepared by us,” he said.

Nevertheless, he reaffirmed that this Komcad programme for ASN does not aim to militarise civilian institutions and citizens.

With the addition of Komcad numbers, he hopes that the sense of nationalism and love for the homeland among citizens will increase for the sake of national sovereignty.