Kostrad chief to retire

JAKARTA: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu will take over the command baton of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) from Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo on Tuesday.

While failing to disclose the reason for the transfer of command, Kostrad spokesman Lt. Col. Handoko said the handover ceremony would take place at the Kostrad headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Bibit, who was born in Delanggu, Klaten, Central Java, reached the mandatory retirement age of 55 on Aug. 5.

Never in the Army's history has the Kostrad top post been held by the Army chief of staff without a replacement being named.

Kostrad has at least 29,000 troops, making it the military unit with the largest number of troops. Former president Soeharto and former Indonesian Military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto are among the former Kostrad chiefs. -- JP.