Marines form second division

Marines form second division

JAKARTA: Seven thousand new marines formed the Navy's second
division on Tuesday, their main duty to guard against foreign
incursions, Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh said.

The extra recruits will bring the total number of marines to
17,000.

Bernard said the new division was part of the Marines'
development program for the next 10 years, which reflected the
fact Indonesia was an archipelago. The Marines needed at least
26,000 troops to patrol thousands of kilometers of the country's
water boarders, he said.

During the ceremony at the Marine headquarters in Cilandak,
South Jakarta, Bernard installed Col. Halim A. Hermanto, formerly
deputy chief of the Jakarta naval base, as the second division's
commander. -- Antara