Military cadets get marching orders

Military cadets get marching orders

JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed on Tuesday
to strip officer cadets off their long-standing privilege of
receiving their commissions at the Presidential Palace.

From now on, commissions will be handed out at the academy
from which the cadets graduated.

"The President said the ceremonies would take place on a
rotating basis in the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Army
Academy. The palace belongs to the people," Indonesian Military
(TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said after meeting the
President.

The first ceremony to commission newly graduated cadets
outside the palace will be held on Dec. 16 at the Army Academy in
Magelang, Central Java.

The tradition of commissioning officer cadets at the palace
was introduced by former president Soeharto.-- JP