Navy tightens officer selection

SURABAYA: Rampant illegal logging, some of which involves its officers, has prompted the Navy to tighten selection of its ship and naval base commanders.

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Slamet Soebijanto said on Thursday candidates for the positions would have to go through a "see-saw" competition.

"There will be no hand-picked ship or naval base commanders," Slamet said, adding that a strict selection procedure was expected to produce leaders with clean track records.

He was commenting on the recent arrests of a former naval base commander and a former ship commander for their involvement in illegal logging in Papua during their postings in the province.

"The selection will involve our intelligence unit, which will trace all the activities of candidates to determine whether they fit the posts," Slamet said after a ceremony to commemorate Navy Education Day in Surabaya. -- Antara