STABO maneuver works in close distance

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For antiterror troops, the maneuver known as the STABO, short for "stabilized tactical airborne building operation", is a common one in operations to rescue hostages, a military officer says.

Former Army Special Forces chief Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said antiterror troops use the tactic for aerial infiltration to rescue hostages and drop them in a safer place without the helicopter having to make a landing.

The maneuver is effective if the site of the operation and the safe place are relatively close.

Sjafrie said the rescue operation commonly took place in urban areas although it could also be conducted at sea, with each member of the team wearing a life vest.

During the operation, the rescue personnel are suspended by a harness from the helicopter but are not equipped with parachutes, as the troops and the rescued hostages are not expected to be in the air for long.

"That's why the tactic requires special skills. Only a few of the TNI's specialized units are trained to conduct the maneuver," Sjafrie said, referring to the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), Navy's Special Detachment (Denjaka) and the Air Force's Special Forces (Paskhas).

In the United States, police are also trained in the maneuver, especially the Hawaiian Police Department which frequently employs the maneuver drug operations.

Such operations are targeted at marijuana plantations that are not easily accessible by ground vehicles. Rappelling allows agents to clear a field in a matter of minutes, instead of driving for several hours to a location, then hiking several miles to and from the marijuana patches.

The Hawaiian police admit that the maneuver is risky, but it is an essential part of what is recognized nationally as one of the most effective drug eradication programs in the country.