TNI Chief of Staff Position Reactivated, Held by Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Military Commander General Agus Subiyanto carried out mutations and promotions of several senior military officers (pati) in early March 2026. Among those transferred was Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi from Commander of the Joint Regional Defence Command (Pangkogabwilhan) III to Chief of Staff Territorial (Kaster) TNI.
The position of Kaster TNI had been abolished in late 2001, when it was held by Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo, who served as Indonesian ambassador to the Philippines and died in Jakarta in February 2026. Previously, the Kaster TNI position was also held by Lieutenant General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) from 1998–1999, who later became Indonesia’s president from 2004–2014.
Consequently, Bambang Trisnohadi becomes the first senior military officer in 25 years to hold this position. Bambang, a recipient of the Adhi Makayasa award from the Military Academy (Akmil) class of 1993, previously served as Director General of Defence Strategy at the Defence Ministry under Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto from 2022–2024.
The activation of Kaster TNI has resulted in the liquidation of the Assistant Territorial (Aster) TNI position. Major General Suhardi, who held the Aster TNI post, has been transferred to become Deputy Chief of Staff TNI. Suhardi previously served as Assistant Territorial and held posts including Commander of Military Command XIII/Merdeka and Commander of Special Operations Command TNI.
Meanwhile, the position of Pangkogabwilhan III will be held by Major General Lucky Avianto, who previously served as the first Commander of Military Command (Pangdam) XXIV/Mandala Trikora. Lucky is a recipient of the Adhi Makayasa award from the Military Academy class of 1996 A and will be promoted to three-star rank in his new position.
Republika attempted to seek confirmation of the latest TNI mutations from the Head of the Military Information Centre (Kapuspen) TNI Brigadier General Aulia Dwi Nasrullah, but the confirmation had not been responded to at the time of publication.