TNI Territorial Chief of Staff Position Reinstated, Now Held by Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi

JAKARTA — The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) has reinstated the position of Territorial Chief of Staff (Kaster) following its abolition approximately 25 years earlier from TNI’s organisational structure.

The reinstatement of this position forms part of an organisational validation within TNI, accompanied by mutations affecting 27 senior officers (pati) and 8 middle-ranking officers (pamen).

The Kaster TNI position will be filled by Lieutenant General Bambang Trisnohadi, who previously served as Commander of the Joint Regional Defence Command (Pangkogabwilhan) III.

Based on Kompas.com’s investigation, the Kaster TNI position was previously abolished during the tenure of TNI Commander Admiral Widodo Adi Sutjipto.

The position was last held by Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo from 1999–2001, who succeeded Lieutenant General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who served in the role from 1998–1999.

As of now, there has been no official explanation from TNI regarding the reactivation of the Kaster TNI position, though TNI spokesperson Aulia indicated that the decision was made “in the context of officer career development and organisational requirements.”

Aulia also reported that the measure was undertaken to ensure TNI’s organisation remains adaptive to dynamic operational challenges. “Every decision is made based on consideration to support the implementation of TNI’s core tasks,” Aulia stated.