Wiranto named new Armed Forces chief

Wiranto named new Armed Forces chief

JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. Wiranto was appointed
the new Armed Forces commander yesterday, replacing Gen. Feisal
Tanjung who has held the post for the last four years.

Briefing the media after reporting the results of the Armed
Forces leadership meeting to President Soeharto, Feisal said
Wiranto's current position would be handed over to the latter's
deputy, Lt. Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo.

Feisal's retirement and Wiranto's promotion were stipulated in
a presidential decree, while Subagyo's post and rank promotion
were confirmed in two separate presidential decrees. All decrees
were signed by President Soeharto Wednesday.

Feisal, 58, is a 1962 graduate of the National Military
Academy (AMN), the precursor of the Armed Forces Military Academy
(Akabri). He passed the mandatory retirement age of 55 in 1994,
but was retained by Soeharto to serve for four more years as the
Armed Forces commander.

Wiranto, who will turn 51 next April, is a 1968 graduate of
the academy.

After a long low-profile career in the infantry and the Army's
Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Wiranto shot to prominence
when he was promoted colonel and served as President Soeharto's
adjutant from 1989 to 1993.

He was promoted to two-star general and appointed chief of the
Jakarta Regional Military Command in 1994 before becoming Kostrad
chief, a three-star position, two years later.

Last year Wiranto was promoted to a full four-star general and
appointed Army chief of staff.

Subagyo, who turns 52 next June, is a 1970 Akabri graduate and
spent most of his military career in the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus).

His career received a boost after he was appointed chief of
the Presidential Security Squad in 1986.

He was posted to the Armed Forces' intelligence body in 1993
and was appointed head of the Army special force (Kopassus) the
following year.

After promotion to a two-star general, he was appointed chief
of the Central Java Regional Military Command in December 1995.
In June 1997, he was assigned greater responsibility as deputy
Army Chief of Staff, a post for a three-star general.

The transfer and promotion in the Armed Forces headquarters
was part of a huge and orderly tour of duty and tour of area in
the military.

Together with Wiranto and Subagyo, the Armed Forces
headquarters also transferred and promoted other high-ranking
officers in order to facilitate regeneration.

Sociopolitics

The post of Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical affairs will
be held by Maj. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a 1973 Akabri
graduate. He replaces Lt. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah, a 1965 AMN
graduate.

The new Armed Forces chief of general affairs will be Maj.
Gen. Fachrul Razi, a 1972 Akabri graduate. He replaces Lt. Gen.
Tarub, Yunus' classmate in the academy.

No information was available as to whether promotions were
imminent for Susilo and Fachrul Razi. No news was available
either on the new posts for Yunus and Tarub.

Subagyo will be replaced by current Kostrad chief Lt. Gen.
Sugiono, a 1971 Akabri graduate. Sugiono will remain a three-star
general.

Meanwhile, Commandant-general of Kopassus Maj. Gen. Prabowo
Subianto will step into the vacancy left by Sugiono. The new post
for Prabowo, a 1974 Akabri graduate who is a two-star general, is
usually held by a three-star general. However, no information was
available on when he would be promoted.

Meanwhile, Kalimantan's Tanjungpura Regional Military
Commander Maj. Gen. Muchdi P.R., has been appointed the new
Kopassus chief. The commander of Kostrad's First Division, Maj.
Gen. I Nyoman Suwisma, will replace Muchdi.

Muchdi is a 1970 Akabri graduate, while Suwisma passed out of
the academy in 1971.

Feisal said the ceremony to install both Wiranto and Subagyo
would be held at the State Palace on Monday, while the ceremony
signifying a transfer of duty from Feisal to Wiranto would be
held at the military headquarters on Feb. 20.

The transfer of duty for the other officers will take place
after the general session of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR).

Feisal dismissed speculation that the ongoing process of
transfer and promotion in the Armed Forces headquarters only
affected those close to President Soeharto.

"No, it's not true," he said, "because, transfers and
promotions in ABRI are decided by the Armed Forces' Rank and
Promotion Council and will always be based on a merit system."

He said those officers promoted and transferred were chosen
because they were the best among their classmates, dedicated to
their jobs and loyal to the President. (imn/prb)