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View all search resultsArmy readies Natuna composite battalion, Riau Islands Kodam
The chief of Kodam XIX overseeing Riau and the Riau Islands says that Gardapati, the Indonesian Army's only composite battalion, is ready to launch following an eight-year trial.
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Members of the Indonesian Army gather near a line of Brazilian-made Astros II on Nov. 14, 2019, in Pian Tengah, Natuna, the Riau Islands. The self-propelled multiple rocket launchers comprise the field artillery battery of Composite Battalion 1/Gardapati based in Ranai, Natuna. (Antaranews.com/-)
T
he Indonesian Army is preparing to inaugurate a composite battalion in Natuna, the Riau Islands, to strengthen national defense in the strategic North Natuna Sea and to establish a new military command overseeing the province.
Military Command (Kodam) XIX/Tuanku Tambusai chief Maj. Gen. Agus Hadi Waluyo said the organizational adjustment of Composite Battalion 1/Gardapati had been completed and that the battalion’s new iteration would be inaugurated after an eight-year trial period.
“The tested organization has been defined and discussed, and we are only waiting to make it official,” Agus said on Friday, on the sidelines of a press conference about an attempt to smuggle 2.6 tonnes of drugs in Tanjung Uncang, Batam.
“Gardapati is the Army’s only composite battalion in Indonesia. Its presence is crucial as an integrated ground force to safeguard the border and as a response to regional security dynamics,” he said.
Based in Ranai, Natuna regency, the standby battalion is part of the North Natuna Sea Security Task Force and falls under Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) I.
Agus dismissed speculation that the plan to inaugurate Gardapati was a response to territorial dynamics in the South China Sea.
“We are grouped under Kogabwilhan I to carry out the duties of the North Natuna Sea Security Task Force,” he said. “We continue to conduct early detection, security and collaboration with all parties.”
