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Army’s recruitment of 24,000 noncombat personnel criticized
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Army personnel march on Oct. 5, 2023, during celebrations to mark the 78th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Banda Aceh, Aceh. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
T
he Army has come under scrutiny again over its drive to recruit 24,000 personnel to serve in noncombat roles in agriculture and health care, with critics warning it could deepen military involvement in civilian life and undermine the armed forces’ professionalism.
Since taking office last year, President Prabowo Subianto has been planning to establish so-called territorial development battalions, an initiative that, according to Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, is intended to support local development by expanding the military’s role in civilian sectors such as agriculture, food security and public health.
Despite the initial public pushback, the government has decided to move forward with the plan, with the Army launching a recruitment drive for 24,000 enlisted personnel (Tamtama) last week to staff these new battalions, which will be stationed across all 514 regencies and cities.
This will mark the second recruitment drive for enlisted personnel for these battalions, following the earlier enlistment and deployment of 1,728 troops trained earlier this year.
During the announcement of the second recruitment drive last week, Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Wahyu Yudhayana said territorial development battalions would operate across Indonesia focusing on agriculture, livestock, medical services and infrastructure and each battalion headquarters will be on 30 hectares of land.
"With this approach, Army soldiers are not only required to be ready for combat but must also be able to become the driving force of [national] development, contributing directly to communities across the country," Wahyu said in a press release.
In a statement released on Tuesday, a coalition of rights groups calling itself the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reforms denounced the large-scale recruitment of territorial development battalions. They said it risked reversing hard-won reforms that aimed to keep the military out of civilian affairs after the fall of Soeharto’s authoritarian regime.
