Chosen By Jokowi, KSAL To Andika Perkasa: He Is My Senior, Certainly Best To Be TNI Commander

JAKARTA - The Navy Chief of Staff (KSAL) Admiral Yudo Margono admitted that he immediately coordinated with the ranks after President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) letter that named Andika Perkasa as the sole candidate for the TNI Commander.

KSAL Yudo Margono emphasized that whatever President Jokowi's decision, the Navy must remain loyal. The goal is to make the TNI more solid, modern and professional.

"TNI AL, I have conveyed to the ranks, that we must be loyal and support the leadership of Mr. Andika Perkasa. He is my senior and he is certainly the best because he has been chosen to be the commander of the TNI," said KSAL as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, November 9.

President Jokowi, said KSAL, is the supreme ruler of the Indonesian Army, Navy and Air Force. Whatever President Jokowi has decided is the best thing.

"I'm still excited. The assessment is that soldiers must be loyal, that's the first time. We must be loyal to the president's decision, loyal to the new TNI commander, with our programs we have to adapt more. Of course, law enforcement and sovereignty at sea are still the main tasks of the TNI. AL, we do as much as possible," he said.

As KSAL, Yudo Margono will support the realization of a TNI that is professional, modern, and of course tough.

"We will carry it out with the budget and modernize the existing defense equipment, carried out as much as possible and of course the results will be used in operationalization by the TNI commander. and maintenance, and so on," he said.

In the arrangements that have been prepared by the TNI Headquarters, he said, it is his duty to arrange so that the TNI commanders are always ready, as has been the case so far.

Within the Indonesian Navy, there are three positions held by the Vice Admiral of the TNI in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 66/2019 concerning the Organizational Structure of the TNI, namely the head of the Indonesian Navy's Hydrography and Oceanography Center, the commander of the Indonesian Navy's Education and Training Command, and the commander of the Indonesian Fleet Command.

In Article 13 point e of Presidential Decree Number 66/2019 also, the Marine Corps of the Indonesian Navy as the main command for the development of the Navy, was changed to a higher status, namely as the main command for coaching as well as the main command for TNI operations. D

Thus, the title of the second person in the Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps is no longer the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps, but the deputy commander of the Navy's Marine Corps.