TNI Must Be Ready for Protracted War

KOMPAS/ANGGER PUTRANTO

Indonesian Army soldiers and Leopard tanks line up after a joint exercise with the Singapores Armed Force (SAF/Singapore Army) in Situbondo, East Java, Monday (11/19/2018).

The Ukraine-Russia war is a lesson learned -- and something that can happen to the Republic of Indonesia. "Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum." This was written by the Roman military philosopher, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus. The point is that anyone who wants peace must be prepared for war.

For the Indonesian people, this is implied in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, the first paragraph of which mandates the obligation of the state to protect the nation and the homeland of Indonesia and promote prosperity.

The history of Indonesia's struggle for independence, which was proclaimed on Aug. 17, 1945 by Sukarno and Hatta, is one of blood, sweat and tears. Through physical struggle, the Indonesian people faced imperialist and colonialist forces. Due to that struggle, on Oct. 5, 1945, the Indonesian National Military (TNI) was formed to defend independence by carrying out a comprehensive people's defense effort in the national territory.

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The service of the TNI since the guerrilla war era is inextricably intertwined with the people's assistance, either directly, by participating in the struggle physically, or indirectly, by donating their property to facilitate seamless logistics operations in the field. That is what enabled the Indonesian people to carry out a protracted war to seize independence, and to maintain that independence to this day. This means that the Indonesian people are firmly committed to seizing and defending independence; that becomes the principle of the TNI's struggle from time to time.

Facts prove that the nation that suffers the least disturbance of sovereignty is the nation that is able to manage the national defense effectively.

Every nation that wants to guarantee independence and sovereignty must pay special attention to the national defense sector and is willing to make every effort in that regard. Facts prove that the nation that suffers the least disturbance of sovereignty is the nation that is able to manage the national defense effectively.

Continue to stay with the people

Indonesia, as a country that loves peace, but loves independence and sovereignty much more, must be able and ready to carry out modern and effective national defense efforts. Therefore, the TNI, with the support of the people, will be at the forefront of dealing with all kinds of threats that are present in Indonesia.

The first president of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno, at the mandate of the 1950 RI Armed Forces Day, emphasized that, "Our armed forces cannot be separated from the position of the Indonesian people, in whose lap they were born and in whose lap they grew up".

The Great Commander, General Sudirman, after issuing a flash order in 1948, outlined that the military strategy had shifted to guerrilla warfare. This means that the TNI had to unite with the people who came from villages, mountains, beaches and forests. There it became a shelter and at the same time the base for the TNI to prepare for attacks.

WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

The statue of General Sudirman when he was a scout member stands at the Monument to the Birth of the Great Commander General Sudirman, Purbalingga, Central Java, Wednesday (6/11/2019).

The villages are considered by the TNI as like a big house for shelter and logistics needs. That doctrine applies to this day. The TNI must think of a strategy to continue to utilize villages as granaries for staple goods by empowering the territorial command to prepare regional logistics pockets, while, at the same time, easing people's economic difficulties at present and in the future.

Responding to the relationship between war strategy and food granaries, Sugianto D (2020) argues, food availability is an important part of defense in a region. The term "compartmentalization" should be considered, in which each of the large islands in Indonesia must be able to face foreign invasions without depending on other islands in the surroundings.

Resilience in the logistics of a region is the main key to winning protracted battles. Therefore, sufficient logistical support for personnel in each region is important.

TNI has experience in building Sapta Marga villages which are full of food crops as a source of logistics in the region. The culture of discipline and hard work is the key to the success of the TNI in building food villages to create food barns which will then be jointly managed by the civil and military forces as a logistical reserve for national defense.

Protracted war

In anticipation of the possibility of the occurrence of a protracted war, the first thing we need to do is to build national economic strength that is capable of realizing national logistical capabilities. This logistical strength is not only needed to meet the food needs of the community, but also to support the operational logistics needs of the TNI. To be able to do that, it is necessary to revitalize the mandate of Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. We need to reorganize the centralized control of the national economic system as well as regulate the production subsystem and distribution subsystem of the national economy.

On a micro scale, for the TNI, the smooth supply of logistics is a source of moral strength for soldiers in battle.

The earth, water and natural resources contained therein must really be controlled by the state and used for the greatest prosperity of the people. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, in Indonesia Paradox (2022), emphasized the need for us to consistently carry out the orders of the 1945 Constitution. With this step, the benefits include avoiding distortion of the logistics line from production to distribution to the people in the villages. On a micro scale, for the TNI, the smooth supply of logistics is a source of moral strength for soldiers in battle.

The second step needed is to balance operational readiness and capability with independent logistical support. In conventional military science theory, logistics delivery is carried out linearly from the back line to the front line; or, in military terms, it is called the main supply route. In a protracted war with the dimension of guerrilla warfare, logistics is carried out by making food pockets in each region.

The strategic thinking Prabowo as stated in the 2021 State Defense Policy organizes the logistics system by forming a production and construction unit for the TNI. This unit is spread throughout the territorial command area as a regional logistics pocket to avoid interruption of operational logistics lines.

DOKUMENTASI DIVIF 2 KOSTRAD

Activities at an exhibition of the main armament systems of weapons.

This is where it is necessary to unite the TNI and the people in making regional food granaries. This makes the implementation of asymmetric warfare in line with the principle of people's universal war, known as Sishankamrata.

Military test

From the time of the Dutch military aggression and into the foreseeable future, the TNI will always be faced with the challenge of being able to overcome threats against the existence of the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), including dealing with various rebellions in the country that require military action according to applicable laws.

This historical mission demands that the TNI is always ready to serve the state and nation to maintain the integrity of the NKRI based on Pancasila. We can never assume that the NKRI is free from threats. We need to continue to think about asymmetric strategies in dealing with asymmetric warfare, both in the form of military and non-military threats.

This threat partially and sporadically has arisen in the life of the nation and state. It is indicated that economic problems begin to arise as part of the threat in asymmetric warfare because they involve the basic needs in the lives of the people and also the morale of soldiers.

In the National Defense Policy, it is necessary to rearrange the organizational structure of the TNI combat units.

So far, the combat organizational structure of TNI units has been built and prepared to operate in conventional combat, not specifically designed to be able to operate independently for a long time to fulfill its own logistics in the context of a protracted war. In the National Defense Policy, it is necessary to rearrange the organizational structure of the TNI combat units.

The TNI's operating system in the National Defense Strategy once again requires the presence of a production unit as a logistical support for troops in the face of a protracted war.

The presence of production units, capable construction technology and intense training simulations will be a challenge for the TNI in the future when carrying out protracted wars in various types of battlefields against enemies who tend to be superior.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin

Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Deputy Defense Minister of the Republic of Indonesia and Secretary of Defense Industry Policy Committee (KKIP), 2010-2014

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)