Kopassus

The Kopassus ( id, Komando Pasukan Khusus, Special Forces Command) is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, intelligence gathering and special reconnaissance (SR). Kopassus was founded by Alexander Evert Kawilarang and Mochammad Idjon Djanbi on 16 April 1952. It gained worldwide attention after several operations such as the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and the release of hostages from Garuda Indonesia Flight 206.

The special forces spearheaded some of the government's military campaigns: putting down regional rebellions in the late 1950s, the Operation Trikora (Western New Guinea campaign) in 1961–1962, the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation from 1962–1966, the massacres of alleged communists in 1965, the East Timor invasion in 1975, and subsequent campaigns against separatists in various provinces.

Kopassus has been reported by national and international media, human rights-affiliated NGOs and researchers to have committed violations of human rights in East Timor, Aceh, Papua and Java. In 2019, the United States announced that it would conduct a combined exercise training with Kopassus in 2020. The US had ended links with Kopassus in 1999 as the Leahy Law banned assistance to foreign military units with a history of human rights violations until those responsible are prosecuted. Kopassus has introduced internal reforms and undertaken human rights courses with the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 2018, US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said he wanted to lift the ban as Kopassus had reformed and removed human rights abusive soldiers. In response, Senator Patrick Leahy said Mattis needs to establish whether Kopassus has punished officers and is today "accountable to the rule of law". Human Rights Watch criticised plans to lift the ban as Kopassus officers had not been prosecuted.

History

On 15 April 1952, Colonel Alexander Evert Kawilarang began to form , the early name of Kopassus and the basis for this historic special forces unit.

Not long after, Colonel Kawilarang with the use of military intelligence located and met with Major Rokus Bernardus Visser—a former member of the Dutch Special Forces who had remained in newly independent Indonesia, settled in West Java, married an Indonesian woman, and was known locally as Mochammad Idjon Djanbi. He was the first recruit for the Indonesian special forces, as well as its first commander. Due to him, the unit which later became ''Kopassus'' wear red berets (color traditionally favored by airborne troops in Europe) instead of the distinctive green beret.

At that time, Indonesia's special force name was (3rd Territorial Army Command Commando Unit). was the final result of five name changes: Kesko TT, KKAD (, Army Commando Forces Unit), RPKAD (, Army Para-Commando Regiment), (Army Special Forces Department) and . The first generation of this force was only around a hundred soldiers or one company, headquartered in Bandung. Among its pioneer instructors was a young veteran of the Indonesian National Revolution, future Minister of Defense Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani, who later became a battalion commander and later led his paratroopers to crush the two twin rebellions in 1957-58 by the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia and Permesta.

As the RPKAD, a name used in the 1960s, and expanded into a three-battalion special forces airborne regiment, the force was involved in the widespread killings during General Suharto's rise to power. An estimated half-a million people were killed in the anti-communist purge with strong communal overtones.

The RPKAD was involved in wiping out entire villages such as Kesiman (east of Denpasar) in Bali, many of them in beach areas which later becomes major tourist resorts.

The unit also saw action during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation when in 1965, Indonesia launched a war for control of North Borneo (Sabah/Sarawak) during Malaysian independence, particularly in the Battle of Sungei Koemba In 1981, with Moerdani yet again at the lead, a Kopassandha company was deployed to Bangkok as part of the efforts to rescue Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 from hijackers.

In 2017 Kopassus was sent to Afghanistan to guard the Indonesia embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Organization

Kopassus organizational structure is different from the infantry units in general. Although Kopassus members generally came from the Infantry Corps, Kopassus created its own structure, which is different from infantry units.

Kopassus units intentionally do not use the nomenclature of standard infantry units. This is apparent in their units called Groups. With this unit, Kopassus can deploy a brigade plus size (about 5,000 personnel), or fewer.

There are five groups of Kopassus which are:
*Special Forces Training and Education Center () - located in Batujajar, West Java.
*Group 1 Para Commandos. Headquarters at Kartasura, Central Java.
*Group 2 Para Commandos. Headquarters at Serang, Banten.
*Group 4 Sandi Yudha ( Clandestine). Headquarters at Cijantung, Jakarta.
*SAT-81 Gultor Counter-terrorism Group. Headquarters at Cijantung, Jakarta.

Except for Pusdikpassus, which serves as an educational center, other Groups have combat oriented operational functions. Each Group (except Pusdikpassus) is subdivided into battalions.

Group 1 Para Commandos

Group 1 Para Commandos () is a unit of Brigade level which is part of the Army Special Forces Command and was established on 23 March 1963. The group was first commanded by Major L.B. Moerdani. The unit's motto known as ''Dhuaja'' is , then created by Corporal Suyanto. It has a total of 3,274 personnel.''COMMANDO Magazine'', Volume II No. 1 July–August 2005. Jakarta: Gramedia, 2005. The unit's internal organization consists of the group headquarters and four battalions which are:
#11th Battalion / "Atulo Sena Bhaladhika"
#12th Battalion / "Asabha Sena Baladhika"
#13th Battalion / "Thikkaviro Sena Bhaladhika"
#14th Battalion / "Bhadrika Sena Bhaladhika"

Each battalion consists of 3 companies. Each company is broken into 3 platoons, each of which consisted of 39 people. And each platoon consists of 3 small units called a squad of 10 men. The 1st Group, with its 4 battalions, is the largest brigade of the Kopassus.

Group 2 Para Commandos

Group 2 Para Commando () is a unit of Brigade level, which is part of the Special Forces Command of the Army and was established in 1962. The group was first commanded by Major Soegiarto. The unit's motto is and has a total of 1.459 personnel. The unit's internal organization are as follows:
#Group HQ
#21st Battalion / "Buhpala Yudha"
#22nd Battalion / "Manggala Yudha"
#23rd Battalion / "Dhanuja Yudha" - located in Parung, Bogor

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