The Mobile Brigade Corps () abbreviated Brimob is the

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

, and tactical unit of the

Indonesian National Police The Indonesian National Police (, abbreviated as POLRI) is the national law enforcement and police force of the Republic of Indonesia. Founded on 1 July 1946, it was formerly a part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, country's military si ...

(Polri). It is one of the oldest existing units within Polri. Some of its main duties are

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

, high-risk

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

where the use of firearms are present,

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

hostage rescue A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

, and

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

operations. The Mobile Brigade Corps is a large component of the Indonesian National Police trained for counter-separatist and counter-insurgency duties, often in conjunction with military operations. The Mobile Brigade Corps consists of 2 (two) branches, namely Gegana and Pelopor. Gegana is tasked with carrying out more specific special police operations tasks such as: Bomb Disposal, CBR Handling (Chemistry, Biology, and Radioactivity), Anti-Terror (Counter Terrorism), and Intelligence. Meanwhile, the Pelopor are tasked with carrying out broader and

operations, such as: Riot control, Search and Rescue (SAR), security of vital installations, and guerrilla operations. Brimob is classified as a

Police Tactical Unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

(PTU) and is operationally a Police

Special Weapons and Tactics A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to reso ...

(SWAT) unit (including Densus 88 and Gegana Brimob) which supports other general police units. Each regional police (Polda) in Indonesia has its own Brimob unit.

History

Formed in late 1945 as a special police corps named ''Pasukan Polisi Istimewa'' (Special Police Troops) with the task of disarming remnants of the

Japanese Imperial Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and protecting the chief of state and the capital city. Under the Japanese, it was called . It fought in the revolution and was the first military unit to engage in the

Battle of Surabaya The Battle of Surabaya () was a major battle in the Indonesian National Revolution fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and British Indian Army, British Indian troops against the re-imp ...

under the command of Police Inspector Moehammad Jasin. On 14 November 1946, Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir reorganised all ''Polisi Istimewa'', ''Barisan Polisi Istimewa'' and ''Pasukan Polisi Istimewa,'' merged into the Mobile Brigade (Mobrig). This day is celebrated as the anniversary of this Blue Beret Corps. This Corps was reconstituted to suppress military and police conflicts and even coups d'etat. On 1 December 1947, Mobrig was militarized and later deployed in various conflicts and confrontations like the PKI rebellion in Madiun, the

Darul Islam rebellion The Darul Islam rebellion ( Indonesian: ''Pemberontakan Darul Islam'') was a war waged between 1949 and 1962 by the Islamic State of Indonesia, commonly known as Darul Islam, to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. The rebellion was launche ...

(1947), the

APRA coup d'état APRA or Apra may refer to: Places *Apra, Punjab, a census town city in Jalandhar District of Punjab, India * Apra Harbor, the main port of Guam Acronyms * American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana), a Peruvi ...

and proclamation of the

Republic of South Maluku South Maluku, also South Moluccas and officially the Republic of South Maluku, was an unrecognised secessionist state that claimed the islands of Ambon, Buru, and Seram, which currently make up most of the Indonesian province of Maluku. The ...

(1950), the PRRI rebellion (1953), and the

Permesta Permesta was a rebel movement in Indonesia that was declared on 2 March 1957 by civil and military leaders in Eastern Indonesia. Initially the center of the movement was in Makassar, which at that time was the capital of the province of Sulawe ...

(1958). As of 14 November 1961, the Mobrig changed its name to ''Korps Brigade Mobil'' (Brimob), and its troops took part in the military confrontation with Malaysia in the early 1960s and in the conflict in East Timor in the mid-1970s. After that, Brimob was placed under the command of the

. The Mobile Brigade, which began forming in late 1946 and was used during the anti-Dutch Revolution, started sending students for US Army SF training on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

in January 1959. In April 1960 a second contingent arrived for two months of Ranger training. By the mid-1960s the three-battalion Mobile Brigade, commonly known as Brimob, had been converted into an elite shock force. A Brimob airborne training centre was established in

Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...

. Following the 1965 coup attempt, one Brimob battalion was used during anti-Communist operations in

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan () is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central ...

. In December 1975 a Brimob battalion was used during the East Timor operation. During the late 1970s, Brimob assumed VIP security and urban anti-terrorist duties. In 1989, Brimob still contained airborne-qualified elements. ''Pelopor'' ('Ranger') and airborne training takes place in Bandung and at a training camp outside

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

.Kenneth Conboy, Simon McCouai
South-East Asian Special Forces
D3 Lieutenant, BRIMOB, 1983.

Osprey The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It ...

, 1991 Historically, Brimob wore the Indonesian spot camouflage pattern during the early 1960s as their uniform. In 1981, the Mobile Brigade spawned a new unit called the "Jihandak" (''Penjinak Bahan Peledak''), an

explosive ordnance disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fu ...

(EOD) unit.

Task

The Implementation and mobilization of the Brimob Corps is to cope with high-level interruption of society mainly: mass riots, organized crime armed with fire, search and rescue, explosives, chemicals, biological and radioactive threats along with other police operational implementing elements in order to realize legal order and peace of society throughout juridical of Indonesia and other tasks assigned to the corps.

Qualifications

The Pelopor qualifications, which are the basic capabilities of every Brimob member, are the following basic skills: # Ability to navigate with map and compass # Intelligence # Anti-terror (

) #

Riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

Guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

war, Close / Urban war tactics #

Bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

# Handle high intensity crimes where the use of firearms is present #

Search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

# Surveillance, disguise and prosecution. # Other individual and unit capabilities.

Function

The function of the Police's Mobile Brigade Corps as the Polri's Principal Operating Unit which has specific capabilities (

, Combat Countermeasures, Mobile Detective, Counter-terrorism, Bomb Disposal, and Search and Rescue) in the framework of High-level domestic security and community-supported search and rescue personnel who are well trained and have solid leadership, equipment and supplies with modern technology.

Role

The role of Brimob is together with other police functions is to act against high-level criminals, mainly mass riots, organized crime of firearms, bombs, chemicals, biology and radio active threats in order to realize the legal order and peace of society in all juridical areas of Indonesia. Roles undertaken include: #Role to help other police functions, #Role to complement in territorial police operations carried out in conjunction with other police functions, #Role to protect members of other police units as well

civilians A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian enga ...

who are under threat, #Role to strengthen other police functions in the implementation of regional operational tasks, #Serve to replace and handle territorial police duties if the situation or task objective has already led to a high-grade crime.

Organisation

In 1992 the Mobile Brigade was essentially a

organisation trained and organised along military lines. It had a strength of about 12,000. The brigade was used primarily as an elite unit for emergencies and supporting police operations as a rapid response unit. The unit was mainly deployed for domestic security and defense operations, but now has gained and achieved many specialties in the scope of policing duties such as implementing SWAT operations, Search and Rescue operations, Riot control and CBR (Chemical, biological and radiological) defense. Brimob also are usually sent to do domestic security operations with the TNI. Since the May 1998 upheaval, PHH (''Pasukan Anti Huru-Hara'', Anti Riot Unit) have received special anti-riot training. Elements of the unit are cross trained for airborne and

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations. In each Police HQ that represents a province (which is known as POLDA) in Indonesia each has an organized BRIMOB force which consists of a command headquarters, several Detachments of Pelopor police personnel organized into a regiment and usually 1 or 2 detachments of GEGANA. The

Chief of the Indonesian National Police The chief of the Indonesian National Police (), commonly known as the national police chief (), is the official who heads the Indonesian National Police. Since it was first formed, this position has experienced several changes in hierarchy and p ...

, known as KAPOLRI, has the highest command in each police operation including BRIMOB, orders are delivered by the police chief and then executed by his Operational Assistant Agent with then further notification to the Corps Commandant and then to the concerned regional commanders.

National Level Units

* Corps HQ and HQ Services ** Brimob Corps Training School ** Gegana Battalion *** HHC ** Pelopor Brigade *** Brigade HQ and HQ Company *** I (1st) Pelopor Regiment *** II (2nd) Pelopor Regiment *** III (3rd) Pelopor Regiment *** IV (4th) Pelopor Regiment ** Intelligence Unit ** Training Command

Pelopor

''Pelopor'' (lit."Pioneer") is the main reaction force of the Mobile Brigade Corps, it acts as a troop formation and has the roles of mainly

and conducting paramilitary operations assigned to the corps to cope with high-level threat of society disturbance. It also specializes in the field of

, and

(SAR) operations. There are today 4 national

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s of Pelopor in the Brimob

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

which are: *I' Pelopor Regiment *II Pelopor Regiment *III Pelopor Regiment *IV Pelopor Regiment In a historical view, this unit was called as "Brimob Rangers" during the Post Independence era. In 1959, during its first formation, Brimob Rangers troops conducted a test mission in the area of Cibeber, Ciawi and Cikatomas which borders Tasikmalaya-Garut in West Java. It was the baptism of fire of the Rangers, in which the newly acquired skills of guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency operations were applied against remnants of Darul Islam in these communities. The actions against the Islamic Army of Indonesia (TII) units in the province weakened the DI even further, leading the total collapse of the local DI provincial chapter in 1962, ending a decade-long war of violence there. The official first forward deployment of the Brimob Rangers was the Fourth Military Operations Movement in South Sumatra, West Sumatra and North Sumatra (in response to the

rebellion of 1958). It was the Brimob Rangers troops became part of the Bangka Belitung Infantry Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel (Inf) Dani Effendi. Rangers were tasked to capture the remains of the PRRI prison in Sumatra's forests led by Major Malik, which was then under rebel hands. In 1961, under the express orders of then Chief of Police General Soekarno Djoyonegoro, Brimob Rangers troops were officially renamed Pelopor Troops of the Mobile Brigade. This is in accordance with the wishes of President

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

who wanted Indonesian names for units within both the TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) and POLRI (Indonesian National Police). At this time also the Pelopor constables and NCOs received many brand new weapons for police and counter-insurgency operations, including the more famous AR-15 assault rifles. The subsequent assignment of this force was to infiltrate

West Irian Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch colonial empire, Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively n ...

in Fak-Fak in May 1962 and engage in combat with the servicemen of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

during

Operation Trikora Operation Trikora () was a combined Soviet– Indonesian military operation which aimed to seize and annex the Dutch overseas territory of New Guinea in 1961 and 1962. After negotiations, the Netherlands signed the New York Agreement with Ind ...

. The troops were also involved in the Confrontation of Malaysia in 1964 and at that time the Brimob Rangers troops (now Pelopor) in Indonesia faced the British

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

. Pelopor Troops play a role as a troop formation unit and is still active in the Brimob's operational system. Aside from the national regiments, each Police region has a Pelopor regiment of two to four battalions.

Gegana

''Gegana'' is a special branch detachment within the Brimob corps which have special abilities mainly in

and

counter-terrorist Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to com ...

operations. On the other hand, it also specializes in the field of

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

and CBR (Chemical, biological and radiological) defense. The national Gegana unit is organized into a battalion headquarters company and (five) detachments which are: *Intelligence Detachment *Bomb Disposal Detachment * Anti-Terror Detachment *Anti-Anarchist Detachment * CBR (Chemical, biological and radiological) Detachment This unit was formed in 1976 as a detachment. At first, it was meant to deal with

aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the Crime, ...

. Later in 1995, with the expansion of Brimob, the Gegana Detachment was expanded to become the 2nd BRIMOB Regiment. However, there are a select few specialists who are very skilled in these specialties. Gegana does not have battalions or companies. The regiment is broken down into several detachments. Within each detachment they are split into sub-detachments (sub-den), and within each sub-den they are further sub-divided into several units. Each unit usually consists of 10 personnel. One sub-den consists of 40 personnel, and one detachment consists of about 280 personnel. One operation is usually assigned to one unit. Therefore, from the 10 people in that unit, six are required to have special skills: two for EOD (Explosives and Ordnance Disposal), two for search and rescue operations, and two for counter-terrorist operations. In any operation, two experts are designated Operators One and Two while the rest of the unit members become the Support Team. For example, in counter-terrorism operations, the designated Operators must have sharp-shooting skills, ability to negotiate, and be an expert in storm-and-arrest procedures. These skills and operations are not meant to be lethal because the main goal of every Gegana operation is to arrest suspects and bring them to the court. Unless there is a situation that is compromised, Gegana avoids the use of lethal force. In Search and Rescue operations, the personnel are required to have the basic capabilities of diving, rappelling, shooting, and first aid. In anti-bomb operation, the Operators have to be the expert in their respective fields. Each Gegana personnel has been introduced to various types of bombs in general, including the risks of handling them. There are specific procedures for handling each bomb, including the required timing. Currently, Gegana's national battalion has three

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fu ...

(EOD) tactical vehicles. Gegana battalions or companies are present in each provincial police unit.

Unit composition

Alongside the national units, regional formations of the Mobile Brigade are present in all 38 Regional Police Forces (Polda) in Indonesia which represent a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. In each BRIMOB unit of a Police HQ in a province ( ''Polda''), there are about several detachments of MBC Pelopor units (organized into a regiment) and usually 1 - 2 detachment of Gegana (small battalions or companies). A Brimob unit of a regional police headquarters consists of the following: #Regional Mobile Brigade HQ Section (''Si-yanma'') #Planning and Administration Section (''Subbagrenmin'') #Intelligence Section (''Si-intel'') #Operational Section (''Si-ops'') #Provost ( Internal affairs) Section (''Si-provos'') #Communications Technology Section (''Si-tekkom'') #Medical and Fitness Section (''Si-kesjas'') #

(SAR) Unit #Pelopor Regiment composed of: ## Regional Pelopor Regimental HQ ##A Detachment (''Den-A'') ##B Detachment (''Den-B'') ##C Detachment (''Den-C'') ##D Detachment (''Den-D'') (large departments only) ## Support units #Gegana Detachment (''Den Gegana'') ## Detachment HQ ## 1-3 Subdetachments/Platoons For some regional police headquarters, Pelopor detachments only consists up-to "C" Detachments only (3 battalions each). But for bigger regional police HQs such as the Jakarta Regional Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya), it consists up-to "D" Detachment with a total of four (4) detachments. Each Pelopor Detachment consists of 4 (four)

Companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

, and each Company consists of 3 (three)

Platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s. The Gegana detachment is organized as a company in most police regions, but in larger ones is organized as a full battalion of two detachments and a headquarters company. In the 2020s, the regional organization was amended with regional divisional commands (''Pasukan Brigade Mobil''), under which each provincial brigade reports directly. The BRIMOB divisions are led by Police Brigadier Generals. Brimob gegana.png, Gegana Brimob pelopor2.png, Pelopor SAR brimob.png,

(SAR) unit

Controversies

2020s

In the

Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster On 1 October 2022, a fatal Crowd collapses and crushes, crowd crush occurred following an association football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia. Following a loss by home side Arema F.C., Arema to their rivals ...

on 1 October 2022, the police, especially Brimob as crowd control unit, were deployed

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

, which triggered a

stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stamped ...

of people in the stadium trying to escape from the effects of the gas. A crush formed at an exit, resulting in fans being

asphyxiated Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

. The disaster claimed 135 lives, including two police officers and dozens of children under the age of 17. Several officers who operated the tear gas launcher were questioned. Only three officers, two high ranked officers (non-Brimob) and one Brimob commander, were accused in

the trial ''The Trial'' () is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, wi ...

. Of the three, only the Mobile Brigade Commander was sentenced. He was sentenced with 1 year and 6 months for violating Article 359, Article 360 paragraph 1, and Article 360 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code (KUHP), namely as a result of his negligence causing the death of another person or injuring others. On 16 January 2023, Mobile Brigade members "intimidate" and disrupted the trial by chanting in the courtroom.

Gallery

References

External links

Video about Brimob

*

Gegana Operators In Action on Instagram
{{Government of Indonesia, state=collapsed 1946 establishments in Indonesia Specialist law enforcement agencies of Indonesia Non-military counterterrorist organizations Explosive ordnance disposal units and formations Non-military counterinsurgency organizations Military units and formations of Indonesia in the Indonesian War of Independence