Babinsa (from , lit. "Village Trustee NCO") is a senior Indonesian territorial army

Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

or senior

Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

official who is in charge for carrying out territorial defence, development and monitoring duties for a community in the village/''Kelurahan'' level in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. They report to and are under the command of the local Military Sector Command (Koramil). In

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

areas, Babinsas hold the rank of

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

or master sergeant, and in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

areas Babinsas hold the rank of master

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

History

The history of the Babinsas in

can be traced back to the

New Order New Order may refer to: Politics * ''L'Ordine Nuovo'' (''The New Order''), a socialist newspaper edited by Antonio Gramsci in the early 1920s * ''New Order in East Asia'', propaganda term for Japanese-dominated East Asia announced by Japanese ...

era under the

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

regime. During the era of Suharto's dictatorship and his dependence on the military in his governance, Babinsas were used as the regime's political power in the villages. Babinsas were tasked to gather

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 ...

on people who were indicated as

political dissidents Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, they were used for active monitoring and

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

of the respective community, by taking part in traditional ''suco'' councils and to single out potential resistance fighters. It was just after the

Fall of Suharto On 21 May 1998, Suharto resigned as president of Indonesia following protests and riots across the country against his regime. His vice president, B. J. Habibie, took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe ...

in 1998, the roles of the Babinsas as political powers in the villages were slowly eradicated by President

B. J. Habibie Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian politician, engineer and scientist who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh ...

to revert them to their original roles as defence representative village trustees.

Duties and tasks

The Babinsa as a community partner, is expected to be able to overcome

social problems A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

that can disrupt the integrity of the community's unity by being actively involved in community activities in their area, and also being active in carrying out activities which is to increase the awareness of national defence towards members of the community. As a territorial defence official, Babinsas are also expected to help and become

advisors An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs catego ...

for villagers in need to improve and help realize the nation's

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

and defence from the lowest level of society. Babinsas are also tasked to support and help civil authorities, law enforcement and security in their area, especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Babinsas are required to be the front-liners in socializing the importance of compliance to health protocols and the importance of vaccination towards villagers and members of the community, especially in

areas where illiteracy still exists. The ability of the Babinsas to determine the success of their territorial duties is to coordinate regularly with relevant officials in the village or

Kelurahan In Indonesia, village or subdistrict is the fourth-level subdivision and the smallest administrative division of Indonesia below a district, regency/city, and province. Similar administrative divisions outside of Indonesia include barangays in t ...

such as community leaders, religious leaders and youth leaders to avoid social disturbance and threats in the community. The capabilities that Babinsas must obtain are: *Territorial

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 ...

*Regional Development in the village level *Regional Monitoring and Supervision *Mentoral skills towards villagers and village leaders *Ability as a Development Innovator Babinsas are also able and responsible to track down and prevent members of their community from radical and

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

ideologies which may lead to

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, by this coordinating with the Community Police Officers (Bhabinkamtibmas).

Position of the Babinsas

Authority

Babinsas are not

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 ...

officers. Village/

trustee officers from 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 ...

are the Community Police Officers (''Bintara Pembina Keamanan dan Ketertiban Masyarakat'' abbreviated "Bhabinkamtibmas") which coordinate with the Babinsa closely in monitoring their areas.

Jurisdiction

*Babinsa =

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

management. Representative of the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (; NSZ) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and Gwardia Ludowa, c ...

to their community *Bhabinkamtibmas = Security and Law enforcement official. Representative of the National Police to their community

Identification

Babinsas wear a red

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

on their upper-left sleeve bearing the word "BABINSA" and they wear the same uniform as other

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

personnel, sometimes in camo uniform and sometimes in service uniform. As majority of serving personnel come from the Infantry Branch, they wear army-green

beret A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in the 19th century in Southern France and the north of History of Spain (1808 ...

s as their headdress in service dress.

References

{{Indonesian Army Indonesian Army Military regional commands of Indonesia Society of Indonesia