Safeguarding Indonesia, Far from Home

KOMPAS/MARIA PASCHALIA JUDITH JUSTIARI

The situation at the Gardapati Composite-1 Batallation in Natuna regency, Riau Islands, as seen on Sunday (22/9/2019). There are six army companies under the Gardapati Composite-1 Battalion. This force is led by Battalion 1-Gardapati Commander Lt. Col. Rahmat. Natuna Island is one of the foremost and outermost islands of Indonesia.

NATUNA, KOMPAS – One night at around 7:30 p.m. in April 2017, 1-Gardapati Composite Batallation deputy commander Maj. Alse Ariyanto received an abrupt order. He was in Malang, East Java, when he received his transfer order to Natuna, a regency in the Riau Islands.Alse should be ready for his new assignment within 12 hours. By the following morning, he was to be in Medan, North Sumatra, from where he would depart to Natuna.

Upon arriving in Natuna, he received an even greater surprise: a message from his wife, Dwi Sendang Perwita Sari, that she was pregnant with their third child.

“It turned out that my wife deliberately delayed telling me until I had arrived in Natuna. She did not want to add to my mental stress amid my transfer,” Alse recalled.

While he was stationed in Natuna, he maintained a long-distance relationship with his family in Malang. When he first arrived in Natuna, he was dismayed to learn that he had no cellular signal.

That evening, Alse traveled 20-30 minutes to the city center, around 15 kilometers from his post, so he could call his wife and children. Hearing their voices was unparalleled joy.

Unfortunately, it was not to be a daily joy. The power in Natuna went out every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, so there was no cellular signal on those days.

“I told my wife that being a military wife means risking being left behind, even widowed. These are the risks of [military] service,” he said.

KOMPAS/MARIA PASCHALIA JUDITH JUSTIARI

The situation at Gardapati Composite-1 Batallation in Natuna regency, Riau Islands, as seen on Sunday (22/9/2019). There are six army companies under the Gardapati Composite-1 Battalion. This force is led by Battalion 1-Gardapati Commander Lt. Col. Rahmat. Natuna Island is one of the foremost and outermost islands of Indonesia.

First Lieut. Randy Pratama has a similar story. As a medical doctor with the 1-Gardapati Composite Battalion, he provides medical services for around 600 soldiers and their families stationed at six locations in Natuna.

Aside from providing medical services, Randy also trains with the soldiers. He has been going from one end of Natuna to another every day since June 2019.

Randy performs his duties away from his wife and child, who live in Jakarta. His wife is now pregnant with the couple’s second child.

Once, I left her for one year on a tour of duty to Papua. She got used to being sad. I also try to focus on [building] my relationship with my child. I don’t want my child not to recognize me because we don’t see each other for long periods of time. Fortunately, technology and cellular signals are constantly improving. Now, we can have video calls.

Randy decided not to bring his family with him to Natuna for health reasons. He said his wife would be able to access better maternal healthcare services in Jakarta.

“Once, I left her for one year on a tour of duty to Papua. She got used to being sad. I also try to focus on [building] my relationship with my child. I don’t want my child not to recognize me because we don’t see each other for long periods of time. Fortunately, technology and cellular signals are constantly improving. Now, we can have video calls,” said Randy.

Starting in June 2016

It all began on Thursday, 23 June 2016, when President Joko Widodo held a Cabinet meeting aboard the KRI Imam Bonjol on the Natuna Sea.

Local and foreign media published a photograph of the President in a bomber jacket, standing before an anti-submarine missile. The accompanying caption described the President’s firm stance towards China, which had claimed fishing grounds in the waters off Natuna.

At the time, Indonesia was growing more alert as several countries became involved in the escalating territorial dispute that stretched from the South China Sea to the waters north of Natuna led to. The dispute over the South China Sea between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia had led the Indonesian government to establish a military presence in Natuna.

The unit comprised a Composite Batallion from the Army, reinforced by a company of the Air Defense Battery, Missile and Artillery Combat Engineers and the Medan Artillery Battery.

The Naval component in Natuna comprised a port with a depth of more than 10 meters to support the operations of warships and the Marine Composite Company.

The Air Force component in Natuna comprised a passive radar system in the north and another radar in the south, as well as an airbase with an integrated hangar and a hangar for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) squadron (Kompas, 6/1).

The integrated unit meant that every soldier had an equal chance at being stationed in Natuna, a frontier region that is prone to territorial disputes. This often meant that the soldiers would be required to live apart from their families.

Natuna is 562 kilometers from Tanjung Pinang, the capital of Riau Islands province, and can be accessed by air and sea.

There are several things that will be a headache for me if my wife is not here,” he said.

Some have been lucky enough to be able to bring their families to Natuna. When he was assigned to Natuna in August, 1-Gardapati Composite Battalion commander Lieut. Col. Rahmat had no second thoughts about bringing his wife and children to the base a month later.

“There are several things that will be a headache for me if my wife is not here,” he said.

The dedication of Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel in border regions like Natuna is a source of inspiration head of TNI Day on 5 Oct.

Being stationed far from their families to fulfill their duty to protect the state and its sovereign border is an issue that has a solution: Their love and devotion for their family goes hand-in-hand with their service to the country.