Inside Kopassus: One Of The Best International Special Force

 

          Though, the news broadcast in Indonesia pointed Kopassus as the corps who holds responsibility upon prison ambush in Sleman, Yogyakarta, we should not think that as the Indonesian Special Force, Kopassus is all that bad. What happened is that there were 11 black-ops who misused their authority as special force to commit a private vendetta upon the prisoners which was being detained in jail. Well, as you know that the ambush was done perfectly, well-timed, and well-organized, which can’t be denied that it’s what actually this special force ability in conducting military operation. Kopassus is a special force who has special abilities in conducting operation. Though, this case seems to scratch the good name of this corps, we still have to be proud because Kopassus is on the top three special force in the world, among others are Special Air Service (SAS) from United Kingdom and Israeli Special Force under its intelligence organization, MOSSAD. You might wonder how Kopassus can become one of the best Special Forces in the world. Before we go into that, I’d like to explain the profile of our special force.

Establish	April, 16th 1952
Country of Origin	Indonesia
Branch	Indonesian Army
Type	Special Force
Role	·         Group 1 and 2 Special Operation forces, Jungle warfare, Unconventional Warfare, Counter-Insurgency, Special Reconnaissance, and Direct Action. ·         Group 3 Combat Intelligence ·         Group 4 Training ·         Group 5 known as Satuan Penanggulangan Teror (Sat-81 GulTor) Counter-Terrorism
Number of Regiments	Five Regiments
Part of	Indonesian National Armed Force (TNI)
Garrison/HQ	Batu Jajar, West Java, Cijantung, East Jakarta
Full Name	Komando Pasukan Khusus
Color/Beret	Red Berret
Notable Operation	Local rebellions 1950s   West New Guinea 1961–1962 Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation 1963–1966 Coup attempt and massacres 1965 East Timor military campaign (Seroja Operation) 1975 The Hijacking of Garuda Flight GA 206 (Woyla Operation) 1981
Current Commander	Major General Agus Sutomo, June 2012-now
Motto	Lebih Baik Pulang Nama Daripada Gagal Dalam Tugas (Better died on site than failed in tasks)

            Kopassus was first found under the name of Kesatuan Komando Tentara Territorium III/Siliwangi (Kesko TT). This is the early name of Kopassus. Kopassus then faced every development and commander changes; from Kesko TT into KTT (Komando Teritorium Tiga) then into KKAD, and the last was RPKAD (Resimen Para Komando Angkatan Darat), with the specific name of Kopasandha (Komando Operasi Sandi Yudha). Kopassus was involved in Indonesian and Malaysian Confrontation known as the Battle of Sungei Koemba. The most notable operation in which Kopassus involved is the hijack of Garuda Indonesia Flight No. 206 known as operation Woyla. This operation was successful with only minor casualties from hostages; most casualties come from the Komando Jihad’s side, the terrorist. Another, yet notable and controversial operation involving Kopassus is that East Timor Operation in 1975, known as Operation Seroja. This is still the most controversial operation in which Kopassus has involved, since Kopassus was accused of killing three Australian Journalists who were on duty in East Timor. Well in the last years of Soeharto’s Government in Indonesia, Kopassus was again accused and considered to be the most responsible corps upon the kidnapping and killing of several political activists who favored democracy.

            Kopassus, as Special Force is trained very hard in their base especially about survival, military technique, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and so on. The training proves to be successful as this special force is now the top three with other special forces from UK and Israel. Their method of action in several operations is considered well-managed, well-timed, and perfectly done. This categorized that Kopassus does their action in shadow with maximum impact of strike without leaving marks. Their survival abilities are among the best of other special force. The reconnaissance and intelligence gathering are considered perfect and reaching A1 information degree. This can be seen when Kopassus was involved in Operation Seroja to annex East Timor in mid-1970. This annexation was successful because Kopassus, as the front military force succeed in gathering all of necessary and important intelligence information. Well, all of the things above prove that Kopassus deserve to be the top three Special Forces in the world.

            To support the training and operation, Kopassus have several notable weaponries in which currently the best arms this corps currently holds:

Pistols	Browning Hi-Power Colt 1911 Berreta 92SB/Berreta 92F FN Herstal Five-Seven Sig-Sauer P226/P228 Glock 19 Walther PPK
Shotgun	Benelli M3T Franchi SPAS 12 Remington 700
Sub Machine Gun (SMG)	H&K MK23 FN Herstal P90 H&K MP5 Kriss SV Uzi
Assault Rifle	AK-47 Colt M4 H&K G3 H&K G36 H&K 53 Pindad SS1 Pindad SS2 Steyr Aug
Sniper Rifle	Accuracy International AW (Magnum Sniper Rifle) Sig 552
Machine Gun	FN MAG FN Minimi Ultimax 100
Grenades	High Explosive Stun Grenade (Flash bang) Smoke Grenade
Melee Weapon	Custom-Made Fairbarin-Sykes Fighting Knife

            Well, if you see the weaponries, it’s among the best weapon Kopassus currently have. The weapons come from United States (Colt, Kriss, and Browning), Germany (Sig Sauer, Glock, and Heckler & Koch), Austria (Steyr), Italy (Benelli, Remington, and Franchi), Singapore (Ultimax 100), France (Fabrique Nationale/FN), Israel (Uzi), and Indonesia (Pindad).  By looking at the weapon, we can’t deny that Kopassus deserve to be the best Special Force in the world. Though, Kopassus is sometimes controversial, but, we shouldn’t stay on it, we have to be proud by having this red beret guarding our country. 

Pandu Dewa Nata (CF 0012)

Politics, Military, and Intelligence Analyst

MMPSIS Jakarta