President To Inaugurate Former Military Secretary As Air Force Chief

President Joko Widodo (center) congratulate Marshal (Marsdya) Hadi Tjahjanto (left) after the inauguration of Chief of Staff of the Air Force (Air Force Chief) at the State Palace, Jakarta. (ANTARA FOTO/Rosa Panggabean/wdy/17)

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - President Joko Widodo will inaugurate former military secretary Vice Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as the new chief of the Indonesian Air Force.

According to the presidential schedule, the inauguration will be held at the State Palace here on Wednesday at 11 a.m. local time.

Vice Marshal Tjahjanto will succeed Marshal Agus Supriatna, who enters retirement period.

At around 9 a.m. local time, some high-ranking commissioned officers were seen arriving at the palace to attend the inauguration ceremony.

Vice Marshal Tjahjanto, who graduated from the Air Force Academy and Aviator School in 1986 and 1987 respectively, had served as the military secretary during the 2015-2016 period.

Born in Malang, East Java, on November 8, 1963, Tjahjanto had been promoted twice within three years and received a three-star ranking faster than his seniors at the Air Force.

Tjahjanto received his first star when he was inaugurated as the National Search and Rescue Agency's director of operation and training for the 2011-2013 period.

Tjahjanto thereafter served as the Air Force spokesman for the 2013-2015 period and the commander of the Abdulrachman Saleh Airport in Malang, East Java, in 2015 before taking charge of the military secretariat office. (WDY)