3-7-2024 (JAKARTA) The Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) are gearing up to host the 2024 Super Garuda Shield (SGS) Joint Exercise, a large-scale multinational military drill set to unfold across three strategic locations in the archipelago. Major General Nugraha Gumilar, Head of the TNI Information Center, revealed that the exercise will take place in Situbondo, East Java; Baturaja, South Sumatra; and Karawang, West Java.
Scheduled to run from 26th August to 5th September 2024, the SGS Joint Exercise represents a significant collaboration between the TNI and the United States military, with participation from numerous other nations. The event promises to be a complex operation, featuring troop landings in Situbondo, airborne operations in Karawang, and accelerated manoeuvres in Baturaja.
A final planning conference held at TNI Headquarters on 29th April 2024 saw delegations from a diverse array of countries, including Australia, Japan, India, Canada, South Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and Thailand. This broad international participation underscores the exercise’s importance in fostering military cooperation and interoperability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Preparations for the Super Garuda Shield have been thorough, with participating nations conducting extensive surveys and terrain orientations. A notable development includes field orientation at the Combat Training Center in Baluran, Situbondo, East Java, which took place on 23rd April 2024.
The 2024 SGS Joint Exercise will showcase a variety of military capabilities. Plans include an amphibious landing exercise on Banongan Beach, Situbondo, involving Indonesia’s 5th Marine Infantry Battalion and US soldiers from the Indo-Pacific Command (US INDOPACOM). Other training elements will encompass Tactical Combat Casualty Care, special landing drills, amphibious assault exercises, air assault drills, and the synchronisation of tactics and command.
US INDOPACOM Commander, Admiral Samuel John Paparo Jr., during a visit to Jakarta on 12th June 2024, expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming exercise. He announced plans to deploy nearly two thousand US soldiers for the event, emphasising its significance as potentially “the most interoperable exercise” involving US, Indonesian, and other participating nations’ forces.
