Tuesday, September 13, 2011

RI, Aussie special forces launch joint exercise

 JAKARTA: The Indonesian Army Special Forces (Kopassus) is currently conducting a two-week joint training exercise with the Australian Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) in the Thousand Islands regency, north of Jakarta.

Members of the special forces from both countries will take part in exercises, including live fire training and marine terrorism prevention, tempointeraktif.com reported Thursday.

Kopassus commander Maj. Gen. Lodewijk F. Paulus officially opened the joint exercise on Tuesday at the Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung, Jakarta.

The exercise is hoped to encourage exchange of knowledge between the two delegations, and improve cooperation between both countries, he said. “It also aims to improve the forces’ abilities and skills in personal and group fighting techniques and tactics,” he said.

He added that Indonesian and Australian forces had been carrying out joint exercises since 1992.

Source; http://www.thejakartapost.com