Indonesia Sends Peacekeepers to Congo: A Look at Garuda Troops Training
So, like, Indonesia has this group called the Garuda Contingent (KONGA), which is basically a bunch of Indonesian National Army troops who go out and do peacekeeping stuff in other countries. It’s like, they’ve been doing this since 1957, contributing troops to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force. And get this, they’re like a big deal in the peacekeeping world, ranking as the fifth-largest peacekeeping contingent globally with 2,559 military personnel spread across eight missions.
Training for a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) kicked off in April this year for over a thousand Indonesian military folks from the Garuda Contingent Task Force XXV MONUSCO. They’ve been getting all prepped up at the Peacekeeping Mission Center (PMPP) in Sentul, Bogor, West Java. You know, Congo has a lot of stuff like coltan, gold, diamonds, and cobalt, which causes some major conflict over who gets to control and exploit these resources.
The training at PMPP Sentul is no joke, man. They’re running scenarios that are as close as possible to the real deal in Congo, following all those UN standards. Conflict mediation, hostage negotiation, medical evacuation, humanitarian assistance – you name it, they’re practicing it. Like, they even had this simulation where they had to deal with locals demanding food and stuff in exchange for, like, information or whatever. And then there was this crazy scenario with demonstrators causing chaos, just to test the troops’ readiness for riot situations. The trainers are all over them, evaluating their performance and giving them the support they need to ace their training.
It’s like, a big deal, you know, when these troops officially become peacekeepers by receiving the UN blue beret at the end of their training. They’re all set to join a world peacekeeping mission under the UN flag, which is, like, a huge deal. The Commander of the PMPP, Major General Taufik Budi Santoso, reminded the troops to keep the faith and see their task as a way to maintain world peace. And this Captain dude, Bekti Aji Suyekti, who’s one of the trainers, was all proud seeing the peacekeepers wear that blue beret with the UN badge logo. It’s like a symbol that they’re ready to rock and roll in the mission area. And now, with the training done, the hope is that these peacekeepers will put all that they’ve learned into action and make Indonesia proud on the global stage.
So there you have it, Indonesia is sending its best to Congo, and they’re all geared up and ready to make a difference in the name of peace.
