... Indonesian military officers received gold, silver, and bronze brevets based on each of their qualification assessment results."
Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Germany honored 13 military officers of the Indonesian Armys Maritime Task Force Konga XXIII-I/UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of Indonesian Naval Warship (KRI) Bung Tomo 357 serving in peace missions in the Lebanon Sea.

Head of the Information Office of the Fleet Command for Eastern Indonesia Marine Lieutenant Colonel Maman Sulaeman stated in Surabaya City on Monday that Commander of KRI Bung Tomo 357 Marine Colonel Heri Triwibowo along with 12 other military officers have been awarded the German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship.

"The German military handed out awards to 13 officers of KRI Bung Tomo 357, as they were considered to have met the shooting qualification standards for using short- and long-barreled guns based on a stringent assessment conducted during a shooting exercise held at the UNIFILs Naqoura firing range on Jan 28," he remarked.

The brevet pinning ceremony took place solemnly on the helicopter deck of KRI Bung Tomo leaning over the Lebanon Sea on Friday (Feb 17).

"Brevets awarded to the Indonesian military officers were pinned by Lieutenant Commander Oliver Oswald, as representative of the German military. At the ceremony, Indonesian military officers received gold, silver, and bronze brevets based on each of their qualification assessment results," Sulaeman stated.

On the occasion, Commander Oswald stated that the officers of KRI Bung Tomo 357 have successfully met the brevet qualification standards after demonstrating their ability during a shooting exercise at the firing range of UNIFIL Naqoura in late January.

He affirmed that the awards are a matter of pride for the Indonesian Military Armys Maritime Task Force officers Konga XXVIII-I/UNIFIL.

"They have successfully demonstrated that despite being accustomed to carrying out firing with naval weapons of large caliber, such as missiles, the 76-millimeter artillery, 30-millimeter artillery, and 12.7-millimeter artillery, but they have still retained the basic ability of soldiers to use individual weapons, such as handguns and rifles," he noted.

He said the awards received from the German military indicated that the shooting ability of the Indonesian Navys soldiers, in the context of world peacekeeping missions in the Lebanon Sea, cannot be underestimated.

(Reported by Agus Slamet Sudarmojo and Hanif Nashrullah/Uu.M052/INE/KR-BSR/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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