Well, I will simply make myself ready."
Magelang (ANTARA News) - When asked to comment about his nomination for the post of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander, Army Chief of Staff General Gatot Nurmantyo said here on Thursday that he must be ready.

"As a soldier, I must always be ready. The one who ordered (for my nomination) is the president, who is the supreme commander. So I must be ready," he stated while visiting an army competition at Plempungan shooting range in Magelang, Central Java.

When asked about his preparation for the fit and proper test to be conducted by the House of Representatives (DPR) later, he revealed that he had made no special preparation.

"Well, I will simply make myself ready. The questions I will be asked will certainly be related to my tasks as the army chief of staff and future assignments," Nurmantyo affirmed.

He added that the post of the commander of the TNI is indeed the highest rank a soldier can reach in his career, which is what all TNI members wish for.

"Everyone certainly wishes to reach the highest place in his/her career. But it is determined by ones capacity. If the wish is not realistic, it will remain a dream," he pointed out.

Moreover, the former governor of the Military Academy admitted that he found out about his nomination only after receiving text messages from friends because he was abroad at the time.

He also admitted that he was very close to President Joko Widodo. "I am close to him. I am also close to the air force chief of staff and the navy chief of staff. As the president is my immediate superior, I must be close to him. We must know what is in the mind of our superior," Nurmantyo remarked.

(Reporting by Heru Suyitno/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/S012)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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