President installs new navy chief of staff

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono installed Vice Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno as the new Navy Chief of Staff at the Merdeka Palace here on Tuesday.

Vice Admiral Tedjo Edhy replaced Admiral Sumardjono who has reached retirement age.

Tedjo Edhy graduated from the Naval Academy in 1975 and became co-pilot at the Navy`s Air Fleet Unit in 1979. He was later captain pilot in the Air Fleet Unit in 1982. In 1984, he was appointed as an instructor in the Air Fleet Unit, and later commander of the FLITE III of the Air Fleet Unit in 1986. In 1990, he became vice commander of Squadron 600 of the East Indonesian Fleet`s Air Unit.

After spending 14 years in the Air Fleet Unit, he pursued his career by working on the Navy`s warships, among other things on KRI Teluk Penyu-513, KRI Teluk Lampung 540, and KRI Teluk Semangka-512, and the latest as commander of KRI Multatuli warship in 1996.

Born in Magelang, Central Java, on September 20, 1952, he was appointed chief of staff of the Navy`s East Indonesian Fleet Command in 2003, deputy commander of the Naval Officers` Staff and Command School in 2003, and in 2007 he was Chief of General Staff of the Indonesian Defense Forces.

Among those attending the Merdeka Palace ceremony were also Vice President M Jusuf Kalla, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sutjipto. end (*)