Super Garuda Shield


Super Garuda Shield is a two-week multinational military exercise between the United States Armed Forces, Indonesian National Armed Forces, and multiple partner nations. The purpose of this joint exercise is to maintain peace and security, including to strengthen relationships within the Indo-Pacific region by enhancing military capabilities, interoperability, and collective commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. This joint-exercise is annually conducted since 2007 in Indonesia.

Overview

The first Garuda Shield, in 2007, was designed to improve the military capabilities and cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesian armies. It started as a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Indonesia, focusing on specific aspects of military training and interoperability.
Over the years, the exercise has expanded to include other countries and military branches, becoming a multinational combined arms exercise. The exercise reflects the increasing strategic importance of Indonesia in the Indo-Pacific region and the U.S.'s interest in strengthening its relationship with Indonesia through military cooperation.
Super Garuda Shield, the current iteration, emphasizes strengthening relationships within the Indo-Pacific region, including enhancing military capabilities, interoperability, and collective commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The exercise typically includes field training exercises, command post exercises, and humanitarian civic action projects.

Garuda Shield 2007 – 2021

Garuda Shield 2007

The opening ceremony of Garuda Shield 2007 was inaugurated by the Indonesian Army and the U.S. Army at the Salak Hotel, Bogor, West Java, on 16 April 2007, attended by the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army General Djoko Santoso and the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific Lt. General John M. Brown III.
The exercise was participated by 72 Indonesian Army officers and 80 U.S. Army service members from United States Army Pacific from 16 to 27 April 2007, at Kostrad 1st Infantry Division Headquarter, in Cilodong, West Java, Indonesia. The exercise aims to improve joint brigade-level staff officers' cooperation and coordination capabilities in support of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.
Exercise Garuda Shield 2007 is a sequence of command post-exercises held in Indonesia that focused on improving peace support and civil-military operations capabilities. This initiative is led by the common goal of Indonesia and the U.S. to maintain peace, security, and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Garuda Shield 2008

The joint exercise Garuda Shield 2008 between the Indonesian Army and United States Army Pacific officially opened at the Timor Ball Room, Borobudur Hotel, Central Jakarta, in 31 March 2008, led by the Commander of Jayakarta Military Regional Command of the Indonesian Army, Maj. Gen. Johannes Suryo Prabowo and Deputy Commanding General for the U.S. Army Pacific, Brig. Gen. Alexander I. Kozlov.
The personnel who participated in the joint training from the United States were represented by the U.S. Army from the 9th Mission Support Command, Hawaii National Guard’s 29th Brigade for U.S. Army Pacific with the number of personnel ranging from the rank of Non-Commissioned Officer to Brigadier General totaling 108 personnel, while from Indonesia involving a unit at the level of the Kodam Jaya Brigade totaling 100 personnels.
This joint exercise was carried out from 29 March 2008 to 11 April 2008. The training material was in the form of a staff coordination simulation in the implementation of peace assistance tasks in conflict areas in the framework of military operations other than war. With the aim of building military cooperation between the Indonesian Army and USARPAC with a focus on improving the ability of cooperation and coordination of joint Brigade-level staff in supporting UN peace operations.

Garuda Shield 2009

This was the third year for the Garuda Shield joint-exercise. This joint-exercise took place in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. It is a continuation of ongoing joint efforts co sponsored by the U.S. military and Indonesian Army to provide assistance and training to the Indonesian military, support U.S. and Indonesian security objectives, and provide certification for Indonesian instructors on all levels of the Global Peacekeeping Operation Initiative. Several other nations were invited to join the exercise. The following nations were
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    Garuda Shield 2010

Garuda Shield 2010 was held in June 2010 in Cipatat, Bandung, Indonesia. As part of the exercise, staff officers from the Pacific Command, the HIARNG, USARPAC, and the TNI will form a brigade to test peace support and stability operations capabilities. As part of the exercise, staff officers from the Pacific Command, the HIARNG, USARPAC, and the TNI will form a brigade to test peace support and stability operations capabilities. Other troops are in the middle of conducting a field training exercise to exchange UN standardized organizational tactics, techniques and procedures to improve tactical interoperability. Meanwhile, engineers are working in Indonesia's rural communities to provide humanitarian civic actions. Every day scores of children mil about the construction sites to watch the progress. Engineer partners are making quick work of a baby clinic, community center and amphitheatre. Countries that were represented are

  • Garuda Shield 2011

Garuda Shield 2011 was returned to an annual bilateral exercise that focus on three main components: Command Post Exercise, Field Training Exercise, and humanitarian civic action project. The Opening ceremony of Garuda Shield 2011 was carried out on 10 June 2011, at the Engineer Training Center of Army Education and Training Command, Pusdikzi, Bogor, West Java.
During the opening ceremony, Brig. Gen. Michele G. Compton, the commanding general of the 9th MSC, welcomed the troops and described the importance of the regionally significant training event.
“Garuda Shield is an opportunity for the Indonesian Army and the United States Army to come together in a learning environment to share experiences and lessons learned with each other. Of equal importance during this exercise, is the opportunity to form and maintain close friendships and also to gain an enduring appreciation of each other’s customs,” said Compton.
The 12-day training, which was attended by 631 TNI AD personnel and 141 personnel from USARPAC, aims to improve interoperability among trainees and prepare capacity building facilities for UN troop-sending countries. Director of Training of the Indonesian Army Doctrine, Education and Training Development Command Brig. Gen. Mulyono said the joint military exercise between the two countries was conducted to place the cooperation in the United Nations peace-keeping operation on a solid footing. He said the regular annual exercise this year in Bogor involved Indonesian Ground Force and United States Army Pacific, an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and is the army component unit of the United States Pacific Command.
"Such an exercise is the fifth of its kind because Indonesia is frequently involved in UN peace-keeping missions," Mulyono said.
He added that the "Garuda Shield" exercise in general was intended to step up the relations between the two countries` ground forces.
"The joint exercise with the US is of great advantage in the face of peace-keeping operation dynamics, and the way how to integrate the system of training in Indonesia and the United States," Mulyono said. Garuda Shield 2011 concluded on 22 June 2011.

Garuda Shield 2012

The opening ceremony of Garuda Shield 2012 between the Indonesian Army and the United States Army Pacific was held at the Kostrad 2nd Infantry Division Headquarters in Singosari, Malang Regency, East Java, Monday, 11 June 2012, led by Lt. Gen. M. Munir, Commander of Kostrad accompanied by Brig. Gen. Gary M. Hara, Commander of Hawaii Army National Guard.
The joint exercise, said Lieutenant General TNI M Munir, involved 456 Indonesian Army personnel and 104 USARPAC personnel. The activities that will be carried out include the command post exercise which will be held at the Rindam Brawijaya PLDC and the field training exercise which will be held in the training area in Rindam V Brawijaya Sidodadi Lawang, Malang, and Karya Bhakti which will be held in Purwosari, Pasuruan.
U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with the 871st Engineer Company, 411th Engineer Battalion, headquartered in Hilo, Hawaii, and their counterparts with the Tentara National Indonesia Angkatan Darat, or TNI-AD, are accomplishing both tasks as they work side by side to build a community center in Malang, Indonesia, as part of Garuda Shield 2012.
In its sixth year, Garuda Shield is a combined exercise between the TNI-AD and U.S. Army that improves peacekeeping, stability operations and increases the disaster relief capabilities of both armies. A major part of the exercise is the community center construction project, as well as a sister project to renovate a family welfare center in the same part of Malang.
Garuda Shield 2012 concluded on 22 June 2012.

Garuda Shield 2013

On 10 June 2013, the Indonesian Army and United States Army held the opening ceremony of Garuda Shield 2013 at the Kostrad 1st Infantry Division Headquarters in Depok, West Java, Indonesia. The Honorable Scot Marciel, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, and exercise co-directors Maj. Gen. Gary M. Hara, Deputy Commanding General for the Army National Guard, U.S. Army Pacific and Maj. Gen. Daniel Ambat, Kostrad 1st Division Commander, spoke at the ceremony.
Garuda Shield 2013 lasted for 12 days, from 10 to 21 June 2013. Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army National Guard in the Pacific, Gary M Hara, said 312 U.S. Army personnel participated in the exercise. Meanwhile, 300 personnel from Indonesia. The exercise includes planning and executing a combined brigade-level command post exercise based on a United Nations scenario and a field-training exercise based on a rescue operation scenario. The exercise involved troops from U.S. Army Pacific ; the Indonesian Army National Army, Kostrad 1st Division; 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; and the Indonesian Army, 17th Airborne Brigade.
Along with a series of parachute jumps, about 500 paratroopers of both nations conducted infantry training and operations during the exercise. The exercise focused on developing the respective militaries' ability to contribute to U.N. peace support operations, and on strengthening the nations' growing military relationships.