Dading Kalbuadi

Dading Kalbuadi (Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dading Kalbuadi) (14 April 1931 – 10 October 1999) was an Indonesian Army Officer and the commander of Operation "Seroja" (Operation Lotus) during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor (1975–1976). He last served as an Inspector General of the Departement Of Defense of Indonesia. He collected over 25 medals and a number of honors from abroad, including from France, United States, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Dading Kalbuadi
Dading Kalbuadi in East Timor during Operation Seroja
Nickname(s)Dading Kalbuadi
Born(1931-04-14)14 April 1931
Adipala, Central Java
Died10 October 1999(1999-10-10) (aged 68)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata
Jakarta, Indonesia
AllegianceIndonesia
Service/branchIndonesian Army
RankLieutenant General
UnitInfantry/ Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus)
Battles/warsIndonesian invasion of East Timor

Early life

Dading Kalbuadi was born in Adipala (Central Java), April 14, 1931. As a teenager, he joined the "Indonesia Merdeka atau Mati" armed militia (IMAM) which had most of its operation in Banyumas. He was jointed by Chalmi Imam Santoso (CI Santoso) who also later joined the Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus) together with him. CI Santoso was first recognized after having helped Colonel Edhi Wibowo during the crushing raid of PKI in Java.

Military career

The person whowas most responsible in determining Dading's Career was General (Ret.) Benny Moerdani. The two had been close friends since P3AD (Pusat Pendidikan Perwira Angkatan Darat ) in the early 1950s . They had been with one another since they were students in the P3AD, and eventually became respected officers together in the TNI headquarters (Mabes TNI). When Benny became the Armed Forces Commander, Dading became the second person after him as a chief of general staff (KASUM- Kepala staff umum) . When Benny became the Minister of Defense, he again invited Dading, placing him as an inspector general of the Department of Defense . They were really close; when people read Benny's biography, it sometimes seems as though that one is reading the journey of Dading Kalbuadi's life, because he often mentions his name.

After Indonesia's independence war ended, Dading was accepted as a student in the P3AD (Pusat Pendidikan Perwira Angkatan Darat). In this Institute, not only did he meet Benny Moerdani but also he met other respected Indonesian armed force Officers like Soweno (Former Indonesian Starategic Reserve Command Commander), Sutaryo (former head of BAIS), Sebastianus Soekoso (former Governor of Maluku), and Gunawan Wibisono (Former Assospol of ABRI). They are known as "Benny's Man".

Despite being deployed in various combat operations, for Dading there was no other memorable operation than operation Seroja in East Timor . One of the reason why it is memorable was that at that time he obtained the rank of general and was appointed as the commander of the regional defense and security of East Timor, replacing Soewano who happened to be his close friend. Dading is the type of commander who enjoyed every second of a battle, he also once quoted from General Douglas MacArthur that "Man will not fight and die unless they know what they fight and die for" .

During his career in the military, he had served as the 16th Bali Udayana Military Commander, Chief of Armed Forces Procurement, Assistant Headquarter of the Armed Forces Logistics (1983), Aslog Kasum (Chief of Logistics Staff Division) ABRI, ABRI Kasum (Chief Of General Staff) (1986) and last served as an Inspector General in the Departement of Defense.

References

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