| Marine Corps of the Republic of Indonesia | |
|---|---|
| Korps Marinir Republik Indonesia | |
 Emblem of the Indonesian Marine Corps | |
| Founded | 15 November 1945; 80 years ago (1945-11-15) |
| Country | Indonesia |
| Branch | Indonesian Navy |
| Type | Marines |
| Role | Marine combined arms Amphibious warfare Rapid deployment force |
| Size | 27,000[1] |
| Part of | Indonesian National Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Kwitang,Jakarta |
| Nicknames | Hantu Laut (Ghost of the Sea) Baret Ungu (Purple Berets) |
| Mottos | Jalesu Bhumyamca Jayamahe (Sanskrit,lit. 'Glorious on the Land and Sea') |
| Beret color | Reddish purple |
| March | Mars Korps Marinir |
| Anniversaries | 15 November |
| Engagements |
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| Website | marinir |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of the Marine Corps |  Lieutenant General (Marine) Endi Supardi |
| Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps |  Major General (Marine) Muhammad Nadir |
| Inspector of the Marine Corps |  Brigadier General (Marine) Ahmad Fajar |
| Coordinator of the Marine Corps Advisory Staff | Brigadier General (Marine) Sandy Muchjidin Latief |
| Insignia | |
| Colour |  .png) |
| Patch |  .png) |
| Headquarters insignia |  .png) |
TheMarine Corps of the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian:Korps Marinir Republik Indonesia,KORMAR RI), previously known as theCommando Corps of the Indonesian Navy (Korps Komando Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Laut,KKO), is an integral part of theIndonesian Navy and is sized at the militarycorps level unit as thenaval infantry and mainamphibious warfare force ofIndonesia. The Marine Corps is commanded by a three-star Marine Lieutenant General.
The Marine Corps was initially formed as a special operations force for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL), then namedKorps Komando abbreviated "KKO" (lit. 'Commando Corps'). The Marine Corps was actively involved in various confrontations and conflicts in Indonesia.
The Marine Corps also maintains a joint Navy-Marine special operations unit, known asDetasemen Jala Mangkara orDENJAKA (Jala Mangkara Detachment) created on 1 December 1984, and draws operators from theKOPASKA (Navy'sFrogman Commando Force) andTaifib (Marine's Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion).
The forerunner of the Marine Corps was theCorps Mariniers (CM), which was formed on 15 November 1945 at Base IV of ALRI (the previous name of Indonesian Navy) inTegal. The date was later commemorated as the birthday of the Marine Corps. The CM was originally intended to serve as 'training school' for Navy sailors to be able to fight inground warfare in case of emergency. Most of its pioneer instructors were graduates of the sailing school. However, at least one of its instructors, Tatang Rusmaja, a formerPETA member, actually had experience in ground warfare. Due to a lack of naval equipment or ships, the CM was forced to join guerrilla warfare in the jungles and mountains of Central Java. Marines were deployed several times along with the Army to fight theRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army and during this time, the commander of armed forces assigned the CM, which had combat experience as a ground unit, away from the Navy and transformed into a regiment withinDiponegoro Division ofIndonesian Army on 17 March 1948.
On 9 October 1948, the Ministry of Defense acknowledged the need for an amphibious commando unit and issued Minister Decree No. A/565/1948 regarding the establishment of a naval infantry corps within the Navy namedKorps Komando (KKO) orNaval Commando Corps. The first recruitment batch of this new commando unit arrived in 1949 and almost all of the first recruits were veterans of the CM in Tegal. Later on, the huge number of CM veterans in active duty within this formation would later justify the date of the Marine Corps Birthday, being set and held annually every 15 November in memory of its foundation. In 1950 the armored element was raised, the basis of the 1st Marine Cavalry Regiment, armed at first with equipment left behind by the Dutch.
The KKO was active in various military operations in Indonesia. One of the largest amphibious military operations would have been Operation Jayawijaya in which thousands of marines were planned to land onBiak in 1963 as a part of theTrikora Campaign to takeWest Irian fromDutch control. The operation was aborted as a consequence of deals preceding theNew York Agreement.[2] That campaign saw massive rearmament of the Corps as per the national policies ofguided democracy in the later years of the Sukarno presidency, part of the increasing military ties between Indonesia and the Warsaw Pact, wherein the former US-made equipment would be replaced by Russian-produced APCs and IFVs including the PT-76 Amphibious light tanks, BTR-50 APCs and BM-14/17 MRLs (Southeast Asia's first-ever MRL system in service).
At the height of theIndonesia-Malaysia Confrontation,Harun Hj Mohd Said andUsman Ali (hereinafter known as Usman Harun), two members of the KKO were dispatched to Singapore ( then a part of Malaysia ) using rubber boats. Their main task was to infiltrate and sabotage the interests ofMalaysia andSingapore. In reality, this operation was only able to blow up the MacDonald House and cause civilian and non-military casualties. In that incident, 20 fruit shops around the hotel were heavily damaged, 24 sedan vehicles were destroyed, 30 people died, and 35 people suffered mild and serious injuries. This incident is known as theMacDonald House bombing. Usman Harun was unable to escape from Singapore and was eventually arrested and sentenced to death by the Singaporean government.[3]
On 15 November 1975 (the Corps' 30th anniversary), Chief of Staff of the Navy issued a decree Skept/1831/XI/1975, which restored the Corps' name to its former nameKorps Marinir.[4] (Corps Mariniers/ CM is the same word but usingold spelling system inIndonesian.) Following this, a massive reorganization plan was implemented, followed up with another in 1984.
There was a plan in 1999 to expand the Marine Corps from its strength of 13,000 troops. Based on this plan, every Marine Base would have three combatbrigades: theInfantry,Cavalry, andArtillery and would be supported by one Combat Support Regiment and one Administration Support Regiment. The expansion would create three Kormar bases:Surabaya for Eastern area command,Jakarta for Central area command, and Rate Island inLampung for Western area command.
The 1st Marine Brigade and all combat support and service support elements were consolidated in 2001 to form the1st Marine Forces East (Pasmar 1). In 2004, the2nd Marine Forces West (Pasmar 2) was established on the basis of the Marine Independent Brigade, now including the 2nd and 3rd Marine Brigades plus additional combat support and service support units. All these were a result of a massive modernization and expansion program that still continues today. A 3rd division-sized unit would be raised in 2018 as part of the expansion.
Following a reorganisation introduced in March 2001, the corps consisted of the 1st Marine Corps Group (1,3,5 Battalions, 1st combat support regiment, and 1st administrative support regiment) at Surabaya and the Independent Marine Corps Brigade (2,4,6, battalions) at Jakarta (JDW 11 April 2001). The 8th Bn was formed in January 2004 and the 9th Bn was due to be formed in April 2004. They were planned to be part of a new group that would include the 7th Bn and support elements. (JDW 18 February 2004, p. 18) The sameJane's Defence Weekly story (Robert Karniol, 'Indonesia Reinforces Marines') said the Marine Corps leadership is reported to have ambitions for the service to expand to at least two full divisions. However, it was reported that the army was opposed, 'perhaps reflecting its leadership's concern over influence.'
In 1958, the color purple was used by the Marine Corps (when it was still called KKO-AL) in the form of a ribbon as security code to hold landing operations inPadang,West Sumatera during Operation 17 August (as a response to thePPRI/Permesta revolt by several Indonesian Army officers). The purple beret was the first time used by the 1st Battalion KKO AL (1st Marine Battalion) in Operation Alugoro inAceh in August 1961. Furthermore, the beret was to be later equipped with an official badge representing the Corps. Initially, the Marine Corps emblem was a red pentagon with the symbol of a golden tricorn hat and two crossed swords in the middle, the beret was pushed to the left where the emblem was located. In 1962, coinciding with the 17th anniversary of KKO-AL (old name of Indonesian Marines), there was a change in the emblem with the introduction of theKeris Samudera sword emblem surrounded by a ribbon with the words "Jalesu Bhumyamca Jayamahe" and there is a writing bearing "Commando Corps" underneath. In between the Corps and Commando writings, there was a printed 1945 number indicating the Marine Corps year of foundation and below the traditional sword, blue wavy lines reflecting the wide Indonesian seas. The emblem was rectangular. In 1968, another change was made to print "Yellow" strips on the outer rings of the rectangular emblem. In 1975, with the issuance of Naval chief of staff order No. / 1831 / XI / 1975 dated 14 November 1975, the name of the Naval Operations Commando Corps (KKO-AL) changed its name to theMarine Corps in accordance with the name of theCorps Mariniers since 1945, and the waves were thus replaced by a blue lotus, its petals symbolizing amphibious operations and with a silhouette map of Indonesia in black at the center, the emblem now being circular and the gold "Commando Corps" ribbon with the lettering in black changed to that of "Marine Corps". In 1976, the Chief of Staff of the Navy issued Decree No. Skep / 2084 / X / 1976 dated 20 October 1976, on the Change of the Marine Corps Emblem to comply with the earlier decree on the return to the former name of the corps. The change was to add the Anchor with golden chain as the background of the emblem (to signify the Corps as a constituent service of the Indonesian Navy), the "Marine Corps" ribbon was partially modified and the number "1945" remained at the center as before. The emblem is mounted on a beret provided that the center of the emblem base is located just above the outer end of the left eye's forehead, and thus is pushed to the right. So the official Corps emblem officially began to be used exactly on the 31st Marine Corps Birthday Parade in Jakarta on 15 November 1976 when new colours were awarded to the Corps.
The order of battle of the Indonesian Marine Corps consists of threedivisions, one independentbrigade, and a special ops unit (Taifib). Each Marine division oversees a Marine Infantry Brigade, a Marine Combat Support Regiment, a Marine Artillery Regiment and a Marine Cavalry Regiment. The 4th Marine Infantry Brigade covers 4 Marine Infantry Battalions plus other support units. The Marine Corps also maintain a special operations unit which are the Marine's Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion (Taifib) and also the joint Navy-Marine's counter-terrorismDenjaka.
As a component Principal Command of theIndonesian Navy, the Marine Corps is structured into the following in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Regulation No. 84/2025 on the Organization of the Indonesian National Armed Forces:[5]
The Marine Forces (Pasukan Marinir, abbreviated asPasmar) is the Marine Corps' main operational command. Pasmar's main operational missions are to foster the strength and capability of operational readiness as the Navy's amphibious force in the framework of power projection to the land by sea, coastal defense operations on strategic islands, and other combat operations in accordance with the policy of the Navy Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Commander, and Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.
The 4th Brigade reports directly to the commander of Marine Corps. In addition theFleet Marine Force (Satmar Koarmada RI), while under theIndonesian Fleet Command, is operationally responsible to the commanders of the Marine Forces.
Each of the 3 Marine Corps Bases (Jakarta, Surabaya and Sorong) are part of the Marine Force ORBAT.
TheBatalion Intai Amfibi orTaifib in short is the Marine Corps'amphibious reconnaissance special forces, as it is also capable inspecial reconnaissance and also inairborne (Para-Commando) missions. They were officially formed on 18 March 1961 as marine commandos and was first deployed in Irian Jaya (Papua) duringOperation Trikora in April 1962. Starting from November 1971 it was called asBatalyon Intai Amphibi/Yon Taifib or Amphibious Recon Battalion. In order for a regular marine personnel to become a Taifib personnel, a candidate is selected from the Marine Corps who has already fulfilled the thorough mental and physical requirements, and at least has served in the Marine Corps for two years. The certification of amphibious reconnaissance is notoriously difficult that the passing rate of these candidates in each class is only ten percent. The Taifib today is organized into an administrative regiment of three battalions, each battalion assigned to each Marine Force of the Corps.
TheDetasemen Jala Mangkara (Detasemen Jala Mangkara) orDenjaka in short is thespecial operations andcounter-terrorism forces of theIndonesian Navy. This is a combined detachment formed from selected personnel of the Navy'sFrogmen unit (Kopaska) and the Marine Corps'Taifib. According to the directory of the Navy Chief of Staff, Denjaka is a Marine Corps task force under theIndonesian Navy, with the Commander of the Marine Corps holding responsibilities for general training, while specific training falls under the responsibilities of the Armed Forces'Strategic Intelligence Agency. Meanwhile, operational command of the Denjaka falls directly under the Commander of the National Armed Forces.
The Marine Corps Training Command (Komando Latih Marinir) oversees the following training centers:
Note: Indonesia is not a member ofNATO, so there is not an official equivalence between the Indonesian military ranks and those defined by NATO. The displayed parallel is approximate and for illustration purposes only.
In the Marine Corps, as part of the Indonesian Navy, the rank structure consists ofofficers known as inIndonesian as "Perwira",NCOs ("Bintara") andenlisted personnel ("Tamtama".) While the Marine Corps wears the blue shoulder boards (for officers and WOs) and blue stripes (for enlisted personnel) or blue/gold chevrons (for NCOs) as a component service of the Navy its ranks follow those of theIndonesian Army, with the exception of a five-star rank.
The highest rank obtainable in the Marine Corps isLieutenant General, which is held by the Commander of the Marine Corps. However, it is possible to be promoted to a higher rank if appointed to a position that requires a four-star rank. Before August 2025, only a few individuals had attained the rank of Lieutenant General, as the Commandant of the Marine Corps previously held the rank of Major General. One of the most notable figures is Lt. Gen. R. Hartono, who notably served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Navy. As of August 2025[update], the only Marine Corps officer to have ever been promoted to the rank of General isGen (Hon.) Ali Sadikin.[7] The rank of Marine General is notable as the 4-star rank in the Navy is usually only held by Chief of Staff of the Navy.
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jenderal | Letnan jenderal | Mayor jenderal | Brigadir jenderal | Kolonel | Letnan kolonel | Mayor | Kapten | Letnan satu | Letnan dua | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Indonesian Marine Corps |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pembantu letnan satu | Pembantu letnan dua | Sersan mayor | Sersan kepala | Sersan satu | Sersan dua | Kopral kepala | Kopral satu | Kopral dua | Prajurit kepala | Prajurit satu | Prajurit dua | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of September 2023, more than 45 individuals have been given the extraordinary privilege by the Commander of Indonesian Marine Corps to becomeHonorary Marines (Warga Kehormatan Kormar TNI-AL) which include the wearing of the Marine Corps combat dress uniform and the magenta beret with the Corps Emblem.
The Commander of the Marine Corps is a position that is filled by a three star general officer of the Marine Corps by appointment of the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
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