By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I]
I have known Suryo Prabowo ever since I was a cadet. He is an Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI) ‘76 graduate, so he is two years my junior. He is a 1976 recipient of an award presented to the highest achieving cadet by the Academy, Adhi Makayasa. He is highly intelligent. He is also militant and patriotic. Understandably so, as his father was also part of the ‘45 Generation, a Colonel in the Army.
Since he was a lieutenant, a captain, then a major, I saw that he was always in the field. Even when he was a Brigadier General, as Deputy Governor in East Timor (now Timor Leste), as Deputy Commander of East Timor Military Resort Command (KOREM), he was always in the field at critical moments. He was the last high-ranking TNI officer to leave East Timor after the referendum. He carried the last Indonesian flag to be lowered in Indonesia’s former province.
I have known Suryo Prabowo ever since I was a cadet. He is an Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI) 1976 graduate, so he is two years my junior. He is a 1976 recipient of an award presented to the highest achieving cadet by the Academy, Adhi Makayasa. He is highly intelligent. He is also militant and patriotic. Understandably so, as his father was also part of the ‘45 generation, a colonel in the Army.
Perhaps because he is so smart, his superiors were often not so fond of him. Maybe he is also too dynamic or too creative such that his seniors or superiors often did not quite understand him.
Since he was a lieutenant, a captain, then a major, I saw that he is always in the field of operations. Even when he was a Brigadier General, as Deputy Governor in East Timor (now Timor Leste), as Deputy Commander of East Timor Military Resort Command (KOREM), he was always in the field in critical moments. He was the last high-ranking TNI officer to leave East Timor after the referendum. He carried the last Indonesian flag to be lowered in Indonesia’s former province.
Due to his higher-than-average intelligence, he was often criticised by people around him who regarded him as keminter (know-it-all) and pontificating – he was inclined to give others unsolicited advice driven by his desire to improve the Armed Forces organisation or to rectify a situation.
Suryo Prabowo is a straight-talking type of leader; he speaks his mind, he is courageous, and he is, in my opinion, one of the brightest generals of our generation. Because his father was part of the ‘45 generation and because he was together with class ‘78 of AKABRI, we were all greatly influenced by the generals of the ‘45 generation. It could be considered the greatest generation in Indonesian history up till now. Perhaps that is why Suryo Prabowo and I get along. We share the same ideals and love of our country as ingrained into us by the ‘45 generation.