Jakarta, IO – Republic of Indonesia Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto couldn’t help feeling proud and touched. Two Indonesian cadets from the Magelang Military Academy, Second Inf. Lieut. Rafi Pratama Insan and Second Inf. Lieut. Muhammad Fadlan Mairubi, became our first of the nation’s sons to graduate from Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (“RMAS”). The Minister attended their graduation ceremony on Sunday, 18 December 2022.
Rafi and Fadlan enrolled in a brief 1-year course in RMAS as Cadet First Sergeant Majors, in the midst of their fourth year of studies in Magelang Military Academy. Naturally, the Minister had questions about the results of their year-long course: “What did you get from your studies here?” he asked.
“They taught us more about urban instead of rural warfare, with a focus on joint ops between branches,” Rafi said. “I only studied in one course, and it focused on the exploits of Mussolini during the First World War.”
Minister Prabowo then proudly posed for a photo with the two graduates in front of the RMAS Building. “Attending the graduation ceremony of Indonesia’s first to graduate from Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), one of the oldest and most prestigious military academies in the world,” he reported on his personal Instagram account, @prabowo, on Saturday 17 December 2022. “Congratulations to Second Inf. Lieut. Rafi Pratama Insan and Second Inf. Lieut. Muhammad Fadlan Mairubi! Please keep up the good work for our Great Indonesia!”
Since the start of his term as Minister of Defense in November 2019, Minister Prabowo has frequently declared his intention to send worthy Indonesian cadets out for education in the world’s prestigious military academies, as a defense diplomacy priority. Other than sending cadets to the RMAS, Indonesia has also sent out cadets for training and education in three prestigious American academies: the US Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, the US Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, and the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado. (rp)