At the Military Sealift Command (Kolinlamil) base in North Jakarta, the TNI-AL Chief of Staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali, greeted the returning navy personnel, who had been deployed for nearly a year to Lebanon and its surrounding waters.
"All personnel, equipment, boats, and helicopters deployed in Lebanon have returned in perfect condition," Admiral Ali stated during a press conference aboard the warship.
He highlighted that during their mission, the crew of KRI Diponegoro-365 performed hailing duties, which involved inspecting vessels entering and leaving Lebanon waters.
He explained that the hailing process was intended to aid the Lebanese Armed Forces in monitoring traffic in the Mediterranean to prevent illegal goods from entering Lebanon.
Due to the mission's requirements, the 120 personnel on board the Indonesian battleship spent more time at sea than on land.
"During their mission, the soldiers spent 235 days sailing, meaning nearly 70 percent of their time in the year-long mission was spent at sea," Ali noted.
The admiral mentioned that the Indonesian navy soldiers also participated in joint patrols and drills during their UNIFIL deployment.
The crew members received awards from the governments of Tanzania and Germany, as well as the Indonesian ambassadors serving in Türkiye and Lebanon, in recognition of their contribution to Mediterranean security.
Germany's Federal Ministry of Defense honored the battleship and its crew with the German Medal during their Lebanon mission in December last year.
The TNI-AL chief of staff expressed his intention to award medals to the personnel and indicated that the battleship will soon return to its home base in Surabaya City, East Java Province.
Related news: Indonesian warship receives German Medal for Lebanon mission
Related news: Indonesian peacekeeping task force leaves Colombo, sailing to Oman
Related news: Indonesian warship KRI SIM-367 departs for Lebanon peacekeeping
Translator: Walda M, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
