Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers


The Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers, abbreviated Pusziad, or simply Zeni is an Indonesian Army Central Executive Agency made up of some 15,000 civilian and military personnel, making it one of Southeast Asia's and the ASEAN's, largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. The Corps is involved in a wide range of disaster relief and public works projects within the republic, as well as in combat support operations. The Indonesian term for military engineers, Zeni, is derived from the Dutch genie, meaning sapper.
Their most visible missions include:
Founded on October 15, 1945, the Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers was raised as one of the oldest major support commands of the Army in the onset of the military operations of the Indonesian National Revolution, its baptism of fire. Army Engineers were present in all major battles of the National Revolution until 1949, when the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army ceased to exist and the independence of the republic was recognized. Army combat engineers were part of the military operations during the Liberal democracy period in Indonesia, in Operation Trikora, the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and rebel counter-insurgency operations from the 1980s until today.
First Lieutenant Pierre Tendean, who perished in the events of the 30 September Movement of 1965, was one of the more famous Army combat engineers, having joined the Corps while serving as a cadet in the Military Technical Academy and was officially commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation. Before being made adjutant to General Abdul Haris Nasution, his first assignment was as a platoon commander with the Corps of Engineers in Kodam I/Bukit Barisan. Other well known Army Engineers include former Vice President Try Sutrisno and retired Generals GPH Djatikoesoemo and Budiman, both of whom, alongside Try, served as Chief of Staff of the Army.
Army Engineers have also been active as part of the Garuda Contingent overseas and in public works and civil disaster relief operations through the years.

Trades

All military personnel of the Pusziad are trained combat engineers and all privates and non-commissioned officers also have another trade. These trades include: air conditioning fitter, electrician, general fitter, plant operator mechanic, plumber, bricklayer, plasterer / painter, carpenter & joiner, fabricator, building materials technician, design draughtsman, electrical & mechanical draughtsman, geographic support technician, survey engineer, armoured engineer, driver, engineer IT, engineer logistics specialist, amphibious engineer, bomb disposal specialist, diver or search specialist. Civil personnel of the Corps come from engineering graduates and civil service workers.

Organizational structure

Headquarters and Training School

The Director General and Chief of Engineers, who is an Army officer holding the rank of major general, and the Deputy Director General Corps of Engineers, who is an army brigadier general, are both appointed by and report directly to the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army. The Corps of Engineers headquarters is located in East Jakarta. The headquarters staff is responsible for Corps of Engineers policy and plans the future direction of all other Ditziad organizations.
The Corps of Engineers Training School was established in Bandung in 1946 to train future Army engineers regardless of rank. Today, the Pusdikzi is based in Bogor and has an active training program for personnel serving in the Corps.

Construction Engineers Regiment "Cakti Ring Karya"

Indonesian Army Engineer units outside of Corps Divisions and not listed below fall under the Construction Engineers Regiment of the Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers. Army engineers include both combat engineers and support engineers more focused on construction and sustainment. The vast majority of military personnel in the Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers serve in this Engineer Regiment. The Construction Engineers Regiment, led by the Engineer Commandant, who is an Army officer of Colonel rank, is headquartered at Pasar Rebo in East Jakarta and is organized into:
The Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers is organized geographically into 16 permanent divisions, a special administrative regiment for the Kostrad, two specialized companies reporting directly to the HQ and a special battalion which is under the operational control of the Paspampres. Within each division, there are several Engineer detachments and battalions of combat and construction engineers and engineering departments and bureaux in each area and district. Each of the 16 divisions correspond to the 16 military regions of the Army proper and employ more than 2,500 people per division. Divisions are defined by political boundaries for military and civil projects and their commanders report both to the Director General and the commanders of their respective military regions.

Territorial divisions

Note: due to the formation of the 3rd Kostrad Infantry Division in 2018, a Combat Engineer battalion is planned for potential activation in the future within the division.