Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has named Maj. Gen. Erwin Sujono the new commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), replacing Lt. Gen. Hadi Waluyo who is entering the mandatory retirement age of 55.

The appointment of Erwin, a brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is part of a regular tour of duty in TNI Headquarters, and was stipulated in a decree of the TNI chief dated April 17, Antara news service reported Monday.

Erwin, who will take command of the TNI's largest special forces in a ceremony on May 2, will be granted the rank of a three-star general. He is currently commander of the Tanjungpura Regional Military Command, which oversees the four provinces of Kalimantan. He is married to the younger sister of First Lady Kristiani Herawati.

Besides the appointment of the new Kostrad chief, the tour of duty in the military headquarters also involved 15 other high-ranking officers – two officers at the TNI headquarters, five at the Army headquarters, one at the Air Force headquarters, six at the Defense Ministry and one at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

In addition to Hadi Waluyo, three other generals also entered retirement. They are Lt. Gen. Purwadi, the inspector-general at the Defense Ministry; Vice Marshal Piter LD Watimena, the director-general of defense infrastructure at the Defense Ministry and Maj. Gen. Usman Basjah, deputy for defense coordination to the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Air Force Staff and Command School Vice Marshal Slamet Prihatino will fill in the post left by Vice Marshal Watimena; Director for Training at the Army's Training Center Brig. Gen. Sihar EE Sagala will be the chief of staff of Udayana Regional Military Command, overseeing Bali and East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces; the deputy to the assistant for operations to the TNI chief for General affairs, Commodore Surya Dharma, will be the new commander of the Air Force Staff and Command School; and the director for documentation at the Army's Training Center, Brig. Gen. Romulo Robert Simbolon, will be the new deputy for defense coordination to the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.