History of Armed Forces Day
The date of October 5 was chosen for the National Armed Forces Day in honor of the 1945 establishment of Southeast Asia's 5th oldest regular and standing armed forces per a government decree of the nascent Republic. The first ever parades, albeit in wartime conditions of the Indonesian National Revolution, was held in Yogyakarta in 1946, no parades were held in 1948 while a victory parade was held in 1949 in lieu of the anniversary parade, owing to the conclusion of military operations. It would be only in 1950 when the first regular parade was held in Jakarta, the national capital, to celebrate the 5th year of the armed forces and the adoption of the unitary status of the young country and they have been held annually ever since (with a break in 1965, when due to the aftermath of the events of the 30 September Movement a few days before the 20th Armed Forces Day, it was cancelled at the last minute but was made up the day after, parades were also not held in 1997, 1998, 2016, 2018 and 2020). From 1961 to 1998 the Indonesian National Police, as the then 4th branch of the armed forces, joined the parades, and flypasts have been held since 1951. The national parade's guest of honor is the President of Indonesia in his/her capacity as Commander in Chief of the National Armed Forces. While in Jakarta the parade has been held at the Halim Perdanakusuma AFB and formerly at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex and the DPR/MPR Building complex.
Since 2014, to place emphasis on the role of the armed forces in the modern era and in the modernization and expansion of its combat units the holiday parades have now been held outside of the capital and have also included a fleet review.
History of the celebrations since 1959
- 1959 - First parade to feature Soviet made jet aircraft (MiG-17s and MiG-19s)
- 1962 - First parade on television and to feature a drivepast of the S-75 Dvina SAM system
- 1963 - First to feature combat helicopters and female armed forces personnel
- 1967 - 22nd anniversary, Suharto's first parade as President
- 1970 - 25th anniversary (silver jubilee)
- 1975 - 30th anniversary (pearl jubilee)
- 1979 - First parade to be broadcast in color television
- 1980 - 35th anniversary, First parade to be broadcast via satellite nationwide
- 1985 - 40th anniversary (Ruby jubilee)
- 1990 - 45th anniversary (sapphire jubilee), first parade also to be broadcast on private television stations aside from TVRI
- 1995 - 50th anniversary (Golden Jubilee), first parade to be broadcast on cable television
- 2005 - 60th anniversary
- 2010 - 65th anniversary (Blue sapphire jubilee)
- 2014 - 69th anniversary, first parade to be held outside of Jakarta since 1980
- 2015 - 70th anniversary
- 2017 - 72nd anniversary, First parade to be broadcast in digital high definition
- 2018 - 73rd anniversary, Simple Ceremony to honor those 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami victims
- 2019 - 74th anniversary, Parade included Indonesia's UN Forces, Garuda Contingent
- 2020 - 75th anniversary (diamond jubilee), simple ceremony and remote broadcasts to honor the Indonesian victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and in gratitude of the services rendered by the INAF's medical servicemen and women
- 2021 - 76th anniversary, outdoor ceremony and remote broadcasts to honor the Indonesian victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and in gratitude of the services rendered by the INAF's medical servicemen and women followed by the return of the flypast and parade
- 2022 - 77th anniversary, outdoor ceremony and small parade and flypast in Jakarta
- 2023 - 78th anniversary, return to full parade in Merdeka Square with the largest ever mobile column yet in the capital
Expanded summary
As Armed Forces Day is the national armed forces holiday of Indonesia the celebrations in Jakarta or other major cities thus serve as a national event to mark the holiday. The celebrations begin as the parade commander (The commander is, in recent years, as in the case in 2015 and 2017, been led by a Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral/Air Marshal, usually the commanding general of Kostrad) arrives to take his place in the parade formation. The parade first renders honors to the Tri-Service Colour Guard (Pasukan Penjaga Lambang-Lambang Kesatuan) as the Paspampres Presidential Band plays honors music, if a massed colour guard unit is present the honors are the same.
At 10:00 am the President and Vice President arrive together with the Minister of Defense in the dais, where they are received by the Commander of the Armed Forces. The parade then first salutes as the band plays Indonesia Raya, and then to the President as arrival honors are rendered. The PC then informs him/her of the commencement of the parade and ceremony and the readiness of the formations for the review. The president, riding in an open-top Land Rover, then inspects the formations with the PC and as the review ends, leaves the vehicle and returns to the dais, where he/she orders a minute of silence (mengheningkan cipta) in honor of all armed forces personnel who were killed in action and to deceased veterans of the armed services. When the band stops playing the Sapta Marga (Armed Forces Pledge) is recited in a rededication service, wherein 3 select officers renew the pledge on behalf of all servicing men and women of the armed forces. Afterwards, before the President would make the holiday address, he/she first awards 3 armed forces personnel with the following decorations, each per service branch, for merit and dedicated service to the nation and people in the armed forces:
- Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi ("Army Meritorious Service Star")
- Bintang Jalasena ("Navy Meritorious Service Star")
- Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa ("Air Force Meritorious Service Star")
Andika Bhayangkari is played after the address by the band, and this is followed by the PC receiving permission from the President to march off the parade in preparation for the march past later on, the departure honors then follow.
Order of the parade in order of inspection by the President
Military bands in attendance
Ground march past column
- Combined Field Music Unit of the National Armed Forces Academies System
- Tri-service Color Guard
- Massed color guard
- Joint Services brigade
- Corps of Cadets, National Armed Forces Academies System
- Military Academy
- Naval Academy
- Air Force Academy
- Army
- Navy
- Air Force
- Two battalions of airmen (one in flight suits and one in combat uniforms)
- Air Force Infantry (Paskhas)
- Veterans contingent
- Civil service contingent
- Civil defense contingent (Firefighters, Maritime Security Agency)
- Reserve and uniformed cadets contingent
A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the world. Massed parades may also hold a role for propaganda purposes, being used to exhibit the apparent military strength of a country.
Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
The National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual parade held in Singapore to commemorate its independence. Held annually on 9 August, it is the main public celebration of National Day, and consists of a parade incorporating contingents of the Singapore Armed Forces, Ministry of Home Affairs, local institutions and community groups, followed by a cultural presentation featuring music, dance displays, parachuters, and a fireworks show.
The Presidential Security Force of Indonesia is one of the Central Executive Agencies of the Indonesian National Armed Forces responsible for proximate security and escort towards the head of state and VVIP in Indonesia, which includes the President, Vice President with their immediate families, former Presidents and Vice Presidents, and visiting foreign heads of state. Paspampres is based in Jakarta, and its personnel are drawn from deputized best-chosen officers, soldiers, seamen, marines, and airmen from special forces and/or special units within the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). It is commanded by a two-star military general.
The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of Défilé militaire du 14 juillet, is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of 14 July each year in Paris since 1880, almost without exception. The parade passes down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées from Place Charles de Gaulle, centred around the Arc de Triomphe, to the Place de la Concorde, where the President stands, along with members of the Government, figures from the legislative branch, the Mayor of Paris, as well as foreign ambassadors to France.
The Independence Day of Brazil, commonly called Sete de Setembro, is a national holiday observed in Brazil on 7 September of every year. The date celebrates Brazil's Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves on 7 September 1822.
The 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade was held on 9 May 2010 to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade marks the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War.
On July 29 every year, the Grand Military Parade of Peru celebrating the anniversary of Peru's declaration of independence from Spain in 1821 is held in Lima, the national capital, by members of the Peruvian Armed Forces and the National Police of Peru and is presided over by the President of Peru and his First Family, members of the Council of Ministers of Peru and the Congress of the Republic of Peru, other civil officials, ecclesiastical leaders, the Diplomatic Corps of Peru, and other invited guests, among them commanders and other officers and personnel of the Armed Forces and the National Police.
The 16 September military parade in honour of the anniversary of Mexican Independence is an annual tradition dating back to the late 19th century and the beginning of the professionalisation of the Mexican Armed Forces in the 20th century. Held yearly in the Zócalo in Mexico City, this parade, the largest of the various parades held simultaneously nationwide on September 16, Mexican Independence Day, is presided by the President of Mexico in the fulfillment of his duty as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. It is also attended by members of the Cabinet of Mexico, the Congress of the Union, civil service employees, the Secretaries of National Defense and Navy, members of the Mexican Armed Forces and Federal Police, uniformed service veterans, the state diplomatic corps, delegations representing the religious sector, indigenous peoples, sports and the private sector, and the general public. Seen on TV and the Internet and heard on radio, this is one of the biggest events of the year. Taking part in this are members of the Mexican Armed Forces and the National Guard.
For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile. It is held in Santiago, Chile's O'Higgins Park on September 19 yearly in honor of the Glories of the Chilean Army with a military parade involving not just the ground forces but by the rest of the Chilean Armed Forces: the Chilean Navy, the Chilean Air Force, and the Carabineros de Chile. It is also in honor of the anniversary of the formal inauguration on that day in 1810 of the First Government Junta, which witnessed the first military parade of the independent nation at the Plaza de Armas, Santiago. It is the final act of the national independence celebrations, which are broadcast through TV and the Internet and radio.
The Moscow Victory Day Parade refers to the annual military parade of the Russian Armed Forces on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the Victory Day celebrations. The most important parade of those being held on May 9 is the one held on Moscow's Red Square, with the President of Russia as the guest of honor and keynote speaker in virtue of his constitutional mandate as Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces. The parade is a commemoration of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Red Army, marking the end of the Eastern Front of World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.
Independence Day, also known as the Fifth of July is the national independence holiday of Venezuela, marked every year on July 5 which celebrates the anniversary since the enactment of the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, making the country the first Spanish colony in South America to declare independence. In recent years, it is also marked as National Armed Forces Day to honor the faithful service of all the serving men and women and veterans of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela.
The 2017 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2017 to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The annual parade marks the Allied victory in World War II on the Eastern Front, on the same day as the signing of the German act of capitulation to the Allies in Berlin, at midnight of 9 May 1945. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin delivered his fourteenth holiday address to the nation after the parade inspection presided over by Minister of Defense General of the Army Sergey Shoygu.
The Minsk Independence Day Parade also known as the July 3 Parade is the main event of the Independence Day of Belarus. This parade is held annually in Minsk on July 3. It is held every year except years that celebrate Victory Day, to which Victory Day Parades are held.
Victory Day parades are common military parades that are held on 9 May in some post-Soviet nations, primarily Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and formerly Ukraine. They are usually held to honor the traditional Victory Day holiday. In 2015, the Ukrainian government renamed the holiday as "Victory Day over Nazism in World War II" as part of decommunization laws and in 2023 moved the holiday to 8 May.
The 2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2018 to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The annual parade marks the Allied victory in World War II on the Eastern Front, on the same day as the signing of the German act of capitulation to the Allies in Berlin, at midnight of 9 May 1945. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin delivered his fifteenth holiday address to the nation after the parade inspection presided over by Minister of Defense General of the Army Sergey Shoygu.
The Presidential Band of the Presidential Security Forces of the Republic of Indonesia, also known commonly in public as the Paspampres Presidential Band, is the foremost military band of the Indonesian National Armed Forces which serves as the military band service of the President of Indonesia, the Vice President of Indonesia, and their families. As part of the Paspampres, it is affiliated to and leads all military bands within the INAF as the country's seniormost military band.
The 2019 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2019 to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. It was the largest of all the parades held on this day in Russia and in many former republics of the Soviet Union.
The National Day Parade, officially the National Day of the People's Republic of China Parade, is a civil-military parade event held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, on the National Day of the People's Republic of China on 1 October. It is organized by the People's Liberation Army, the People's Armed Police and the Militia, as well as civilian groups of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It has been held every decade since 1959, annually from 1950 to 1959, and has been broadcast live on China Central Television since 1984.
The 2020 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade that took place in Moscow's Red Square on 24 June 2020 to commemorate the 75th Diamond Jubilee of both the capitulation of Nazi Germany in the Second World War in 1945 and the historic Moscow Victory Parade of 1945.
