Babinsa (from id, Bintara Pembina Desa, lit. "Village Trustee NCO") is a senior Indonesian territorial army

Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

or senior

Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

official who is in charge for carrying out territorial defence, development and monitoring duties for a community in the village/''Kelurahan'' level in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. They report to and are under the command of the local Military Sector Command (Koramil). In

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

areas, Babinsas hold the rank of

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

or Master sergeant, and in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

areas Babinsas hold the rank of Master

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

History

The history of the Babinsas in

can be traced back to the New Order era under the

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...

regime. During the era of Suharto's dictatorship and his dependence on the military in his governance, Babinsas were used as the regime's political power in the villages. Babinsas were tasked to gather

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

on people who were indicated as

political dissidents Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, they were used for active monitoring and

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

of the respective community, by taking part in traditional ''suco'' councils and to single out potential resistance fighters. It was just after the

Fall of Suharto Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...

in 1998, the roles of the Babinsas as political powers in the villages were slowly eradicated by President

B. J. Habibie Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...

to revert them to their original roles as defence representative village trustees.

Duties and tasks

The Babinsa as a community partner, is expected to be able to overcome

social problems A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society and ones that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's cont ...

that can disrupt the integrity of the community's unity by being actively involved in community activities in their area, and also being active in carrying out activities which is to increase the awareness of national defence towards members of the community. As a territorial defence official, Babinsas are also expected to help and become

advisors An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

for villagers in need to improve and help realize the nation's

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

and defence from the lowest level of society. Babinsas are also tasked to support and help civil authorities, law enforcement and security in their area, especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Babinsas are required to be the front-liners in socializing the importance of compliance to health protocols and the importance of vaccination towards villagers and members of the community, especially in

areas where illiteracy still exists. The ability of the Babinsas to determine the success of their territorial duties is to coordinate regularly with relevant officials in the village or

Kelurahan In Indonesia, village or subdistrict is the fourth-level subdivision below a district, regency/city, and province. There are a number of names and types for villages in Indonesia, with ''desa'' (rural village) being the most frequently used for re ...

such as community leaders, religious leaders and youth leaders to avoid social disturbance and threats in the community. The capabilities that Babinsas must obtain are: *Territorial

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

*Regional Development in the village level *Regional Monitoring and Supervision *Mentoral skills towards villagers and village leaders *Ability as a Development Innovator Babinsas are also able and responsible to track down and prevent members of their community from radical and

extremist Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

ideologies which may lead to

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, by this coordinating with the Community Police Officers (Bhabinkamtibmas).

Position of the Babinsas

Authority

Babinsas are not

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

officers. Village/

trustee officers from the

Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...

are the Community Police Officers (''Bintara Pembina Keamanan dan Ketertiban Masyarakat'' abbreviated "Bhabinkamtibmas") which coordinate with the Babinsa closely in monitoring their areas.

Jurisdiction

*Babinsa =

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

management. Representative of the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...

to their community *Bhabinkamtibmas = Security and Law enforcement official. Representative of the

National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

to their community

Identification

Babinsas wear a red

armband An armband is a piece of material worn around the arm. They may be worn for pure ornamentation, or to mark the wearer as belonging to group, or as insignia having a certain rank, status, office or role, or being in a particular state or conditi ...

on their upper-left sleeve bearing the word "BABINSA" and they wear the same uniform as other

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

personnel, sometimes in camo uniform and sometimes in service uniform. As majority of serving personnel come from the Infantry Branch, they wear army-green

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

s as their headdress in service dress.

References

{{Indonesian Army Indonesian Army Military regional commands of Indonesia Society of Indonesia