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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday swore in the new heads of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force with the new commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces to be announced soon.

“The replacement of the commanders and the chief of staff was something planned and not hurried,” said current Armed Forces Chief Djoko Santoso at the State Palace after the ceremony.

Lt. Gen. George Toisutta, 56, commander of the Siliwangi division stationed in Banten, replaced Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo as Army chief. Agustadi had held the position since Dec. 2007.

Vice Adm. Agus Suhartono, 54, the inspector general at the Department of Defense, became head of the Navy, replacing Adm. Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno who had been in the post since July 2008.

Air Vice Marshall Imam Sufaat, 54, the Air Force’s deputy chief, replaced Marshal Subandrio as the commander.

Djoko said the replacements were a routine rotation and part of the regeneration of the Armed Forces.

“After this inauguration, it’s time to prepare for my replacement,” Djoko said.

The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Vice President Boediono, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Chairman Taufik Kiemas, House Speaker Marzuki Alie, Regional Representives Council Chairman Irman Gusman, a number of cabinet ministers and National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri.

George Toisutta
Born in Ujung Pangdang on June 1, 1953, George graduated from the military academy in 1976 and started his military career two years later as a platoon commander in the Army.

In 1988, George was promoted to head of the operational brigade section for Kodam Jaya, and a year later became deputy commander of the outfit.

George, an Ambonese father of three, became the head of staff of Division II of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in 2003 and a high-ranking officer at military headquarters in the same year.

In 2004, he was promoted to commander of Kostrad’s Division I in Jakarta and the following year became commander of the Trikora Military Command in Papua.

He became commander of the Siliwangi Military Command in 2006.

Agus Suhartono
Born in Blitar, East Java, on Aug. 25, 1955, Agus graduated from the Naval Academy in 1978 and joined the service the following year, serving on a number of warships in Eastern Indonesian waters.

He was a communications officer on a number of vessels including the Sam Ratulangi, the Kakap, the Sultan Taha Syaifudin and the Ki Hajar Dewantara.

In 1999, the Javanese father of two joined the Navy’s operational staff and three years later he was promoted to commander of the Eastern Indonesia Command.

Agus graduated from the National Defense Agency, or Lemhanas, in 2003 and became a unit commander in the Navy’s Eastern Fleet.

Three years later, he was promoted to deputy planning assistant for the Navy Chief of Staff, and five months later he became a commander of the Naval Academybefore he was appointed to the post of inspector general at the Department of Defense.

Imam Sufaat
Born in Wates, Yogyakarta, on Jan. 27, 1955, Imam graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1977 and took a commission as a fighter pilot.

Imam has a long flying career, piloting various aircraft and logging 4,850 hours in the cockpit.

He became a commander at the Air Force’s flight school and and was promoted to defense attache for the Air Force in London in 1997.

He became a deputy commander at the Pekanbaru air base in 1999, and was then based at the Pontianak base until 2002 when he became an operational commander of the western Air Force.