served as mayor from 2005 to 2012. Since Jokowi was elected president, Hadi’s career has been fast-tracked towards the top commander job. In 2015, Hadi was promoted to presidential military secretary and his rank was increased to a two-star Air Vice Marshal. In 2016, Hadi was then promoted to Defence Ministry Inspector General and his rank was increased to three-star Air Force Marshal. In January this year, Jokowi then increased his rank again to four-star Air Chief Marshal, when he was promoted to Air Force Chief of Staff—this final appointment making him eligible for nomination as Panglima.

What was a surprise to observers, however, was the speed of Hadi’s appointment process. It was expected to take at least a month from nomination to approval by Indonesia’s parliament (DPR), andhe remained in command of the military.

Gatot’s poor job performance was also not what motived Jokowi’s decision to move him on. Jokowi had ample opportunity to replace Gatot on grounds of incompetence. In addition to already causing issues in the Australia–Indonesia defence relationship, it was clear that Gatot had issues with the superior authority of the Defence Ministry in budgeting and planning matters, a sign that Gatot was not getting along with Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. This was despite both men having an army background and the fact that the Defence Ministry and the TNI were in the hands of two army generals for the first time in 15 years.

Then in May, Jokowi was requested by an NGO to review Gatot and Ryamizard regarding poor performance in their