Garuda Contingent The Garuda Contingent ( Indonesian : Kontingen Garuda , often abbreviated Konga ) is a group of peacekeepers drawn from the Indonesian military that serve with the : United Nations . Since its first mission in 1956 , it has deployed to three continents . History . The Garuda Contingent was first deployed to Egypt and Israel in November 1956 as part of the United Nations Emergency Force . It was first under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hartoyo , who was later replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Suhadi Suromihardjo . The next two contingents were sent to the Congo . The first contingent consisted of 1 , 074 troops and was led by Colonel Prijatna ( later replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Solichin ) ; this contingent served from September 1960 to May 1961 . The second contingent to the Congo consisted of 3 , 457 troops and was led by Brigadier General Kemal Idris ( later replaced by Colonel Sabirin Mochtar ) ; this contingent served from 1962 to 1963 and saw one casualty . The Garuda Contingent ' s fourth and fifth deployments were to Vietnam in 1973 and 1974 , towards the end of the Vietnam War . This was followed by a sixth deployment to Egypt after the Yom Kippur War under the command of Colonel Rudini . The Garuda Contingent later returned to Vietnam and Egypt for a seventh and eighth deployment , respectively . After a eight year hiatus , the Garuda Contingent deployed as part of the United Nations Iran – Iraq Military Observer Group under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Endriartono Sutarto , then Lieutenant Colonel Fachrul Razi and Johny Lumintang . In 1992 , five Garuda Contingent members participated in the United Nations Operation in Somalia I under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bibit Santoso . This was later reduced to four soldiers , under the command of Major CZI Budiman . During the Bosnian War , the Garuda Contingent deployed medical officers and military observers in their fifteenth mission . This was not well received by the Indonesian populace , who wished that the soldiers took a more active , military role . This was followed by a deployment to Georgia and a 15 - man deployment to Mozambique in 1994 . That same year they were also deployed to the Philippines under the command of Brigadier General Asmardi Arbi ( later replaced by Brigadier General Kivlan Zein ) to help deal with the conflict between the Moro National Liberation Front and the Philippine government . In 2003 , the Garuda Contingent deployed on its twentieth mission , to the Democratic Republic of the Congo . A total of 171 troops deployed originally , including 32 medical staff and 28 marines . They were deployed with peacekeepers from Nepal , India , and Bangladesh with the peacekeeping mission being led by France . As of 2009 , the focus had shifted to infrastructure and a seventh contingent had been deployed . The Garuda Contingent was part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon . In the 2010 Israel – Lebanon border clash occurred on 3 August 2010 , this clashes marked the deadliest incident along the border since the devastating 2006 Lebanon War . The U . N . force stationed in southern Lebanon urged " maximum restraint " following the clashes along the so - called blue line , a U . N . - drawn border separating Lebanon from Israel . UNIFIL peacekeepers were in the area where the clashes took place . United Nations peacekeepers tried to hold off the routine Israeli tree - pruning that led to a deadly border clash with Lebanese soldiers . An Indonesian U . N . battalion was on the scene , and they did their best to try to prevent it , but they were unable to . Indonesian peacekeepers tried to no avail to calm the situation before the clashes erupted . However , the fighting were increasingly intensified , so this small contingent of UNIFIL forces were ordered to retreat or find cover then report back to the base . The Indonesian contingent , under intense gunfire and shelling between the two opposing forces , retreated and returned to their base , but two soldiers accidentally separated from the main group and got trapped in the situation . The stunned and exhausted soldiers were helped by some locals .