Teddy Rusdy

Teddy Rusdy (born 11 May 1939) was a retired Indonesian Air Vice-Marshal and Intelligence officer with various achievements, particularly in the military. Teddy was also active in politics when he served as Chairman of Golkar in West Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, in 1972. He was later appointed as Head of the Ministry of Religion Employee Cooperative in 1973. He served in the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency in the period between 1974-1992 and was the Indonesian National Armed Forces Advisor for Strategic Policy and General Planning for 6 years. Teddy Rusdy has also served as Director E for Research and Development Planning' at the Strategic Intelligence Agency in 1983. He later died on 31 May 2018 at age 79.
Teddy Rusdy was born on 11 May 1939 in Jakarta to Hayuni Mathamin and Nyi Mas Rodiah. His maternal grandfather, Hajj Mohammed Zis, was exiled by Dutch colonists to Boven Digoel Regency, Papua, in 1928. During the time the Netherlands colonized Indonesia, the Dutch exiled the leaders of Indonesia’s freedom fighters to this area for 21 years.
After the Allied forces won and defeated Japan in the Pacific in the world war, the Indonesian freedom fighters were able to return to where they came from. Among them, Teddy Rusdy’s grandfather, Haji Muhammad Zis, returned to West Java in 1950.
Teddy Rusdy was always very passionate about reading. He was heavily influenced by characters such as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and Robinson Crusoe. Later on in his adolescence, he became inspired by historical figures, like Napoleon Bonaparte, Kemal Pasha Ataturk, Mahatma Gandhi, Bung Karno, Bung Tomo, and Douglas McArthur.
During the period when the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, there were two things that Teddy Rusdy still remembered of that time: the Japanese Flag Respect Ceremony facing the rising sun to the East and singing the national anthem of Japanese Kimigayo.
The influence of the World War and the Japanese occupation of the former Dutch East Indies was so great at that time that it also affected the education of children in schools in the mid-1940s. He first attended an elementary school in Pandeglang, Banten. Sometime after, he attended Jaga Monyet Petojo Elementary School (1951) in Jakarta, where he became a frequent visitor of the school’s library.
He finished middle school in several schools in 1951. Jl. Perwira / APPI, Jl. Cilacap
He finished high school in 1959. SMA-B Boedi Utomo
He was accepted and later attended the Air Force Academy (India) in June 1960, graduating the following year. He received an elementary education to become an officer, graduating in 1968 as part of its 19th batch. He attended the Air Force Unitary Command School and finished in 1971 as a part of their 11th batch. 
He also attended the Indonesian Armed Forces Command and Staff School in their Navy division and became the first batch in 1975. He was later on selected to take part in the Joint Section Command Staff School as their first batch in 1978.
Later on in 1974, at 35 years old, he got the opportunity to attend the Indonesian Army Command and General Staff College for Air Force education in Lembang, Bandung, West Java. Usually selected officers only attend as a form of reuniting with other colleagues that were separated to different locations and assignments. However, he then entered as the first batch of the Naval Staff and Command College. He had to prepare a lot compared to his other peers who had an advantage. He learned their philosophy, doctrine, strategy, and operations that were vastly different from the Air Force, placing Teddy Rusdy, an Air Force officer, in a completely different situation and having to start again from zero.
He married Sri Suryati, who has a Bachelors in Law and a Masters in Humanities from Airlangga University in Surabaya. They have two sons, Andrew Baskoro and Brandon Cahyadhuha. 
Published in 2009, Teddy Rusdy's book Think Ahead: 70 Years was an effort to answer two main questions. Firstly, what was the importance of Intelligence for a nation, a state and its government; Secondly, how to build a reliable, professional, and anticipatory intelligence system for a nation, the state, and its government.
=== Military ===
Teddy Rusdy was a Warrant Officer Class 1 (January 1962), and was raised to Second Lieutenant (June 1962) that same year. Then he became First Lieutenant (January 1964), and Air Force Captain (January 1966). Later on, becoming Major (January 1970), and then Lieutenant Colonel (April 1975). He was a Colonel (April 1980), Air Commodore (December 1983), and finally, he became Air Vice Marshal (June 1986).
After attending education at the naval school in 1960 and military education in India, a year later still at a young age of 22 years old, First Lieutenant Teddy Rusdy carried out his duty and did his service at Operation Trikora (January 1961) in Maluku. Teddy was able to navigate with radio-silence because he was once taught astronavigation in the Air Force Flying College in India, 1961. In India, he learned to fly cross-country as far as 1,500 miles without a map, with a basis on sketches and mapping the position of the moon and stars. This unique experience when training in astronavigation made Teddy Rusdy very proficient in navigation. As such, Teddy Rusdy’s experience precisely made him capable of flying without a written map, except sharp instincts, mind, and his vision.
Second Lieutenant Teddy Rusdy was placed at Squadron 5 Nav Abd. Saleh, and was the first Indonesian that piloted the TU-16 / KS strategic bomber aircraft, made by Soviet Russia. The bomber aircraft was capable of bringing missiles to attack from air to the land and sea. At 25, he was awarded the prestigious Bintang Sakti medal for his service in the years 1962-63 when Teddy Rusdy was promoted to First Lieutenant from Second Lieutenant.
On January 1, 1963, Second Lieutenant Teddy Rusdy was tasked as Pa Nav Squadron 42 Wops 003 Iwy, running the Dwikora Operations Service in Malaysia, Kalimantan, and North Sumatra. By January 1, 1969, Air Force Captain Teddy Rusdy was assigned as Head of Operations of the Iswahyudi Air Force Base. In the same year, December 23, he was assigned as Dan Lanu Rembiga, in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The following year January 1, 1970, with the rank of Air Force Major, Teddy Rusdy was reassigned to Dan Denma Makodau VI Ampenan, West Nusa Tenggara. He assumed the post at the Indonesian National Air Defence Forces Commander Headquarters of the 6th Air Force Base and was Commander of the Rembiga Air Force Base, West Nusa Tenggara.
With the same rank, he was assigned as Chairman of the Regional Representative Regional Representative Council (DPD) of Golkar in West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara. It was a rare socio-political field assignment for Air Force Major Teddy Rusdy. A year later, on February 22, 1973, Teddy Rusdy was assigned as Regional Wealth Coordinator Officer of the West Lombok district in West Nusa Tenggara, and at the same time became Secretary of DPD Golkar in the province.
In 1974, he was Karo Jajaran Paban - VI / Milhan Defense and Security Intelligence.
In 1975, Teddy entered as the first batch of Naval officers as an Air Vice Marshal in the Indonesian National Army Staff and Command School Naval College, which was where he first met Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani. L.B. Moerdani, otherwise known as Benny, was the Indonesian National Armed Forces Commander from 1983 to 1988 and also served as Indonesia's Minister of Defense and Security.
Teddy was later called on to join him in the State Intelligence Agency in Jl. Dr Saharjo No. 268, Tebet, Jakarta after impressing him with his analytical skills. It was the start of their long and close friendship. Teddy Rusdy then became Mr. Benny’s confidant for years since then.
=== Intelligence ===
Intelligence officers such as Teddy Rusdy are intelligence personnel who are not only professionals as thinkers or planners and scenarios but also professionals in the field of conducting intelligence operations. This type is often referred to as 'a man of all levels' - meaning professionals in the areas of strategy, tactics, and operations. Teddy was highly acknowledged by his colleagues from the Intelligence community in a number of countries, such as the Israeli Intelligence community.
Indonesian intelligence was highly respected and recognized in the Asian region. Indonesian Intelligence at that time was able to establish partnerships with the British, German, Israeli, NATO, Pakistani, American, and Taiwanese Intelligence communities. This was possible because of the ability of the staff and intelligence officers of Indonesia.
Teddy Rusdy's official position as Head of the Asia Pacific Bureau is concurrently equated with the position of Secretary of the Assistant Intelligence of Defense and Security/KOPKAMTIB.
Teddy used the mathematical model of the Dynamic Pendulum Political Ideology as one of the theories of deductive-comprehensive methods in the Intelligence field for more or less 20 years from 1974-1992. The Israeli Intelligence Community, like the Mossad, has heard of Teddy Rusdy’s reputation since the 1960s. Only in 1980, during crucial defense-security issues and the relations between Indonesia and Israel, was the first time Reuven Shiloah. Teddy would always try to bridge a diplomatic relationship between Indonesia and Israel. However, he still maintained informal relations in discussions outside of defense and security, specifically in the field of education to improve the skills of Indonesians.
In the 1970s, Teddy Rusdy was a Lecturer at the Joint Section Command Staff School in Bandung (1979), an Intel Staff at the Paban VIII Indonesian Defense and Security (1980).
=== Garuda Flight 206 ===
On March 28, 1981, Indonesian Intelligence received detailed information regarding the hijacking of Garuda Indonesia aircraft Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 Woyla. It was heading for Medan, arriving from Talangbetutu airport, Palembang. They couldn’t stop the plane when it landed in Penang, and when the plane landed in Bangkok, it was the only opportunity to save the hostages before they were taken to Iran.
They planned to liberate the hostages on the night of March 30th, 1989 at the Don Muang Airport with cooperation from Thai intelligence, command, and control. Teddy Rusdy was involved in the operation under the leadership of L.B. Moerdani. Teddy studied the electronic equipment on the plane in order to take control of it once Kopassandha troops entered from the tail of the plane. They successfully liberated the hostages with minimal casualties. And amid the increasing acts of international terrorism in the 1970s, under the leadership of L.B. Moerdani, Teddy Rusdy pioneered and established counter-terorrist special forces in order to fight and prevent acts of terrorism in the Republic of Indonesia.
At the same time, Teddy Rusdy became Main Assistant VII Officer for Defense and Security Intelligence (1980), Director E / Renlitbang Bais (1983), Advisor for Strategic Policy and General Planning (1986-87), and member of the People’s Consultative Assembly from the Golkar Party of the Armed Forces in 1987-1992.
During the 3rd ASEAN summit that was held in Manila, December 1987, Air Vice-Marshal Teddy Rusdy led the Joint Task Force for the security of the guests. At that time, they didn’t know which Philippines army unit and individuals were loyal or disloyal to President Cory Aquino’s government, so they established escape routes and escape procedures for heads of state and government of members of ASEAN countries.
“A thinker dies. But his thoughts are beyond the reach of destruction. Men are mortal, but his ideas are immortal.” – Air Vice-Marshal Teddy Rusdy
== Awards and Honors ==
Since his 20s, Teddy Rusdy has been awarded several Orders, decorations, and medals of Indonesia government and country. He was still celebrated even after Air Vice Marshal Teddy Rusdy had retired from his position in the Ministry of Defense / Armed Forces, and Golkar on 17 February 1992.
=== National Honors ===
# The Sacred Star (Indonesian: Bintang Sakti) 1964
# Military Distinguished Service Star (Indonesian: Bintang Dharma)
# Grand Meritorious Military Order Star (Indonesian: Bintang Yudha Dharma)
# Air Force Meritorious Service Star, 2nd Class (Indonesian: Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa Pratama)
# Air Force Meritorious Service Star, 3rd Class (Indonesian: Bintang Swa Bhuwana Paksa Nararya)
# Military Long Service Medals, 4th category - 8 years (Indonesian: Satyalancana Kesetiaan VIII)
# Military Long Service Medals, 3rd category - 16 years (Indonesian: Satyalancana Kesetiaan XVI)
# Military Long Service Medals, 2nd category - 24 years (Indonesian: Satyalancana Kesetiaan XXIV)
# Military Service Medal for Irian Jaya 1962 (Indonesian: Satyalancana Kesetiaan Satya Dharma)
# Border Guard Medal (Indonesian: Satyalancana Wira Dharma)
# Military Instructor Service Medals (Indonesian: Satyalancana Dwidya Sistha)
# Medal for Combat Against Communists (Indonesian: Satyalancana Penegak)
=== International Honors ===
# Singapore: Meritorious Service Medal (Military) Republic of Singapore
# South Korea: Meritorious Service Medal (Military) Republic of Korea
Category:1939 births
Category:Air marshals
Category:Indonesian intelligence officer
Category:2018 deaths