Major General Glenny Kairupan has been one of my best friends since we were cadets in 1970. We were in the same company commanded by First Lieutenant Azwar Syam. We experienced ups and downs, joy and grief together as cadets, young officers, and so forth.
Pak Glenny Kairupan had a very strong, athletic physique. He is both jovial and jocular, always a welcoming presence due to his friendliness and easygoing personality. He is also a courageous and patriotic soul.
When I was in KOPASSUS, he joined the Army’s Aviation Service (PENERBAD) division. We met in East Timor frequently, almost every time after I was involved in a gunfight. If someone was wounded or there were casualties, he would be one of the first to arrive by helicopter to evacuate them back to the base.
Sometimes it was extremely risky for him to make a landing because we were on a steep slope, but he bravely did it because he knew it would be hard for us to engage the enemies if he did not take the wounded and the fallen.
We conducted joint operations in difficult theatres several times. In East Timor, in Papua, and in border areas. We worked together in field operations until he was promoted as the Deputy Commander of the Military Resort Command (WADANREM) in East Timor. Later he retired as Major General. Even now, he still assists me in the Ministry of Defence.
Pak Glenny Kairupan is also a sportsman. He’s a terrific shooter. When he was a cadet, he was a member of the obstacle course athletics team. He was also a good tennis player. Those are the qualities of a military leader: active, dynamic, energetic, and joyful. He is always eager to learn, and he was a close confidant of Pak Wismoyo Arismunandar.