Reforms in the Competency Development Strategy of Indigenous Papuan Soldiers in Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih

ABSTRACT


Introduction
According to Rafi (2023), affirmative action policies help minority groups obtain justice that cannot be obtained due to historical background reasons.On the one hand, this policy provides unique opportunities to certain minority groups but sometimes ignores aspects of competence required in recruitment selection.Sander and Alauddin ( consider that this often leads to control over the quality of reception results.On the other hand, state civil service reform seeks to realize professionalism supported by adequate and standardized competencies.
Faced with the need to affirm equality of opportunity while meeting the demands of professionalism, the middle ground may be implementing affirmative policies for minority group participation.We need to apply time limits and quotas that decrease over time.In line with this, optimization of the merit system also needs to be carried out to improve the achievement of competencies according to the expected standards.It is expected that by the end of the affirmation period, minority groups have the competence to follow the merit system fully without causing inequality of career opportunities between minorities and majorities.
As one of the organizations involved in the implementation of the affirmation path recruitment policy, in 2019, the XVII/Cenderawasih Regional Military Command (Kodam) enforced the Chief of Army Staff (KASAD) policy regarding soldier recruitment within Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih with an allocation of 80% sourced from Indigenous Papuans (OAP) and 20% from non-OAP.Before the policy was implemented, OAP had been part of Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih for a long time, but since 2019, there has been a significant increase in numbers.Compared to the total number of soldiers, the number of OAP Soldiers sourced from recruitment from 2019 to 2021 contributed 9.4% of the strength, and the number of Non-commissioned Officers contributed 18.8% of the strength (Kudam XVII/Cenderawasih, 2023).This data does not include other rank groups, such as Enlisted and Officers, and also does not consider the number of OAP non-commissioned officers who entered through recruitment in previous years.It can be estimated that the number of OAP soldier personnel is even higher (Le Deist & Winterton, 2005).
Affirmative policies that provide ample opportunities for OAPs to become soldiers have provided more significant opportunities for them, but their presence in military organizations raises new competence-related problems.Despite the debate and views that regard affirmations as another form of discrimination, the most crucial point to be learned in the case of OAP soldiers is that affirmations only stop at the recruitment process.Meanwhile, those who have been accepted as soldiers must take their respective career journeys and compete with non-OAP soldiers.Seeing such conditions, an integrated competency development strategy is needed to reduce the gap between the competencies needed in military positions and those mastered by OAP soldiers.This paper will describe how to develop integrated competencies needed to improve the competence of OAP soldiers.

Research Methods
This study used qualitative data collection and analysis methods.Then, the constructivist paradigm is used to find facts and parse the problems to be discussed.The data collected in this study include primary and secondary data.The primary data was investigated through in-depth interviews with related parties, including Personnel Officers in the Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih ranks.Secondary data are obtained from archives of unit data, news in the mass media, and studies of various relevant literature.The data collection results are then analyzed to answer the problems discussed in this study.

Results and Discussion
The purpose of carrying out soldier recruitment aligns with the direction of human resource management within the TNI, which is to realize the TNI's strategic plan in the field of posture and professional soldiers.The current TNI strategic plan is consistent in continuing to fulfill the Minimum Essential Force (MEF) to realize an ideal TNI posture to achieve three main aspects, namely (1) Advanced and Independent Indonesia, (2) Just and Democratic Indonesia, and (3) Safe and Peaceful Indonesia.Efforts to fulfill the TNI MEF are carried out continuously and gradually, starting from the MEF Development Phase I in 2010-2014, Phase II in 2015-2019, and Phase III in 2020-2024, which is still ongoing.Phase III is the last stage of development towards the fulfillment of MEF.According to the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2020-2024, the MEF target is to achieve MEF beyond 100%.The effort focused on three main aspects, including the Main Equipment of Weapon Systems (Alutsista), Maintenance and maintenance (Harwat), and Organization and Infrastructure (defense industry, professionalism, and welfare).Professionalism and the welfare of soldiers are the main objectives to be achieved in every strategy described in the strategic plan for human resource management.
Professional soldiers are one of the TNI's identities, as stated in Law Number 34 of 2004.Soldiers must meet the necessary prerequisites as professional soldiers, including proficiency in using military equipment, proficiency in moving, proficiency in using combat equipment, and being able to carry out tasks measurably and meet the values of accountability.In addition to mastering technical skills and knowledge, one must have morale, a spirit of devotion and high discipline, be responsible, and uphold military honor (Puspen TNI, 2006).So, at least the competencies that a professional soldier must possess are four typologies of competence, which include 1) personal competence consisting of a) meta competence and social competence; and 2) occupational competence consisting of a) cognitive competence and functional competence (Makarova et al., 2019).
However, the issue of soldier competence is complicated because the assessment of individual performance in Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih has been eliminated since 2022 due to budget constraints.Performance appraisal is an essential part of knowing the performance of each soldier.In addition, competency assessment is carried out as a mere budget absorption obligation, such as UTP / UTJ (Individual Technical Test / Position Technical Test), Periodic Physical Freshness Test, Shooting, Latorsar (Basic Individual Training), as well as data collection of foreign language skills.In fact, according to De (Holbeche, 2018), in the integrative competency development model, assessment or competency assessment has an important role.It is carried out continuously in line with the implementation of career development programs based on needs-based assessment results.
As a result of the absence of performance appraisal, it is difficult to measure the achievement of individual soldiers' performance, so to know their performance indirectly can only be seen through counterproductive behavior reflected in violations recorded in the XVII/Cenderawasih Kodam Law Unit (Kumdam).According to (Koopmans et al., 2012), individual performance can be measured based on task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive behavior.Task and contextual performance contribute positively to performance improvement, while counterproductive behavior contributes negatively.Thus, indications of low performance can be seen from the highly counterproductive behavior of OAP Soldiers.Based on the data, it is known that of the 395 violations committed by Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih soldiers, 127, or around 32.49%, were committed by OAP soldiers.Of all violations, desertion, and THTI (No Attendance Without Permission), as many as 80 people, or 62.9%, ranked first in the most frequent violations, followed by acts of destruction of as many as 12 people, misuse of weapons/munitions as many as six people, and the rest other violations.When compared to the previous year, there was an increase in the number of violations by 45.9%.
The cause of this problem that can be identified is that the recruitment process focuses on the target interest and overrides the quality of personnel recruited, resulting in a competency gap between OAP and non-OAP.According to military teachers during primary education at the Rindam XVII / Cenderawasih Non-commissioned Officer Candidate School (Secaba), some OAP soldiers were not fluent; some could not read and write.However, others, especially from urban areas, had better competence beyond non-OAP.In addition, the education method is carried out equally as in other soldiers (non-OAP), with the target of achieving competence focused on mastering knowledge and technical skills 50%, behavioral attitudes 30%, and physical freshness 20%.While with the fact that the competent in the field of knowledge and technical OAP soldiers are on average behind non-OAP, when faced with this target, of course, it is not pursued in the exact duration of education as non-OAP.Primary education (Secaba) is given for three months, and branch education (Dikjur/Dikcab) is given for five months in formal education.According to Leonardo and Eichinger (2000), direct learning media involving experiences such as OJT (Job Training) is the most important source of new knowledge in the learning process.They identified 70% of experiential learning, 20% from social interaction, and 10% from formal education.Thus, competency development methods that need to be given to OAP soldiers to improve competence and reduce competency gaps need to be differentiated according to existing competency backgrounds and need to consider methods of involvement in direct experience, such as OJT, with a more significant portion or duration of time.In addition, in De Vos' integrated competency development model, assessment and linkage with sustainable career management are needed.
Based on the above problems, this paper provides reform recommendations on the subsystem of state personnel development for OAP Soldiers.Thus, the following discussion will explain the importance of reform in the competency development subsystem in overcoming problems and then present recommendations for integrative competency development models as proposals for reforms in appropriate competency development for OAP Soldiers.

Appropriate Reform Focus: Reforms on Competency Development Subsystems
Soldiers, although their military status and position are specifically regulated in the TNI Law, in the state civil service is part of the state civil service system regardless of civil or military status but still respect the basis of civil-military relations, namely civilian supremacy, which is a commitment to the Indonesian state.This is in line with the definition of the state personnel system (Kardi, 2015), which can be considered as an institution or a whole of more or less coherent norms and values that develop and persist over time.Also, the (Prasojo, 2010) explanation of the state apparatus (civil service) refers to government or state bodies where full-time work, salaried, and recruited systematically in a transparent hierarchical relationship system based on uniform rules and with adequate pension benefits provisions.Thus, in the state civil service system that at least 1) deals with state employees as human resources and proactive ways of managing them; 2) is an effort to obtain commitment from state employees to the goals of the state; 3) regulated and administered under public law, specifically applicable state administrative law; and applied both at the central and regional government levels (Prasojo, 2020) soldiers can also be counted as state employees or state apparatus.
The state personnel system is part of the state administration system, so the challenges faced in the state administrative system or bureaucracy cannot be separated from the human aspect or the state personnel itself.The fundamental problem bureaucracy faces is changing the culture, which includes incorruptibility and performance culture.Changes in the global environment are needed considering the dynamics of changes, especially in the field of public governance that continues to run.According to Kwon Gi (Kardi, 2015), bureaucratic governance has undergone various transitions.The most sophisticated has been known as Governance 4.0, achieved by Korea and Singapore, a 4th generation administrative model emphasizing speed, governance, and ethics.Meanwhile, according to Kwon Gi Heon's mapping, the Indonesian state is still in Governance 1.0 or tends towards a bureaucratic-oriented political model.This position is behind Malaysia with Governance 2.0 and Japan with Governance 3.0.
Despite this lag, governance is closely related to the democratic system of government that is to be achieved.However, democracy is not helpful in terms of economic, social, and good governance indicators.In addition, there is a negative image of bureaucracy in Indonesia, which is considered a pathology; bureaucracy is considered incompetent, ineffective, corrupt, full of interests, authoritarian, and even influenced by external pressures, including prerequisites for multilateral cooperation.Pathologies in the bureaucracy are, for example, challenging to control, reluctant to initiative and risk, the culture of waiting for guidance, rigid and complex laws, and regulations, low priority of technology use, old school, and criminalization of bureaucracy has an impact on the decline of public trust (distrust), disappointment, complaints, protests, and indications of low employee performance.To overcome this so that it does not drag on, public administration reform is needed to encourage governance to achieve the expected democratic national development goals.They are included in the defense sector, where soldiers or the military become the main stars in issues related to the level of public trust and satisfaction with public services provided by the TNI and are faced with increasingly intense democratic demands.
According to Martin Luther and Woodrow Wilson, reform means mobilizing to find fault in the environment and fight and correct the error.Based on this, reform can be defined as 'an attempt to implement new ideas and combine ideas in the administrative system with a conscious/deliberate view to improve the entire system to achieve positive development goals.(Holbeche, 2018) mentions that the primary keys to change include humans and culture, processes, and tools.Of the three keys, people and culture are the most critical aspects, with a percentage of 70% contributing to the success of change.Thus, reform in public administration needs to start with reforming the state civil service system, where there are human and cultural aspects.However, change is not easy and without obstacles.According to Geoffrey Shepherd, there are at least three major obstacles that must be faced in implementing reforms, namely: 1) weak desire to promote more efficient and honest public administration due to the influence of the solid political situation and the tendency to continue the traditional system that hinders the movement for change; 2) there is a significantly larger government posture than before which is influenced by an increase in the population, which for political purposes is accommodated as state employees; 3) Some of these state employees have emerged as interest groups powerful enough to influence or even oppose change efforts.Not only does it occur in the civil service environment, but in the military environment with a hierarchical organizational culture and an extreme level of obedience to patronage, this problem is also faced in efforts to change the military body.However, despite the challenges that must be faced, change is still needed to adapt to the ongoing environmental dynamics.
The focus of reforming the country's civil service system includes planning, recruitment and selection, a compensation system, performance management, and state personnel development.First, civil service planning intends to identify future employee needs, find, select, obtain, and place the best employees according to organizational needs, and ensure the flow and mobilization of employees run efficiently and effectively.Second, recruitment and selection of state employees are all activities directly directed to obtain potential employees and attract all appropriate applications.The goal is to obtain the best people who fit the job based on objective criteria.Thus, the recruitment and selection process must be open, competitive, legal, non-discriminating, have fixed criteria, be neutral, objective, transparent, protect personal data, and there must be no delay.There are several methods in the personnel selection process, such as patronage, merit system, seniority, representative, affirmation, and electoral popularity.Third, state personnel compensation.Philosophically, compensation itself has several meanings, according to (Hafied et al., 2022), which includes various organizational activities aimed at allocating compensation and benefits for employees, where the compensation philosophy is built based on the needs and conditions of the organization.Boyd and Salamin cite three philosophies for regulating compensation systems that include decent and fair compensation, recognition of the importance of each employee's contribution to the organization, and compensation packages for offers that must compete in the external labor market to attract and retain capable staff.Compensation can be in the form of financial, both direct, such as basic salary, and indirect, such as health insurance, and nonfinancial, such as position and work environment.Compensation is expected to be given relatively, so it is calculated based on individual contributions.Several methods are commonly applied, such as seniority-based payroll, merit-based payroll, skill and competency-based payroll, and gainsharing.Fourth, state personnel performance management.Performance management is a system built to manage organizational and employee performance and integrate organizational performance management with employee performance.Organizational and individual performance have complementary focuses and targets, so organizational strategy management cannot be separated from personnel management strategies as part of organizational planning.Finally, state personnel development aims to overcome the competency gap between employees current job demands.In addition, development is also carried out to prepare candidates to have competency proficiency according to the needs of future jobs and to support the employees' career development.
This reform in the development of state personnel is the focus of the sub-system in personnel reform, which is relevant to the problem of competency gaps that occur in Indigenous Papuan Soldiers in the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Regional Command area.This does not mean that other subsystems, ranging from recruitment and selection, performance management, and compensation, do not require reform, but what is more targeted with the problem of OAP soldiers' competency gaps is to improve and develop the competence of recruitment results, which is a wise responsibility in dealing with these problems.Ideally, the recruitment process is carried out in such a way as to obtain the best quality resources to fill the available positions.However, affirmation is another story that cannot be ignored in a country with a level of ethnic, cultural, and historical background diversity, such as Indonesia.The outcome of the recruitment, including the soldiers recruited through the affirmation program, is a decision that has become the state's responsibility.The TNI strategic plan aims to realize the professionalism of soldiers, but it is also the responsibility of the state to maintain and improve the professionalism and welfare of soldiers.Professionalism can be improved through competency development, which is a step to improve the welfare of soldiers nonfinancially, which can be in the form of career advancement in the future.
With all the changes in the country's personnel system, the military organization must also be able to adapt to these changes.The revision of the State Civil Apparatus Law, which was just passed by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) on September 30, 2023, has accommodated a more dynamic career system with the application of a competency-based merit system.Certain positions in the TNI can now be the purpose of career mobility of civil servants, and vice versa, as contained in article 19, which reads, 'Certain ASN positions can be filled from a) soldiers of the Indonesian National Army, and b) members of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia; and article 20 which reads 'Civil servants may occupy positions within the Indonesian National Army and the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia by the required competencies.'So, soldiers must not be left behind in competency development.Therefore, reform in this development subsystem is the most appropriate implementation because of the competency gaps in OAP Soldiers in Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih.

Design of Soldier Development Reform through an Integrated Competency Development Model
Appropriate reform strategies are carried out to develop OAP soldiers using a comprehensive approach.This comprehensive strategy is considered appropriate for the problem of the OAP soldier competency gap, considering that military organizations such as Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih have strong leadership characteristics.In contrast, the Commander of Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih, which Major General TNI Isaac Pangemanan currently holds, has the characteristics of a firm and charismatic leader with a background in the position of leading and controlling troops in the Military Resort Command (Korem) 172 / PWY which is carrying out operational tasks in the Papua region.The second consideration is the right time; where since the last two years, the massive acceptance of OAP soldiers for the affirmation route has significantly increased the number of OAP soldiers in Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih, so competency development actions need to be taken immediately to avoid a protracted competency gap that will have a more significant impact on individual and organizational performance.
Reforms in the human resource development system of OAP Soldiers are closely related to competency development.Changes that need to be made are to the competency development system, which has been based only on the needs of the position.This causes soldiers to be reluctant to be involved in development programs for various reasons, ranging from reluctant to get out of their comfort zone at work, reluctant to be given a stricter task if they keep getting the same salary, and the absence of individual soldier involvement so far in the career planning process, so they think they have good competence or do not have the same in a military work environment that is seen as relying solely on physical advantages.Even though these views are obsolete and are not by the expected goals of military professionalism.Military professionalism demands competence.
Since David McClelland (1973) published his article "Testing for Competence Rather than Intelligence," academic ability and knowledge alone are seen as not necessarily indicative of one's performance or success.Meanwhile, individual character and competence reflect one's high performance better, so competency terminology emerges that is more used in human resource management.The typology of competencies in this study is based on the concepts built by (Venesaar et al., 2021), which are grouped based on their application, including conceptual and operational competencies.Moreover, based on its scope, it is grouped into occupational and individual competence.Occupational competence consists of conceptual aspects, including cognitive, knowledge, and understanding, and operational aspects, including functional competencies, psycho-motor, and applied skills.At the same time, personal competence consists of conceptual aspects, which include meta-competence and learning abilities, as well as operational aspects, which include social competence, including attitudes and behaviors.Therefore, competency development reform for Soldiers needs to be directed at the target of mastering the four competency typologies.The classification of competencies possessed by OAP soldiers can be explained in these four classifications based on their application as conceptual and operational competencies, as well as in both work and individual applications.(Hafied et al., 2022) has paved the way for professional development through a competency framework built on four key factors, namely (1) performance criteria developed about life outcomes, including employment, (2) assessments designed to reflect changes in learning, (3) providing the information necessary to improve competencies, and (4) the use of realistically observable performance measures.So, according to him, to understand the performance of the position, a person must be evaluated by his job responsibilities.This evaluation assesses work-related competencies to be considered in competency development programs to improve performance that will be carried out next.
Industrial Organisational Psychology in 1997 reviewed the application of competency models, compared them with job analysis models, and noted the advantages and weaknesses of each technique.One of the advantages of competency models over traditional job analysis models is that they are often related to business objectives and organizational strategies and provide direction toward core competencies.Then, in 1990, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) began to develop a competency model by combining aspects of traditional job analysis, resulting in a competency model that has an empirical basis.
Lucia and Lepsinger (1999) explain that competency models identify critical success factors of organizational performance.According to Spencer et al. (1997), competency assessment is used to assess the extent to which a person has these critical competencies.So, in the 1990s, competency-based Human Resource Management was called 'competency-based HRM.
The development of this model is an organizational response to external turmoil and changes that demand flexibility in the organization and the need for competitive job design, resulting in a shift in approach from traditional work-based to competency-based systems.This shift in competency-based systems has affected organizational goals to identify critical abilities and successful job performance and assign employee tasks based on their abilities or competencies, not the position or job.So, the focus is no longer on the job or requirements but on employees with competencies that form the basis of human resource management practices, such as in the selection process, performance management, training, and development and reward management.(Holbeche, 2018) recognize that competency development is an integral part of competency management.Competency management is defined (Holbeche, 2018) as an effective means commonly applied in organizations to select, classify, assess individuals, manage careers, and develop and assess their performance.(Holbeche, 2018) created a model to combine different stages in competency development in an organization, and it is a process that will never end.This means that the integrated stages in the competency development cycle start with a competency assessment, and then a personal development plan is made.The competency development process will involve education, training, onthe-job learning, and career management.As a result, a person's staffing performance will be achieved.And so on, and will return at the assessment stage to develop other competencies further.These stages are described by (Holbeche, 2018) in Figure 2. Competency development needs to consider a thorough analysis of the work environment, linking competencies with the organization's vision, mission, goals, and values, future job requirements, and suggestions and input from various stakeholders.
In addition, there are several techniques in identifying and developing competencies, as noted by Chung and Wu (2011), based on those developed by researchers, including interview techniques, Delphi or expert panels, surveys, competency database models, analysis of job functions and tasks, and direct observation.Among these techniques, the classical approach recommends relevant competency development techniques for future use.It has been tested in various sectors, including the military, health, and education.Spencer and Spencer (1993) arrange six stages for classical competency studies, as shown in the table below.Here, human resource development has a vital role in formulating appropriate and necessary strategies to, in addition to developing individual competencies, attract individual involvement in the development programs prepared.Therefore, it is necessary to measure the competencies that are components to determine what kind of development program needs to be applied to each individual according to different needs.Competence assessment among Soldiers has been applied as an obligation to work programs and budget absorption only so that in its application, the assessment results cannot be a reference in designing development programs.This needs to be addressed to realize a better soldier career development system.
Competency development is also inseparable from career development.Career development includes career planning and career management.Simamora (2001) defines career planning as the identification process of individuals taking steps to achieve success or career goals.At the same time, career management is the process of selecting, assessing, assigning, and developing, carried out by the organization to its employees to provide quality human resources for meeting future needs.First, the assessment process needs to be carried out through a competency assessment of OAP soldiers, both from the perspective of competency needs for the organization and self-development needs for the soldiers themselves.At the assessment stage, from the perspective of this organization, classical methods can be used, starting from identifying effective performance criteria, identifying sample criteria, collecting data, analyzing data, and developing appropriate competency models.Meanwhile, the assessment to see the competency needs of each individual is carried out on all soldiers according to the competency needs required in each position currently occupied and Second, a personal development plan is carried out that is adjusted to the results of the competency assessment of each individual and the performance criteria for each position.Then, at this planning stage, it is necessary to consider individual career planning.Individual career planning is essential in preparing soldiers' personal development plans to ensure the direction of competency development that will be carried out in line with future career plans.It is necessary to give authority to the individual to plan his future career to motivate them to continue to develop.Meanwhile, individual career planning itself cannot be separated from career management implemented by the so individual plans to develop themselves with organizational needs remain in line and continuous.
Third, the competency development model is prepared based on the results of the competency assessment analysis and by considering personal development plans and individual career plans.Competency development can be in Education, Training, OJT, and career management.The choice of the form of a development program to be carried out is adjusted to the target competencies to be achieved.
The success of this development program will be seen from the achievement of the goals of the development itself.In this case, developing OAP Soldiers aims to eliminate the competency gap and realize professional soldiers.So, the stages in this development model do not stop but are carried out continuously back again at the assessment stage to evaluate the achievement of development that has been carried out and develop better programs to increase the success of achieving goals.

Conclusion
One problem in the organization of Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih in human resources today is the competency gap between OAP and non-OAP Soldiers.This problem is the impact of implementing affirmative action policies in soldier recruitment over the past three years.Recruitment system reforms are a suitable solution to the root of this problem.However, the affirmation policy has its own story, so those recruited to be part of Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih soldiers need to be the focus of attention.The fate of OAP Soldiers has become uncertain with the development of the personnel system that demands adequate competence and is increasingly dynamic.Efforts to develop the competence of OAP Soldiers have not been effective enough to eliminate the competency gap, so reforms to this sub-system need to be carried out immediately within Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih.This OAP soldier competency development reform strategy uses a comprehensive approach that considers timeliness and the existence of solid leadership character within Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih itself.The strategy adopts an integrated competency development model combined with a career development model that involves individuals planning their personal and career development.This is necessary to increase the motivation of OAP Soldiers to continue to develop and improve their competence to compete fairly in the merit system, which will be a guideline for the country's civil service system in the future.Especially with the ASN Bill passed by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, which provides openness for career mobility of both civil servants and TNI / Polri so that it demands adequate competence and can compete.
Figure 3 Career Development Model Figure 4 OAP Soldier Competency Development Model Design
Reforms in the Competency Development Strategy of Indigenous Papuan Soldiers in Kodam XVII/Cenderawasih projections of future positions.Thus, competency development itself cannot be separated from career development.