REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI) General Moeldoko on Tuesday launched a book on the TNI and AirAsia QZ8501, which documents the involvement of the defense forces' search and rescue team in the humanitarian mission.

"Along with professional spirit, every soldier has a social responsibility. This motivated TNI personnel to take on the task that fell under the military operation other than war (MOOTW) category," General Moeldoko said during the inauguration of the Museum of Information of TNI in the Cilangkap Headquarters on Tuesday.

The general was proud of the synergy among personnel of the TNI, National Search and Rescue Agency, police, and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, as well as other volunteers during the search and rescue operations for the ill-fated airplane QZ8501.

Moreover, Head of the Information Center of the TNI Major General M. Fuad Basya stated that the book titled "TNI and AirAsia QZ8501: Harmony within Humanitarian Mission" was published to document the efforts of the TNI in the humanitarian mission of the AirAsia QZ8501 search and rescue operations.

"It is to prove that the call of duty for military operations other than war is as important as military operations for the TNI," Basya remarked.

The 308-page book also evaluates TNI soldiers and institutions concerned with search and rescue operations to improve their efforts in the future, he noted.

"The next search and rescue operation should be better and more optimal. All constraints should be eliminated," Basya stressed.

The AirAsia Airbus A320-200 carrying 162 people had gone missing on the morning of December 28 after losing contact with air traffic control on its way from Surabaya, East Java, to Singapore.

Flight QZ8501 lost contact after the pilot sought permission to climb to 38 thousand feet from 32 thousand feet to avoid stormy weather over the sea between Bangka Belitung and West Kalimantan.

The aircraft carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members took off from Juanda International airport in Surabaya at 5:36 a.m. local time and lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17 a.m. local time.

The plane, piloted by Captain Iriyanto and First Officer (FO) Remi Emmanuel Plesel, was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Seven foreigners were among the passengers of the missing jet. The foreign nationals included three Koreans, a Singaporean, a Briton, a Malaysian, and the French FO.

The search and rescue team found the first piece of debris and bodies from the crash on the third day of the search.

Items recovered from the sea include a life jacket, children's shoes, luggage and what investigators believe to be an emergency exit door and an inflatable slide belonging to the plane.

Bad weather and strong currents had hampered the recovery efforts led by the TNI and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

The QZ8501 cockpit recorder was found on January 13, a day after the flight data recorder was recovered.

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