CHIEF OF STAFF
ROYAL BRUNEI LAND FORCE

 

Lieutenant Colonel Erwan bin Haji Ibrahim assumed the role as Chief of Staff Royal Brunei Land Force on 04 December 2023. He was a graduate in Architectural Studies and was enlisted to the Royal Brunei Armed Forces on 30 August 1999. After graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom in 2000 he held his first military appointment as a Platoon Commander, Alpha Company, 1Bn Royal Brunei Land Force.

From 2003 to 2005 he was serving with the Combat Engineers as Troop Commander and Second in Command of the Squadron. He was trained by the Royal Engineers in the UK, undertaking, Troop Commander Course and International Search Advisor Course. During his tour with the Combat Engineers, he had the opportunity to join Operations Badai Berlalu which was a disaster relief operations for the Tsunami Aftermath in Aceh in 2005.

Afterwards he was posted to the Ministry of Defence with various responsibilities which among others were to set up the Office of Strategy Management. Besides overlooking the performance of the organisation, his other responsibilities include as the scholarship officer for the Ministry of Defence Scholarship Scheme and as a coordinator for the Executive Development Programme. He then had the experience of setting up a new outfit the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (SHHBIDSS).

In 2008 he had the opportunity to further his studies at the Fudan University in Shanghai China, undertaking Masters in Business Administration. After graduating he was then heading the Office of Strategy Management in 2010. Two years later he was posted to command the Chemical Biological Radiological and Explosive unit and was sent to Singapore to attend the CBRE Defence Advisor course. Subsequently, he was appointed as the SO2 Inspectorate Unit of the Royal Brunei Land Forces (RBLF). In 2015, he took on the role of the head of the Doctrine Unit within RBLF. By 2017, he was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Third Battalion (3Bn RBLF). Following this, he assumed the position of Staff Officer Grade 1 (Land) at the Directorate of Force Capability Development.

Despite his growing interest in golf and an avid photographer, he spends most of his time with his family.[EE1]  Married to an Occupational Therapist, Hajah Neza Ariyanti binti Abdul Rahman and blessed with three daughters and two sons.