 Formerly also a military secretary to President Joko Widodo, the president nominated him to the People's Representative Council as the sole candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces ("Panglima TNI"), replacing Gatot Nurmantyo.He was formally appointed on 8 December 2017.Hadi's father Bambang Sudardo served as a personnel in Abdurrahman Saleh airbase, motivating him to join the Air Force Academy following his graduation from high school.