 In 1969, Panggabean became the Commander of Kopkamtib.Two years later, in 1971, Suharto reshuffled the Cabinet and Panggabean became Deputy Commander in addition to becoming State Minister assisting the President in matters of Defense and Security .Panggabean reached the pinnacle of his military career in 1973 when he became Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces in addition to becoming Minister of Defense and Security.