This battalion became the core of Kahar's army. It also operated as Sukarno's protection guard when he moved to Yogyakarta. After leaving KRIS due to internal conflicts, Kahar was tasked by General Sudirman to prepare for the formation of a republican army in Sulawesi. He then formed the "Tentara Republik Indonesia Persiapan Sulawesi" (Sulawesi Preparatory Unit of the Army of the Republic of Indonesia, TRIPES) which was formed on 24 March 1946. The battalion of political prisoners whose release Kahar had negotiated formed the core of TRIPES. Members of Kris were also incorporated into TRIPES. Kahar was the commander of TRIPES, and he, helped by Major Andi Mattalatta and Major Saleh Lahade, both from South Sulawesi, began to organize the infiltration of soldiers from Java into South Sulawesi by boats in 1949. Kahar, however, remained in Yogyakarta and later formed a special military unit called "Barisan Berani Mati" (Dare-Devil Unit, BBM) from the last remaining battalion of the unit which fought in the Madiun area of East Java. Following this, and the transfer of sovereignty of East Indonesia to the Republic in December 1949, Kahar had expected to be appointed commander of South Sulawesi since he had been one of the principal figures in organising and sending troops of Sulawesi youths back to their homeland in 1946 to support the pro-Republican guerrillas against the Dutch. However, his name was not in the list of newly appointed members of the Territorial Command for East Indonesia. This was a time when education, technical qualifications and discipline were all important and emphasized as criteria for qualifications, thus making Kahar ill-qualified. He did not have formal military training or battle experience, and his rebellious character was considered an obstacle to the integration of the army. Moreover, Kahar had no powerful friends in the military, thus opposition for his ambition to be commander of the South Sulawesi unit was not just by the army, but also by other South Sulawesi officers such as Saleh Lahade and Andi Mattalatta. Instead of commander of the South Sulawesi unit, Kahar was appointed as the commander of the "Komando Grup Seberang" (Group Commando for the Outer Islands, KGS) in October 1949. He was promoted to the rank of 'acting' lieutenant-colonel, and was put in charge of coordinating the guerrilla units in Sulawesi, Kalimantan, the Moluccas and Nusa Tenggara.