With degrading global environmental conditions and the increasing impact of climate change, the river environment's role becomes increasingly important. Nevertheless, globally most watersheds are within a critical situation that requires immediate actions. Though uncommon, one possible approach to do river rehabilitation involves the military as an active actor in the rehabilitation effort. Linking the military with environmental policies is somewhat peculiar, but some studies show that this relation may positively impact the restoration process. We look at a similar issue within the Citarum river restoration program and elaborate on the outcome of this condition. We use secondary data, reports, and multiple previous literature pieces related to military involvement in restoration. We found a congruence from Citarum's case with earlier cases from India, U.S., and Botswana; that the military can increase public participation; increase restoration effectivity, and accelerate the effort. We hope to further discuss river restoration approaches and military involvement in environmental restoration because of its peculiarity. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.