[1][2] Established on 3 February 1979 as the then Army Territorial Development Service (Pusat Pengembangan Teritorial TNI-AD) under the Army Doctrine, Education and Training Development Command, the Territorial Center was formed as part of the national Total Defense and Security System (TDSS) (Indonesian: Sistem Pertahanan Keamanan Rakyat Semesta (Sishankamrata)) strategy to help train Army officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel to sustain the functions and capabilities of territorial defence within the Army and help develop and operate a community defence strategic plan for every village, subdistrict/district, regency, and city.

To achieve its goals, the Territorial Defense Training School (Pusat Pendidikan Teritorial (Pusdikter)) in Bandung was also established at the same time to assist the education of Army personnel in the aspect of territorial defence and development.

Renamed the Territorial Education Service, it was granted its present name and status in 2007 as a directly reporting unit of the office of the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army.

Today the Pusterad is charged as the lead Army agency training Army personnel in the following aspects: The roots of Total Defense in Indonesian lands stems from the 1945 establishment of the Armed Forces and the 1948 decision for the creation of the Regional Military Commands.

In accordance with Law no.34 Series of 2004 - the Total Defense Act - the TDSS, which the Pusterad is charged for implementation within the territorial organization of the Republic, is defined as a universal defense system, which involves all citizens, territories and other national resources, and is prepared early by the national government and is carried out in a total, integrated, directed, sustainable and sustainable manner to achieve the following objectives:[3]