Department of Defence Annual Report 2008-2009

| Department of Defence |
Chapter 3
Programme 8: Force Employment
Overview
During the past year, the Joint-Operations Division
has played a major role in the SANDF, in achieving
its Military Strategic Objectives. Focusing on
enhancing and maintaining comprehensive defence
capabilities, promoting peace, stability and security in
the Region and on the Continent and in support of
the people of South Africa. The Force Employment
Programme provides and employs defence
capabilities to successfully conduct all operations
and joint, interdepartmental and multinational
military exercises. In the year under review, the
DOD fully complied with all commitments ordered
by Government and successfully employed missiontrained
forces in terms of South Africa’s policies
and international obligations in the promotion of
peace, stability and security.
The contribution to stability and security on our
Continent by all the forces deployed in peace
support operations, remained the enduring highlight
of the current employment of the SANDF. A
total of 2 900 members, including 255 Reserves,
were successfully deployed in six Peace Support
Operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), Burundi, Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Sudan,
Uganda, Southern Sudan and Nepal, and three
general military assistance operations in the DRC,
Central African Republic (CAR) and Uganda.
Operation CURRICULUM in Burundi is expected
to be terminated in the near future, which serves as
proof of its success. However, the United Nations
(UN) Security Council extended the mandate of the
December 2009. At the request of the UN, the full
complement of SANDF troops was not deployed in
the UN/African Union (AU) Hybrid Mission in the
Sudan. Operation TSOLO II saw the destruction of
ammunition and ordnance in Uganda.
Internally, missions in support of other Government
departments were successfully conducted. As part
of humanitarian assistance, 57 successful searchand-rescue
and disaster aid and relief actions
Western Cape was provided as well as drought relief
aid assistance to local municipalities in the Eastern
Cape. The SANDF successfully supported the South
African Police Service (SAPS) in the maintenance of
safety and security during events such as the courtesy
visit of the United States of America Carrier Strike
Group, and the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) Heads of State Summit.
The SANDF was commissioned by Presidential
Proclamation to assist the SAPS throughout the
Gauteng, during the attacks on foreign nationals in
occasional deployments during the operation. On
support of the SAPS along the RSA/Zimbabwean
international border (Operation INTEXO). By the
end of March 2009, all SANDF deployments were
scheduled to be withdrawn from this international
instruction was issued by the Minister of Defence to
put on hold the withdrawal of SANDF troops from
the RSA/Zimbabwean international border, until
further notice. Through Operation KGWELE, the
SANDF will form part of the key players to secure
the 2009 the Fédération Internationale de Football
Association (FIFA) Confederations Cup and the
The Special Forces achieved all the special operations’
objectives, but they were still under-utilised in terms
of the capabilities available for employment in
African missions. Two Africans were appointed as
and Brigade Sergeant-Major.
The focus of the Special Forces was on preparation of
the force for participation in securing the 2009 FIFA
(JIM) exercises were successfully executed by the
Special Forces. Search-and-rescue, naval control of
shipping, and interdepartmental force preparation
exercises were executed in preparation for possible
force employment activities. Worthy of note is
Exercise SHIELD, in which the SANDF supported
the SAPS in the exercise of Airspace Control in
preparation for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
the SADC BRIG exercise, Exercise GOLFINHO
scheduled for 2009, a planning session was held in
| Programme 8: Force Employment |
69 Annual Report FY 2008 - 2009