M A Y 2 0 1 2 • S A S O L D I E R - Department of Defence

S A S O L D I E Rmessagereview of defencefrom theeditor’s deskIn view of the fact that the Minister of Defenceand Military Veterans, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu, will bedelivering her Budget Vote in Parliament on 17 May2012 SA Soldier dedicates this edition to the manyachievements of the Department of Defence and theSA National Defence Force since the appointmentof Ms Sisulu as the Minister of Defence and MilitaryVeterans in 2009.We also celebrate Mother’s Day on 13 May, whichmakes it even more appropriate to dedicate this specialedition of SA Soldier to the Mother of our military familywho is the first woman to be appointed Minister ofDefence in South Africa.This edition is packed with success stories publishedin SA Soldier over the past three years; and after readingthem all I am certain you will be as proud as I am to be amember of this military family.Read all about Exercise Golfinho (page 11), amultinational peacekeeping operation with over 6 000participants from different security forces and supportelements, which took the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC) region by storm through thecomplexity of its execution.The SANDF has spent a decade participating inpeace missions. To celebrate this worthy milestonethe SANDF Commander-in-Chief and President ofSouth Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma, honoured our peaceambassadors with medals during a parade held in theirhonour on 16 October 2009 (read page 13).Read on page 21 how the Department of Defenceclosed the gap on service delivery as it completed theconstruction of three bridges in Eastern Cape villages on16 March 2010.Who can still remember the mother who gave birthto a baby girl, Rosita Mabuiango, in a tree during theraging floods in Mozambique in March 2000?! MinisterSisulu announced in her budget vote in Parliament on 4May 2010 that the SANDF had formally adopted RositaMabuiango to contribute towards her educational andother costs related to her upbringing (read page 23).Read about the official launch of the Departmentof Military Veterans on 30 April 2010. After years ofstruggle to be recognised the Military Veterans nowhave a department to deal specifically with theirchallenges (page 25).Who can forget that the SANDF deployed more than3 500 soldiers to different hospitals during the PublicService labour action in 2010 to assist the Departmentof Health in rendering medical service and providingsecurity support in co-ordination with the South AfricanPolice Service (read page 28).The SA Air Force boasts the first female Gripen pilotin the world – Maj Catherine Labuschagne.Wow! Read about this historic milestone onpage 29.Read on page 32 about the day whenMinister Sisulu welcomed and wishedgood luck to 4 000 young men and womenwho had been accepted for the first intake of the MilitarySkills Development System (MSDS) for 2011. The systemseeks to provide scarce skills for the youth of the countryto enable them to contribute meaningfully to the growth ofthe country and in so doing heed the President’s call for jobcreation.Read about more progress in the Department of Defencesince Minister Sisulu assumed her post (pages 36 and 27):In 2009 she stated boldly in her first budget vote speechthe need for a separate dispensation for the Departmentof Defence that would allow it to deal creatively with itsown needs and the specificities of its own unique securityrequirements. Thus the Interim National Defence ForceService Commission was establishment to look into theconditions of service of SANDF members. To further advancethis effort in 2010, the Department of Defence submitted toParliament an Amendment Bill to the Defence Act of 2002.The bill proposed, among others, a separate dispensation forthe Department of Defence from the public service sector,which would give it legal standing and a permanent servicecommission. Furthermore, salary increases for all SANDFmembers on salary levels 2 to 12 were effected as from 1December 2009. On another level the SANDF did a sterlingjob in providing ironclad security for the duration of the2010 Soccer World Cup.The SANDF continues to inspire South Africans: read onpage 40 about the Joint Operations Division that deployedSANDF cadres for participation in a wide range of prominentand internationally recognised external peace supportoperations.It is a known fact that since taking office in 2009, MinisterSisulu has demonstrated her passion for turning thingsaround in the SANDF. Among the issues close to her heartwas the improvement of service conditions for NationalDefence Force members when she appointed a permanentNational Defence Service Commission (NDSC). The NDSCwill also help the SANDF to retain scares skills as it willprovide the kind of working environment that will improvethe morale of our personnel.Another achievement was the amendments to theNon-statutory Forces Pension Fund in accordance with theGovernment Employees Pension Act. Huge progress hasbeen made with the support of the Government PensionAdministration Agency since the middle of 2011 (readpage 47).Not only did Minister Sisulu bring about positive changeto the Department in the three years of her tenure but sherestored hope in the hearts of many in the SA NationalDefence Force.Nelda PienaarEditor SA Soldier4 • M A Y 2 0 1 2