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 R 2012 review of defenceSANDF continues to inspireSouth AfricansBy Lt Col Frans Pale, SO1Operational CommunicationPhoto: Capt Matthew de JagerThe Joint Operations Division (JOps Div) continues to inspirethe South African populationas it employs forces in thedefence of the Republic, andthe protection of its sovereigntyand territorial integrity. On the otherhand, the J Ops Div also complieswith the international obligations ofthe Republic to international bodiesand other states.During the financial year 2011/2012,the J Ops Div deployed SouthAfrican National Defence Force(SANDF) cadres for participationin a wide range of prominent andinternationally recognised externalpeace support operations.During these operations, the SANDFdeployed a total of 2 249 members.They were deployed in three largeto medium scale peace supportoperations, such as OperationMistral in the Democratic Republicof the Congo (DRC), OperationCordite in the Sudan andOperation Copper in support of theMozambique Government’s counterpiracyoperations in the MozambiqueChannel.Other military assistance operationscarried out by the SANDF includedOperation Vimbezela in the CentralAfrican Republic, Operation Dawnin South Sudan, Operation Rush inthe Republic of Tanzania, OperationSononder in Equatorial Guineaand Operation Senoko in the DRC.The latter involved the successfuldelivery of material from SouthAfrica to the DRC during the recentlyheld parliamentary and presidentialelections in that country.Fellow soldiers, ladies and gentlemen,charity begins at home. In support ofthe people of South Africa, the SANDFcompleted one Bailey bridge in April2011 at Nquthu River in the EasternCape and another at Hammanskraalin Gauteng in June 2011. These bridgeswere donatedand built bythe SA ArmyEngineers toprovide safe andeasy access tocommunities.The SANDFprovidedfire-fightingassistance inthe WesternCape and tookpart in searchand-rescueatsea and on landin the EasternCape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)and Gauteng.Support wasalso providedduring heavysnowstorms onthe N3 betweenHarrismithand Villiersin the KZNby recoveringvehicles andprovidingassistance forstranded driversand passengers, as well as provision ofwater in the Brandfort area in the FreeState in July 2011 after the municipalitycould not provide water for thecommunity.The SANDF also provided flood reliefassistance during the floods in theLimpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.We again provided medical care tocrewmen of a Chinese ship, the LAI-CHING in the vicinity of Tristan daCunha in May 2011.With regard to the border safeguardingresponsibility of the SANDF, OperationCorona continues according to aphased roll-out approach. The SANDFcompleted phase two of the roll-outsuccessfully by deploying two subunitsat Pontdrift and Musina in Limpopo, twosubunits at Macadamia and Skukuza inMpumalanga, two subunits at Ndumuand Pongola in KZN and one subunitMembers of the SANDF constructing a bridge inthe Eastern Cape Province.at Ladybrand in the Free State. Theborder safeguarding responsibilityencompasses all three environments,viz land, air and sea. Thedeployment of the SANDF for bordersafeguarding resulted in 16 850 illegalimmigrants being apprehended, 368criminals arrested, 60 stolen vehiclesrecovered, 8 weapons recovered, 1 394livestock recovered, 453kg of coppercable recovered and 9 068kg of daggaconfiscated.The SANDF also provided maritimeand airspace control. This supportwas provided by the SANDFbacked by the collateral value ofcore conventional capabilities. Aspart of Operation Corona, theSANDF is executing OperationHorizon (anti-poaching) with theaim of stopping rhino poaching inthe country, especially in the KrugerNational Park.40 • M A Y 2 0 1 2