June - Department of Defence

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Are we that short-staffed?Today I witnessed something ratherodd in the Naval Dockyard inSimon's Town. Call me old-fashioned,but I felt it my duty, as a WarrantOfficer and gentleman, to enquirefrom two Able Seamen SWANS(female sailors) why they were taskedwith what seemed to be heavylabour. Let me explain: A ten-tontruck was parked at the ChapmanSouth Recreation Hall, fully ladenwith plastic chairs. The two SWANS,petite as they were, including aLeading Seaman (male), who Iassumed was the driver, constitutedthe labour force responsible for theloading. Upon my approach andenquiry, I was told that they weremembers of the ship's company (SASDRAKENSBERG), stores section, andthat it was their job as storekeepers totransport and load these chairs andreturn them to the ship. They wereactually tasked by their commanderto do so. These two females were soexhausted I could not help but feelsorry for them. Surely, despite manyan argument that women in the DODare given equal opportunities, and assuch should tackle any job at hand, Istrongly believe that a person in managementshould use his commonsense and initiative to delegate tasksto members who are suitable for thetask at hand.Any "buffer" on a ship wouldgladly spare a few "hands" in assistingwith the unpleasant task which, Ifeel, though they may be sailors, theyare still women. No wonder the abuseof women (and children) is nowadaysthe norm. As I said… are we thatshort staffed? - WO2 T.S. Fish,Simon's Town.* Cdr Susan Denman, SO1 HRPlans at the Navy Office providedthe following comment - Ed:"Thank you for your letter andyour concern for your fellow sailors.The SA Navy's approach to EqualOpportunities is stated in theAffirmative Action/Equal Opportunitypolicy. In layman's terms this meansthat everybody has a choice. Thisdoes not mean that women shouldtackle any job at hand, but that theycould do so.However, you are quite right, asmanagers we need to ensure that oursubordinates are not utilised abovetheir physical, or other limitations andthey should have enough trust in usto speak up if need be. Unfortunatelythe SAS DRAKENSBERG is currentlydeployed and we could not refer thematter to the Commander for input.By the way, there are no SWANSin the SA Navy. The abbreviation ofthe South African Women's AuxiliaryNaval Service, SWANS, is no longerin use.”Keeping up with international trends8Just a few suggestions regarding uniforms,in keeping with internationaltrends.Firstly, the US and Europeanarmies have added to their uniform(for some time now) smallstripes/bars worn on the lower leftsleeve of the service dress (step-outs).Each bar denotes three (four in theUS army) years of service in thearmed forces. (Refer to pictures inany history book of GeneralEisenhower.)The stripes are the same colour asthe stripes of the NCOs, usually yellow.When red stripes are added theydenote service in combat or overseas.The old Union Defence Force hadsuch a system during World War II.This, if introduced, will be worn withpride by members of the SANDF forall to see the years of dedicated servicethey have given to their country.A different colour stripe could beadded, denoting years of service inthe armed struggle.Secondly, the British and Austrianarmies have, as we have now adopted,bars to service medals. Theirs,however, are the service medal for 5Years of Exemplary Service and a barfor every five years after that up toforty years' service. Why not adoptthe same system of years in theSANDF. Come on - reward someonewho has been an example for fiveyears. This will make the medal moreobtainable and will serve as an inspirationto do better, knowing that onedoes not have to wait for ten years forone medal and another ten years forone bar - Sgt John Mathubane, email.* Lt Col Eddie Watson, SO1Heraldry at DOD Heraldry Sub-Directorate, commented as follows - Ed:"Sgt Mathubane is quite correctwhen he states that a number of foreignarmed forces manifest good conductor long service on the uniform ofa rank by means of chevrons, stripes,stars or by some other means.It is also the case that combat serviceis normally indicated by means ofanother colour used to manufacturethe device, as compared to peacetimeservice.The Sub-directorate Heraldryhas a number of reference worksthat illustrate this practice as it isimplemented internationally.It is, however, not generally thecurrent practice within the DOD toadd anything to the standard uniformto indicate good service for a periodof less than ten years. The soleexception is that the SA Navy still hassuch a system of good conductchevrons in place for petty officers orbelow.The question of changing theperiod of service before a memberreceives a service medal or barpossibly warrants consideration. Thiswould mean, however, that the subdirectoratewould have to deal withmedals and decorations as thewarrant authorising the award of the"Troue Diens Medalje" would have tobe redrafted. Any such change wouldalso have to receive Presidentialapproval.I trust this information is adequatefor your needs. Colour copies ofmaterial illustrating this matter can besupplied if needed."S A S O L D I E R • J U N E 2 0 0 4
We must dealwith lawbreakersIt is a pleasure to me as a proudSouth African to voice my sadness,frustration and confusion about thehigh crime rate; crimes are takingplace every second in our belovedcountry. All the peace-loving SouthAfricans celebrated their freedom in1994 with dignity and an aspirationfor their future, knowing that at lastthey were going to live a free life.Great strides have been made in areassuch as housing, basic education andaccess to primary health care so thateverybody can live a better life in thisbeautiful country of ours. We havethe most enabling laws you can thinkof on a range of issues and I believethere is still more to come.Notwithstanding the country'sachievements, I am very frustrated bythe level of crime, which has reachedan unacceptable level. South Africahas become a haven for crime syndicatesbecause criminals are takingadvantage as they think that it is theirright to break the law, having alsovoted. In addition, our Constitutionis more concerned about the criminals'rights than those of law-abidingcitizens. As we are all proud of ourrainbow nation, I think if we can allstand up and work together byassisting the soldiers and police andreporting all the crimes that we see,we can cure this disease. That will beour first clear national strategy todeal with this problem, and with thehelp of the community at large, andthe Government, I believe we willthen have both the capability andcapacity. The unfortunate thing isthat we are going to experiencevigilantism if nothing is done and, asit is, people have had enough. I urgeall peace-loving South Africans to say"Enough is Enough" and go out thereand do away with crime because wefought so hard to be where we are.Let us not forget that what we harvestin our minds we will manifest inour lives. To those who are addictedto breaking the law I say - you mustchoose to live your lives in peace orchoose to live your lives in pieces -Rfn P.H. Damente, Grahamstown.Building links across SADC bordersOur organisation, the MUASADefence Support Committee (MDSC),would like to thank you very muchfor sending us the SA SOLDIERmagazine, and the new 2004 calendar,they are so educative.After you sent us more informationabout the SANDF through yourmagazine, SA SOLDIER, our executivecommittee called a Lekgotla to discusscurrent issues raised in the magazine,and it came with an initiative tolaunch a new direct project, whichwill support the SANDF, lobby,advocate and promote it within ourcommunities and the government.Hence we renamed the MuasaSafety and Security to Muasa Defencecommittee. Ms Pienaar, our projectsupport Project Phoenix is aimed atrejuvenating and transforming theReserve Force of the SANDF.I would like to quote Maj Gen RoyAndersen: "Although Project Phoenixis showing pleasing results, a lot stillneeds to be done in the area of recruitment,training and transformation toensure a guaranteed representativeand combat ready Reserve Force.Plans are, however, developed toensure that we succeed."Let me quote Maj Gen M. KeithMokoape again: "We stand on theverge of sluice gates about to open.Charity begins at homeLately I have noticed that otherGovernment departments areadvertising through their personneldepartments, eg T-shirts and caps,which their personnel wear duringcasual events.Why does the DOD not do likewiseas I have noticed that such itemsare only used as souvenirs, mostly byforeigners? I think we have to berealistic: charity begins at home.I know an obvious questionwould be the budget, but then whynot sell this clothing, making it acompulsory task for all members andThe passion of yesterday is going tobe harnessed, without compulsion, topopularise the army as an institutionfor discipline and honour, not just forthe sake of it, but precisely because itis an instrument for the defence forour earth and our surroundings.Workers and the people in the countryside,should as one, master the artof Defence, and should the enemycontemplate attacking, they shouldnot hesitate and must not allow theenemy to attack." What powerfulwords from the Major Generals.Our organisation will lobby veryhard within our communities tomake sure these two Major Generalswords are turned into reality. Ourorganisation will come on board asMaj Gen Mokoape invites us, as civilsociety, to act collectively to populariseour army.We would also like to sayfarewell to the former Chief ofDefence Reserves, Maj Gen IanDeetleefs.Lastly, we would like to offer oursincere condolences to the family ofthe Minister of Defence, Mr MosiuoaLekota, whose mother passed away,may her soul rest in peace - Meshack"Smokey" Mei, Executive Co-ordinator,Muasa Projects and CommunityDevelopment, Naledi, Soweto.employees? Besides, a lot ofsecond-hand material/goods (exceptuniforms) are sold to the publicwithout our knowing about it. Whynot inform us? We also want tobuy them.It is actually easy because theDOD can introduce an accountingsystem for its members. I mean, weare all aware that Governmentdepartments cannot compete withprivate incentives. In a way thiswould be another incentive to upliftthe morale of the members of theDOD - S.P. Mashaba, Soshanguve.J U N E 2 0 0 4 • S A S O L D I E R9
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June - Department of Defence

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