trainingFirst SANDF womanto complete the FrenchJoint Staff andCommand CourseBy Col Pat MasisiWhen Col Jerry Masisi wasappointed as a Deputy<strong>Defence</strong> Attaché inFrance, Col Pat Masisithought about how shecould benefit from herhusband's deploymentby not stagnating in her career andalso gaining insight from the foreigndefence force so that she could ploughback the skills and knowledgeacquired during the deployment inParis.She decided not to accompanyher husband as a spouse only, butalso to be a prospective military studentat the Ecole Militaire (FrenchWar College), and commencedlearning the French language firstand then continued with the FrenchJoint Staff and Command Course.Despite the many obstacles and challengesencountered, she finally madeit when she obtained the first andsecond degree in the French languagein both the oral and writinglevels, which is the standardrequired by NATO for furtherdeployment anywhere internationally,including the Diploma in the FrenchStaff Course.Col Pat Masisi has for many yearshad the edge in achieving quite phenomenalresults in life. As a womanshe always set herself high standardsand high goals, and she is not afraid t<strong>of</strong>ace challenges, no matter how hard.However, these standards needed tobe maintained and sustained by continuousstudies, so when she joinedthe SANDF in 1998 she intendeddiversifying her career and facing newchallenges in the SANDF.24Colonel Pat Masisi with some <strong>of</strong> the course members on board the Vasco da Gama.S A S O L D I E R • NO VEMB ER 2 0 0 8
Preliminary languageorientation courseThe course normally takes <strong>of</strong>f inFebruary with a five-month Frenchpr<strong>of</strong>iciency language course. This isan intensive language pr<strong>of</strong>iciencyphase designed to enable Anglophoneand non-French speaking <strong>of</strong>ficers tounderstand the main military staffcommand course in French.Six months <strong>of</strong> intensive Frenchclasses brought her language skills upto postgraduate level. She started thecourse on 8 February and it lasteduntil 24 June 2005. In this time she wasmainly doing the language part <strong>of</strong> thecourse. She was the first female <strong>of</strong>ficerfrom the SANDF in a group <strong>of</strong> 52 <strong>of</strong>ficersfrom different foreign countries.It was a daring challenge, which neededso much determination. She wasmindful that she was representing hercountry and that she had to succeed,which amounted to additional pressureon her. Unfortunately at the end<strong>of</strong> June 2005 she was informed thather pr<strong>of</strong>iciency level in French wasbelow the standard and she was withdrawnfrom the course.She was called back in 2006 andrepeated the language course andpassed in the first degree in the oraland written examinations in 2006. Shecontinued up to the second degreelevel and was able to obtain a seconddegree in the NATO STANAG 3001level 2 certificates in both written andoral French. During the languagephase she was the only female student<strong>of</strong>ficer among a group <strong>of</strong> 52 male <strong>of</strong>ficers.This time around she succeededin reaching the international phase,which took place in July 2006. She wasstill the only woman during thisphase in which, 66 students camefrom the Francophone countries tojoin them. Altogether there wereabout 113 foreign students from 78countries.She was the first woman from theSANDF and the first woman fromSouth Africa to complete the FrenchJoint Staff and Command Course atthe Ecole Militaire in Paris, France.Colonel Pat Masisi attending a formal function during her course in France.International SessionThe International Session commencedin July 2006. It was an interphase,which allowed interactionbetween the Anglophone andFrancophone foreign <strong>of</strong>ficers whoawaited the commencement <strong>of</strong> the militaryphase in September when theFrench <strong>of</strong>ficers joined up. The aim wasto harmonise language and culturaldifferences. Familiarisation visitswithin France were organised to historicsites to further deepen the overallaim.The highlights <strong>of</strong> this phase werethe visit to Verdun, the World War Ibattlefield and other historical placesin France. The French students joinedin September 2006, only two womenreporting from the French <strong>Defence</strong>Force. (Now at least there were threefemale <strong>of</strong>ficers among 364 men oncourse.) That was the beginning <strong>of</strong> thereal Joint Senior and Command StaffProgramme at the Ecole Militaire.From January to March 2007 ColPat Masisi joined the marine groupbecause there were only seven studentsfrom the medical core. Theycould not form a group and were swallowedby the other Services. She choseworking with the Navy and benefitedmuch by working in this group as themarines were broad-minded and confident,which added to the value <strong>of</strong> thecourse. Next they visited Lisbon inPortugal and other places <strong>of</strong> marineinterest in France."My stay in Paris was not one <strong>of</strong>luxury because I was expected to playthe role <strong>of</strong> the accompanying spouse. Ihad to sacrifice my husband, my childrenand myself because I was alwaysaway; otherwise I used to attend privateFrench lessons. I have a few basicprinciples that guide me in life: to bepurposeful, visionary and positive. Itwas indeed a mammoth task to thinkfirst in English, translate into Frenchand speak in French. I was able towrite the staff paper and defend it successfullyin French in front <strong>of</strong> the adjudicator,Mr Xavier de Villepin (thefather <strong>of</strong> the former Prime Minister,Mr Dominique de Villepin). I obtaineda pass mark <strong>of</strong> 4/5," said Col PatMasisi."From the South African Embassyin Paris, I would like to thank theAmbassador, Ms Maria Sibanda-Thusi, for her unfailing support duringmy presentations on the culturaland international day at the college.The following transferred <strong>of</strong>ficials alsomade it possible for me to succeed inall the tasks that were imposed on meby the college by <strong>of</strong>fering their supportlogistically, psychologically evenphysically, namely, Mr JosephMoshesh, Mr Marius Conradie, MsEvelyn Frank and Ms Seipei Deane.They were at all times ready to assistirrespective <strong>of</strong> who I was. They weretruly South Africans."I would like to encourage my fellow<strong>of</strong>ficers to nominate themselvesfor this course. I know that the Frenchlanguage is complicated, but this wasthe best opportunity I ever had. Thecourse consisted <strong>of</strong> 15 modules, 2 supplementarymodules, and I had towrite an article which was compulsoryfor the French students and optionalfor the foreign students. I tried myluck and submitted an article aboutwomen," said Col Pat Masisi.NO VEMB ER 2 0 0 8 • S A S O L D I E R25
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