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S A S O L D I E Rstories from 2009Exercise GOLFINHOBy L Cpl Itumeleng Makhubela (anextract of what was published inSA Soldier: October 2009, page 11)Photo: S Sgt Lebogang TlhaoleExercise GOLFINHO is a multinationalpeacekeeping operationwith over 6 000 participantsfrom different securityforces and support elements.This unique approach topeace support missions has taken theSouthern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC) region by stormthrough its complexity and execution.The SADC Standby Force was establishedas agreed upon by the AfricanUnion timeline of 2010 with the aim ofparticipating in peace support missions.Its main objective was to prepareelements of the SADC StandbyForce for a multidimensional peacesupport operation in line with theAfrican Union (AU) standby forceroad map.Briefing the media about ExerciseGOLFINHO, Brig Gen LawrenceSmith, the Force Commander, saidthey had selected scenario six of theprescribed AU training structure, anintervention that posed difficulties interms of interoperability. He describedit as a way of testing impossibilities byputting together people of differentgroupings and backgrounds. The compositionof the SADC Standby Forceconsisted of the Mission Headquarters,a civilian component, a police componentand the military component thatmade an immense contribution by providingpersonnel.Exercise GOLFINHO was structuredin three phases. The first was theIt is a multinational peacekeeping operation withparticipants from different security forces andsupport elements.MAPEX, which was the initialpart of the exercise and entailedmapping and operational planning.This was followed by theCPX command post exercise,and lastly the training exerciseFTX, a month-long field trainingexercise at the SA ArmyTraining Combat Centre inLohatlha that took place from 1to 28 September 2009. Thisinvolved the execution part ofthe exercise and mobilisedforces in member states. It alsocomprised intervention by airborneforces and marrying updrills by integrating SADCstates and their different forces.Brig Gen Smith said each componenthad a sector commanderto oversee its engagementand successfully interactedwith other components despiteminor obstacles. Of the 15countries that form the SADC,only three: Mauritius,Seychelles and Madagascarwere non-participants in theexercise. Each SADC state hadto provide for their own forces. TheNaval Joint Maritime Task Force atWalvis Bay in Namibia also ran anexercise concurrently with the one inLohatlha.A simulated hostile take-over of rebelmilitants on armaments vehicles wasstaged during a demonstration. TheSoldiers lowering flags during thedecommissioning parade.scene depicted how a well-integratedSADC force would handle such incidents.The objective of the exercisewas to test the interoperability andcompatibility of the mission components.Unlike the military and policecomponents, the civilian componenthad to provide assistance in humanitarianrelief operation.42• M A Y 2 0 1 1
stories from 2009S A S O L D I E RDefence TV wins top awardat international film festivalDefence TV, is responsiblefor all audio-visualcommunication withinthe Department ofDefence.By Col Robert Zeelie, DefenceAttaché Rome, Italy (an extract ofwhat was published in SA Soldier:December 2009, page 32)Photo: WO2 Riaan van ZylLike most other defence forcesacross the globe, the SouthAfrican National Defence Force(SANDF) has its own televisionunit. This section, Defence TV, isresponsible for all audio-visualcommunication within theDepartment of Defence (DOD). Andlike its counterparts from all over theworld this section sometimes enterssome of its work for the InternationalMilitary Film Festival, namely "Esercitie Popoli", which is hosted annually inNovember in Italy.Defence TV has been participating inthis festival since 2001 and had previouslywon two awards in this competition.This year Defence TV entered twodocumentaries in two different categoriesin the competition.It once again stood its ground on foreignsoil by winning first prize in thecategory "Military Operations,Safeguard of Peace and HumanRights", a much-coveted award, sincethe competition is especially tough inthis category, which focuses on thepeacetime role of defence forces all overthe world. This year, the 20thThe Defence TV crew - "Eye of the Forces" - fltr: Mr John Adler,Ms Cindy Ludick, Mr Tebogo Dube, Mr Ronnet Kgaphola, Mr EnockMkhwanazi, Mr Pule Tsoai, Mr Bongani Khuzwayo. In front: MrKarel van der Merwe, freelance writer and producer.International Military Film Festival onceagain took place in Bracciano, Italy. Thispicturesque little town is located on theshores of Lake Bracciano. As always,the festival offered a platform for thevarious armed forces to showcase theirrole and function in present-day society.The main categories of the competitionwere well represented in the followingareas: institutional information, history,training, environmental protection, promotion,teaching and operational activities.Special emphasis was placed onrecent and relevant themes, such ashumanitarian and peacekeeping missions,first aid support in case of naturaldisasters and the fight against terrorism.Freelance producer, Mr Karel van derMerwe, an ex-SANDF member himselfwith 17 years' experience in militaryfilm production, directed Advocates ofAfrican Peace, the award-winning documentary,for the SANDF. This documentarytakes an in-depth look at thevarious peacekeeping missions that theSANDF has been involved in duringthe past ten years.The documentary is dedicated to theSANDF's ten-year involvement ininternational peace missions. The 1 200guests who attended the luncheon inthe Bloemfontein City Hall that formedpart of the official ten-year celebrationson 16 October, viewed the premiereduring this event. The Commander-in-Chief of the SANDF, President JacobZuma, the Minister of Defence andMilitary Veterans, Ms Lindiwe Sisulu,and various other high-profile stakeholderswere among the guests whoviewed this documentary.M A Y 2 0 1 1 • s43
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