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planning and organisation of all deploying forces and equipment. Agreements get entered into
long before the actual deployment takes place (Makgati, 2000).
Many deployed members of the SANDF tend to blame the government for not ensuring
sufficient racial representivity during deployments. The organisation on the other hand is being
blamed for not considering the needs of the deploying members. This includes ensuring that
there are adequate telephone lines for members to be able to maintain contact with their families.
The organisation is also blamed for not ensuring that appropriate and serviceable equipment is
available to the members. Other complaints centre around the calculation of allowances, the fact
that they are not being told the exact dates for rotations and the absence of health personnel, for
example psychologists and social workers, on the ground. All these discomforts and irritants tend
to lead to disputes that not only affect members and the organisation, but also have repercussions
for the government.
CONCLUSION
The discussion in the present paper highlights critical psychological aspects that South
African deployed soldiers tend to experience. However, this might not necessarily be applicable
only to South African soldiers, but also to military deployments internationally. They remain,
although ignored, common and demand to be addressed. Nonetheless, it is evident that the
ignorance regarding all these aspects is a result of a lack of effective communication. To many,
this may not be explicit, but it remains a reality.
Lastly, Africa bears enormous pressure regarding the economic, social and political problems
that it is facing in this current epoch. Its history on the other hand, points to the fact that the
current problems have a longstanding history. In this regard, the SANDF needs to continue to
play a meaningful role in affecting political stability on the African continent. Interventions
made, need to be well–planned and coordinated in order to have a positive and decisive impact
on the realisation of the African rebirth as envisioned by the president of the Republic of South
Africa, Mr Thabo Mbeki. Ensuring effective communication with deploying soldiers, thereby
empowering them in facilitating the realisation of this vision, is therefore critically important.
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003