SADC training for SA special forces

Members of the South African Air Force (SAAF) and army take part in a Capability Demonstration at the Roodewal Bombing Range in Makhado, in the northern province of Limpopo, May 9, 2013. South Africa’s air force showed off its military might on Thursday with precision bombing and helicopter gunships firing fusillades of rockets just days ahead of an unprecedented "peace enforcing" deployment to eastern Congo. Two months after 13 troops were killed by rebels in Central African Republic in South Africa’s heaviest military losses since the end of apartheid, Pretoria is gearing up to send 1,000 soldiers to Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile border with Rwanda and Uganda. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS)

Members of the South African Air Force (SAAF) and army take part in a Capability Demonstration at the Roodewal Bombing Range in Makhado, in the northern province of Limpopo, May 9, 2013. South Africa’s air force showed off its military might on Thursday with precision bombing and helicopter gunships firing fusillades of rockets just days ahead of an unprecedented "peace enforcing" deployment to eastern Congo. Two months after 13 troops were killed by rebels in Central African Republic in South Africa’s heaviest military losses since the end of apartheid, Pretoria is gearing up to send 1,000 soldiers to Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile border with Rwanda and Uganda. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS)

Published Jun 25, 2014

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Johannesburg - South Africa's special forces will take part in a joint multi-national training exercise in Angola with SADC special forces, the SA National Defence Force said on Wednesday.

The exercise, named LEGAE 2014 for South African forces but “Vale du Keve 2014” in Angola, would run from August 1 until September 13, Lt-Col Angela-Lee Human said.

The aim was to conduct a special forces multi-national exercise with the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

It would be conducted with limited satellite support by the air force, health service, and army.

The exercise would build capacity and test inter-operability in mountainous, jungle, and waterborne environments.

Preparations for the operation, in the Waku Cungo, Cuanza Sul area of Angola, would begin on July 22, with convoys travelling there both by road and air, Human said.

“This is the fifth time that the South African special forces will participate in a similar exercise with other SADC special forces.”

According to the South African special forces website, www.sf.mil.za, the strategic nature of special operations dictates that the unit be an “autonomous force”.

“Operations are controlled at the highest level to ensure security, a short line of command, and the optimisation of inherent capabilities.”

According to the website, the unit's motto is “We fear naught but God”.

Sapa

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