South African Special Forces Brigade

The South African Special Forces Brigade is the main special forces unit of the South African Army.

It consists of Special Forces Headquarters in Pretoria, 4 Special Forces Regiment in Langebaan, 5 Special Forces Regiment - Phalaborwa and the Special Forces School in Murrayhill.

4 Special Forces Regiment specialise in maritime-related activities, whereas 5 Special Forces regiment specialises more in overland techniques, especially long-range infiltration.

History

The first South African special forces unit, 1 Reconnaissance Commando, was established in the town of Oudtshoorn, Cape Province on 1 October 1972. On 1 January 1975, this unit was relocated to Durban, Natal, where it continued its activities as the airborne specialist unit of the special forces.

Later, two additional Reconnaissance Commando were formed:

• 4 Reconnaissance Commando, specialising in seaborne operations, was established in the coastal town of Langebaan, Cape Province.
• 5 Reconnaissance Commando was established at the Duku-Duku camp in Northern Natal, but was later moved to Phalaborwa in the Transvaal province.

On 1 January 1981, a reorganisation of special forces took place, as part of which the Reconnaisance Commandos and other special forces were transformed into an independent formation, directly under the command of the (then) South African Defence Force (instead of the South African Army). As part of the reorganisation, the various Reconnaissance Commandos were also given the status of regiments. In the latter part of the same decade, a special forces headquarters and a special forces stores depot were also added to the special forces structure.

In 1991, the structure of the special forces underwent another change, when the special forces headquarters was disbanded and a Directorate Reconnaissance, reporting directly to the Chief of the Army, was established instead.

Another organisational change followed in 1993, when the Directorate Reconnaissance became 45 Parachute Brigade. As a result of this, all the units were renamed: 1 Reconnaissance Regiment became 452 Parachute Battalion, 4 Reconnaissance Regiment became 453 Parachute Battalion and 5 Reconnaissance Regiment became 451 Parachute Battalion.

As a result of the changes that took place in South Africa after the first fully democratic elections, the special forces organisation was changed to its current structure in 1996. The Special Forces Brigade, as it is presently known, consists of 4 and 5 Special Forces Regiments as well as 1 Maintenance Unit, which provides logistic support. Designation of these forces as being of "brigade"-size, however, is highly misleading. Total fighting manpower of 4 and 5 Special Forces Regiments combined does not approach even the strength of a regular infantry battalion.

As part of the military transformation process, 1 Special Forces Regiment was disbanded in 1996.

Due to the peacekeeping and other duties which the South African National Defence Force have been tasked with in recent times, new opportunities for the deployment of the special forces are continiously presenting themselves, which promises a major growth potential for these units.

Operator's Badge

All South African Special Forces operators receive the Operator's Badge, which is given only to those members who have completed all the qualifications as an Operator. It consists of an inverted Commando Knife within a laurel wreath, which is meant to symbolise both special forces (the knife) and victory (the wreath).

Standard operator badges are silver, but a gold badge with an embedded diamond is awarded to Operators with more than 10 years of active service.

The Operator's Prayer

The following is the official prayer of the "operators" of the South African Special Forces:

Heavenly Father,
King of the world,
I know that all things
are in Your hands,
whatever happens to me.

As a Special Forces Operator,
I am prepared to suffer hardship.
I am ready to endure danger,
unrest, pain and hurt.
I am going to be hungry and thirsty.
I am prepared to face the enemy
fearlessly, Lord.
I am weak.
I cannot depend
upon my own strength;
I do not want to trust
in my own abilities.

Lord, my God,
let me trust in You alone.
And, above all,
faith
to do my work fearlessly
- always.

Amen