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South African Special Forces
The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces (from "reconnaissance"), is South Africa's principal military special operations unit specialising in various types of operations, including counter-insurgency, counter terrorism, direct action, long-range reconnaissance, special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and hostage rescue. The brigade operates with two active-duty groups, with 4 Special Forces Regiment focusing on maritime operations, and 5 Special Forces Regiment focusing on land and airborne operations. Only about 8% of recruits who undergo South African special forces training pass the course. The South African Special Forces Brigade has its roots in the Hunter Group, which was formed in 1968 as an elite counter-insurgency unit of the South African Army. The success of this unit culminated in the subsequent formation of five reconnaissance units, known widely as "Recces", during the 1970s. South African special forces carried out a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Special Forces Brigade
The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces (from "reconnaissance"), is South Africa's principal Special forces, military special operations unit specialising in various types of operations, including counter-insurgency, counter terrorism, direct action, long-range reconnaissance, special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and hostage rescue. The brigade operates with two active-duty groups, with 4 Special Forces Regiment focusing on maritime operations, and 5 Special Forces Regiment focusing on land and airborne operations. Only about 8% of recruits who undergo South African special forces training pass the course. The South African Special Forces Brigade has its roots in the Hunter Group, which was formed in 1968 as an elite counter-insurgency unit of the South African Army. The success of this unit culminated in the subsequent formation of five reconnaissance units, known widely as "Recces", during the 1970s. South African special forces c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hunter Group
The Hunter Group was formed in 1968, as an experimental, non military group, with members of the group passing on some of their training (unofficially) onto other units of the South African Army. History Hunter Group was formed in May 1968 by Commandant G. van Kerckhoven of the South African Irish Regiment who saw a need to expand the counter-insurgency skills of certain members in the regiment and which would be superior to the basic skills provided to the average national serviceman. He was aided by an ex-Rhodesian army civilian weapons and unarmed combat expert named Grant-Grierson. Initially it drew members from the SA Irish regiment but as it reputation grew volunteers from other army units also joined. Members received 240 hours of training over weekends and at night over twelve months. Up to 700 men passed through the group's training with members forming or training the first special forces unit and 32 Battalion By 1976 the group had disbanded and its remaining memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Reconnaissance Commando (South Africa)
2 Reconnaissance Regiment was the Active Citizen Force unit of the South African Special Forces. Its part-time service personnel formed part of the reserve component of the South African Defence Force. History This unit was established in Pretoria as 2 Reconnaissance Commando in 1974 from what had been called the Hunter Group. This was a group of Citizen Force soldiers who, under the auspices of the South African Irish Regiment, had started arranging specialised training. They were eventually formalised into 2 Reconnaissance Regiment mostly at the insistence of Brigadier G.W. Germishuizen, then Commanding Officer of Witwatersrand Command. Later, its complement comprised Operators and personnel who had retired from active military duty to pursue civilian careers, but who could be, and were willing to be, called up to perform Special Forces operations when such a need arose. The Regiment performed extremely well in all the operations in which it took part, beginning with their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal Province
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and Natal Province. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban, which is also the Port of Durban, city with the largest port in sub-saharan Africa. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, after Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is the Port of Durban, busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea, Durban, Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal, Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of and had a population of 4.2million in 2022 South African census, 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. Within the city limits, Durban's population was 595,061 in 2011 South African census, 2011. The city has a humid subtr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Colony, as well as Walvis Bay, and had Cape Town as its capital. In 1994, the Cape Province was divided into the new Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces, along with part of the North West. History When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the original Cape Colony was renamed the Cape Province. It was by far the largest of South Africa's four provinces, as it contained regions it had previously annexed, such as British Bechuanaland (not to be confused with the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana), Griqualand East (the area around Kokstad) and Griqualand West (area around Kimberley). As a result, it encompassed two-thirds of South Africa's territory, and covered an area of approximately . At the time of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1870 and 1900–1914. With approximately 60,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the Klein Karoo region. The town's economy is primarily reliant on the ostrich farming and tourism industries. Oudtshoorn is home to the world's largest ostrich population, with a number of specialised ostrich breeding farms, such as the Safari Show Farm and the Highgate Ostrich Show Farm, as stated by Pierre D. Toit. Bhongolethu is a township east of Oudtshoorn. Derived from Xhosa, its name means "our pride". History Settlement The pioneer farmers in the area that would be known as Oudtshoorn arrived in the 1750s, and became well-established in the area by the end of the 18th century. In addition to rearing liv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery protection, search and rescue, and upholding maritime law enforcement for the benefit of South Africa and its international partners. Today the South African Navy is one of the most capable naval forces in the African region, operating a mixed force of sophisticated warships, submarines, patrol craft, and auxiliary vessels, with over 7,000 personnel; including a marine force. With formerly deep historical and political connections to the United Kingdom, the first emergence of a naval organisation was the creation of the South African Division of the British Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1913, before becoming an nominally independent naval service for the Union of South Africa in 1922. In its history, South African nava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joint Operations Division (South Africa)
The Joint Operations Division is a component of the South African National Defence Force tasked with conducting Joint Operations involving the various arms of the SANDF. History The Joint Operations Division was established on 1 August 1997 during a major reorganisation of the armed forces. Before the re-organisation each arm of Service had an operations staff responsible for deploying its units as directed by the Service chief and the Chief of the SANDF. The Chief of the SANDF had an operations staff, playing a co-ordinating role. Following the re-organisation, each arm of service had to provide properly trained and equipped forces to Joint Operations. Joint Operations would then deploy these forces as necessary and revert to their parent service following the mission. The exception is the Special Forces Brigade, which is directly under the command of the Chief of the SANDF and is permanently allocated to Joint Operations. There are nine joint operational-tactical headquarte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limpopo Province
Limpopo () is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountainous vicinity and named the area after their leader. The Lebombo mountains are also named after them. The river has been called the Vhembe by local Venda communities of the area. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo. The province is made up of three former Bantustans of Lebowa, Gazankulu and Venda and part of the former Transvaal province. The Limpopo province was established as one of nine provinces after the 1994 South African general election. The province's name was first "Northern Transvaal", later changed to "Northern Province" on 28 June 1995, with two other provinces. The name was later changed aga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalaborwa
Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Name The place was called "Phalaborwa" by the Sotho people, Sotho tribes who migrated from the south to the area. The name means "better than the south". History The Sotho mined and smelted copper and iron ore there by 400 AD. Geography It is located near the confluence of the Ga-Selati River and the Olifants River (Limpopo), Olifants, halfway up along the western border of the Kruger National Park in the Lowveld. It is the only town in South Africa that borders Kruger National Park. The border with Mozambique is two hours away. Various private game reserves nearly surround Phalaborwa. Hans Merensky Golf Estate is situated on the outskirts. Nearby natural attractions are Blyde River Canyon, the Three Rondavels, God's Window and Bourke's Luck Potholes; the Tzaneen fruit farms and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and List of South African provinces by population, the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George. Geography The Western Cape is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
