Major General Les Rudman was a General Officer in the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

from the infantry.

Military career

General Rudman was an honorary

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Operator, Pathfinder and parachutist instructor. He was appointed to the post of Deputy Chief of the South African Army on 1 October 2011. He was awarded the ''Sword of Honour'' at the

South African Military Academy The South African Military Academy is based on similar principles to that of the military academy system of the United States ( United States Military Academy United States Naval Academy United States Air Force Academy). The academy is a militar ...

in 1976. He retired at the end of 2014 and was succeeded by Maj Gen Lawrence Smith. He served at 31 Battalion as Company Commander, 32 Battalion with the

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

s and for this he was awarded the Pro Virtute Decoration,

1 Parachute Battalion 1 Parachute Battalion (''Ex Alto Vincimus'') is the only full-time paratroop unit of the South African Army. It was founded on 1 April 1961, along with the Parachute Battalion. The name of this unit was changed to Parachute Training Centre aft ...

and Brigade Commander 44 Parachute Brigade while still based in Wallmansthall. He was Army attaché to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, DC where he was replaced by Col

Chris Gildenhuys Brigadier General Chris Gildenhuys is a South African Army officer. Military career On 24 January 2014 he handed over command of the South African Army Armoured Formation to Brig Gen Andre Retief. He was transferred to the Joint Operations ...

from the Armoured corps. He was appointed as

Commanding General The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of the Special Forces Brigade reporting to Lt Gen

Deon Ferreira Lieutenant General Deon Ferreira (died 2002) was a South African Army officer. He served as Chief of Joint Operations before his retirement. Early life He was born on New Years day 1946 in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa and matriculated from G ...

and Lt Gen

Godfrey Ngwenya General Godfrey Nhlanhla Ngwenya (born 1950) is a former South African military commander and diplomat. He served as Chief of Joint Operations from 2001 to 2005, and Chief of the South African National Defence Force from 2005 until 2011. Ear ...

, taking over from Brig Gen Borries Bornman. After this prestigious posting, he was promoted to the rank of major general as Chief Director Corporate Services in the Army Headquarters successively under Lt Gen Gilbert Ramano and Lt Gen Solly Shoke. His last appointment was as Deputy Chief of the South African Army.

Honours and awards

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * Medalha do Pacificador

Peacemaker Medal (Brazil)

References

External links

* South African Army generals Living people 1955 births Military attachés {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub