Lt Col Mimy Matimbe is a gunner 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 ...

and was appointed as the first female

Commanding Officer 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 ...

in the

South African Army Artillery Formation The South African Army Artillery Formation is the controlling entity of all South African Army artillery units. It draws much of its history from the South African Artillery, established in 1934 but with roots that reach back to 1921. The formati ...

when she took over command of 4 Artillery Regiment on 7 April 2017.

Early life

Mimy Matimbe was born at Mamelodi, north east of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in 1977 and matriculated from Thabo Tsako High School in 1995. She obtained a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from

Vista University Vista University, South Africa was founded by the apartheid government to ensure that urban black South Africans seeking tertiary education would be accommodated within the townships rather than on campuses reserved for other population groups. ...

, Mamelodi Campus in 1999.

Military career

She completed Basic Military Training under the Voluntary Military System (VMS) at 3 SAI Bn at

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

, in 2002 and was appointed as a Gunnery Instructor at Gunnery Wing, School of Artillery in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom ( ; ), colloquially known as Potch, is an college town, academic city in the North West (South African province), North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstro ...

from 2005-2007 under leadership of Victor Khasapane and Ters Goedhals as Chief Instructors Gunnery. Observation Post Officer in 2008-2010 at 43 Battery,

4 Artillery Regiment 4 Artillery Regiment is based at Potchefstroom, responsible for the training of soldiers allotted to Field and Medium Artillery. History Origins Under the UDF On 28 May 1945, authority was granted for the formation of 4 Field Artillery as ...

. She was appointed as Battery

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Target Acquisition (45) Battery two years later succeeding Capt K. Galane. In 2014, then Maj Matimbe served as 2IC Artillery Mobilization Regiment until 31 March 2017 where she was replaced by Maj Danny Lebatla. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in April 2017 and was appointed as the Officer Commanding, 4 Artillery Regiment on 7 April 2017. She is the first woman ever to command an artillery regular force unit in South African Military History. She was awarded the crossed-barrels by the South African Artillery Corps Council on 8 November 2019 by Brig Gen Khaya Makina during end of the year investiture celebrated at the , Potchefstroom. She handed over command of her regiment in late 2020 and has since completed the SANDF Joint Senior Command and Staff Programme during 2021 and served briefly as staff officer at Headquarters of Artillery and presently at the Joint Operational Headquarters.

Honours and awards

Medals

Notes

References

South African Army officers Living people 1977 births People from Pretoria {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub