South African 1 Reconnaissance Commando
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The 1 Reconnaissance Commando was the first
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n
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 ...
unit, founded by General
Fritz Loots Major General Frederich ('Fritz') Wilhelm Loots (19172008) was a general in the South African Defence Force (SADF). He was founder of the South African Special Forces and their first commanding officer. Early life and education Born in Britst ...
- the founder of the South African Special Forces, and the first General Officer Commanding of the South African Special Forces. He appointed 11 qualified paratroopers (known as "The Dirty Dozen", although they were made up of only 11 men) as the founder members. Included in these 11 paratroopers was
Jan Breytenbach Jan Dirk Breytenbach (14 July 1932 – 16 June 2024) was a South African Special Forces military officer and author of military books. He is best known as the first commander of 1 Reconnaissance Commando, South Africa's first special forces u ...
, who was placed in command of the Founder Members by General Loots.


History

Major General Loots and the Chief of the Army, Lt. General
Willem Louw Lieutenant-General Willem Petrus Louw (Bloemhof, 24 November 19204 July 1980) was a South African military commander. He joined the South African Army in the Special Service Battalion in 1938, and served in Italy in World War II. Militar ...
realised the need for a
South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...
to have a special operations capability, but the Chief of the , General
Rudolph Hiemstra General Rudolph Christiaan Hiemstra (10 March 191226 July 2007) was a South African Air Force commander who served as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force. Military career Hiemstra joined the South African Air Force in 1931. H ...
resisted. It was not until Admiral
Hugo Biermann Hugo Hendrik Biermann, (6 August 191627 March 2012) was a senior officer in the South African Navy. He served as Chief of the Navy from 1952 to 1972 and Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1972 until 1976, the only naval officer to ...
became Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1972 that the go-ahead was granted. The unit was originally based at
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 ostric ...
in the
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 Co ...
, but was moved to
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 ...
in 1974, where it was formally named 1 Reconnaissance Commando. In the early 1980s, the unit had less than 40 Recce's based at 1RR of which the majority were white. It was renamed ''1 Reconnaissance Regiment'' in 1996, but was disbanded and integrated into 4 Reconnaissance Regiment and
5 Reconnaissance Regiment 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
in 1997. The South African Special Forces is a unit under the South African National Defence Force and were originally called the Reconnaissance Regiments. "South African Special Forces: Salary, World Rating, Weapons, Quick Facts", published by the website BuzzSouthAfrica. As the BuzzSouthAfrica article states, capabilities for a special forces unit was established in 1968. However, the actual unit was not created until 1972. According to the South African History website, legislation was passed in 1912 that allowed for the development for a special forces unit. The unit is still intact today. The creation of the Reconnaissance Commando was created in Outdshoorn, South Africa. The unit currently operates out of Durban, South Africa. The Reconnaissance Commando was formed in order to increase the strength of the South African military. This unit makes soldiers with very specialized and rare skills that make them an extremely valuable asset to South Africa's military.


Leadership

The South African Special Forces Association website shed a light onto the leader of the Reconnaissance Commando and the 11 men who first served in the unit. Commander JD Breytenbach led these men and pioneered a standard of training and professionalism that the SASF has followed since. A Special Forces unit was created by two Generals who pushed for permission to create it. Once they were given the go-ahead, the Generals appointed 12 troopers to the unit and began training them.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1 Reconnaissance Commando (South Africa) Special forces of South Africa Defunct organisations based in South Africa Disbanded military units and formations in Durban Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War Military units and formations established in 1972 Military units and formations disestablished in 1997