The South African Medical Service (SAMS) was a branch of the

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 ...

(SADF). In 1994 when the SADF was merged with various other military and armed resistance forces as part of the post-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

reforms the SAMS became the

South African Military Health Service The South African Military Health Service is the branch of the South African National Defence Force responsible for medical facilities and the training and deployment of all medical personnel within the force. Though unusual, as most national mili ...

of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

. The SAMS operated three hospitals,

1 Military Hospital 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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 ...

, 2 Military Hospital in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, and 3 Military Hospital in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. It also had three specialist institutes; the Institute for Aviation Medicine, the Institute for Maritime Medicine, and the Military Psychological Institute.

History

The SA Defence Act Amendment Act, No. 22 of 1922 re-organised the Permanent Force. From 1 February 1923 the Permanent Force consisted a number of Corps, including the SA Medical Corps. By that time three Medical Corps were already in existence, the Transvaal Medical Corps (established in 1903), the Natal Volunteer Medical Corps (established in 1899) and the Cape Medical Staff Corps. Over the years, the following Corps formed part of 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 ...

: *SA Veterinary Corps (1913–46) - ''incorporated into SA Medical Corps (SAMC)'' *SA Medical Corps (1913–70) - ''incorporated into South African Medical Service'' *SA Military Nursing Service (1914–70) *SA Military Nursing Corps (1970–72) - ''incorporated into SAMS''

Organisation of Medical Corps in 1970s

In the late 1970's before the establishment of the South African Medical Service as an independent Arm of Service, the SA Army's Medical Corps' mobile elements were organised as follows: Assigned to 1 SA Corps: * 23 Mobile Hospital, * 48 Field Ambulance Unit, and * 26 Field Hygiene Company. Assigned to

7 South African Infantry Division 7 South African Infantry Division was a formation (military), formation of the South African Army, active from the 1960s to 1999. History Origin of 7 Division from existing and new Brigades 7 Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were establishe ...

: * 17 Mobile Hospital, and * 17 Field Ambulance Unit, as divisional troops, while each brigade had assigned a field ambulance unit (numbered 71, 72 and 73 respectively). Assigned to

8th Armoured Division (South Africa) 8 South African Armoured Division was a formation (military), formation of the South African Army, active from the 1970s to 1999. History 8 South African Division was established as an Armoured Formation on August 1, 1974, consisting of 81 Armo ...

: * 18 Mobile Hospital and * 18 Field Ambulance Unit, as divisional troops, while each brigade had assigned a field ambulance unit (numbered 81, 82, 83 and 84 respectively). The SAMS was established in July 1979 as a service branch of the SADF. The establishment combined the medical services of the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. The head of the SAMS was the Surgeon-General who had the rank of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

. The role of the SAMS was to provide health and medical support services to the SADF, it included a veterinary section that looked after dogs and horses.

Leadership

Ranks

;Officers

References

Military of South Africa Military medical organizations South Africa and weapons of mass destruction {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub