The Umkhonto Field Engineer Regiment (formerly 19 Field Engineer Regiment) is a regiment of the

South African Army Engineer Formation The South African Army Engineer Formation is the controlling entity of all South African Army military engineering units. The Formation is currently commanded by the General Officer Commanding (GOC); Brigadier General Willis Nkosi, C. Buyse Hist ...

. The unit is based in Durban with the HQ being at Old Fort Military Base, Lord's Grounds . As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

or United States

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

unit. The role of the Engineers is to maintain mobility and serviceability of own forces and counter mobility of enemy forces. Tasks include bridging, water purification, obstacles, demolition, infrastructure repair and development.

History

Origin

19 Field Engineer Regiment was established as a Squadron in 1970 directly under Natal Command and was the first Engineer Squadron to be formed in

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 ...

since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Border War

The squadron and later the Regiment was called up for a number of border duty camps during the 1970s and 1980s.

Post 1994

During the 1994 election, the unit was called up and deployed in the

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km2 of the indig ...

area under command of the

Durban Light Infantry The Durban Light Infantry is a Motorised Infantry regiment of the South African Army. It lost its status as a Mechanised infantry regiment in 2010 in line with the rationalisation of resources. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equival ...

. In 1995 and 1996 the unit participated in training camps in

Lohatla Lohatla is a training area of the South African National Defence Force. It is located in the Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa and is home to the SA Army Combat Training Centre, which is part of the South African ...

. With the formation of the 'type' formations, including the

(SAAEF), in 1999, the regiment shifted from the territorial command structure to that of the SAAEF. During 2000 to 2005 a new strategy was put in place and for the first time the unit started to train its own recruited members in Basic Engineer Corps training and Junior Leader training. One of the highlights during this time was the construction of a permanent 8 bay Single-Double Bailey bridge in the Manguzi area, near the Mozambique border to improve local security. By 2006 the unit mandate changed. The first detachments of unit members were deployed to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC), as part of the United Nations (

MONUC The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO (an acronym based on its French name ), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A planned withdraw ...

) and AU Peace Support operations. Up until October 2014, the Regiment has undertaken six deployments to the DRC. The Regiment supplied one member to be part of the

United Nations Force Intervention Brigade The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the MONUSCO, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United ...

. Lt John Dovey deployed in the post of Combat Demolitions Team Leader as part of the Engineer troop attached to the 6 SAI Battalion. The motto of the Engineer Corps is “Ubique” which means, Everywhere. The motto of the Regiment is First in, Last out.

Insignia

The unit's insignia is based in the Roman numerals XIX (19) from its name. SADF era 19 Field Engineer Regiment insignia

Leadership

References

External links

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Engineer regiments of South Africa Military units and formations in Durban Military units and formations established in 1970