Special Operations.Com
South
African Special Forces Brigade
THE
SOUTH AFRICAN SPECIAL FORCES
BUILDING ON A PROUD TRADITION
The first
Special Forces unit, namely 1 Reconnaissance Commando,
was established at Oudtshoorn on 1 October 1972.
On 1 January 1975, 1 Reconnaissance Commando was relocated
to Durban.
A specialised
unit for seaborne operations, namely 4 Reconnaissance
Commando, was subsequently established at Langebaan
while 5 Reconnaissance Commando which was established
at the Duku-Duku camp in Northern Natal, moved to
Phalaborwa. 1 Reconnaissance Commando continued
its activities as the airborne unit in Durban.
A reorganisation
of Special Forces took place on 1 January 1981, when
Special Forces was transformed into an independent
formation, directly under the command of the then
South African Defence Force.
The various
Reconnaissance Commandos attained the status of Regiments.
In the latter part of the decade a Special Forces
Headquarters and Special Forces Stores Depot were
added to this structure.
Changing
times brought about further changes to the structures
of Special Forces. During 1991 Special Forces
Headquarters was disbanded and a Directorate Reconnaissance
was established under the Chief of the Army.
The organisation
underwent a further change in 1993 when it became
45 Parachute Brigade. As a result of this, 1
Reconnaissance Regiment was now re-named 452 Parachute
Battalion while 4 and 5 Reconnaissance Regiment became
453 and 451 Parachute Battalion respectively.
In 1996
the organisation changed yet again and is currently
known as the Special Forces Brigade. It presently
consists of 4 and 5 Special Forces Regiments, with
1 Maintenance Unit providing logistic support. As
part of the transformation process, 1 Special Forces
Regiment was disbanded during 1996.
The new
Special Forces have the opportunity of combining and
developing the accumulated knowledge of previous opposing
forces into an organisation with unique characteristics.
New opportunities are currently presenting themselves,
promising major growth potential for the Special Forces
of the SA National Defence Force.
