Airborne elements of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) in the form of 16 Squadron Rooivalk combat support helicopters have been instrumental in the success achieved to date by the FIB, the first UN peacekeeping force ever to be given an offensive mandate.

The only other peacekeeping mission where South Africa currently has boots on the ground is the hybrid AU/UN mission in Sudan and here too South Africans are doing their bit and more.

With Government apparently intent to keep on using the SANDF as a foreign policy instrument in its attempts to bring peace to Africa as alluded to by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa’s uniformed civil service can expected continued continental deployments under the direction of the Joint Operations Division headed by Lieutenant General Derrick Mgwebi.

Available: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34958;south-africans-a-proud-part-of-un-peacekeeping-operations&catid=61;editor-column