Brigadier General P.J. Van Zyl

Brig Gen van Zyl was born in Vredendal in the Western Cape, and he attended school in the small town of Lutzville just north of Vredendal. He matriculated in 1969 and was called up for National Service to 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Youngsfield. In 1971 he joined the SA Army and spent the next five years as a training officer at Youngsfield.

In 1975 he successfully applied for pilot training and received wings in June 1976. He served as a staff pilot on 8 Squadron until 1979, flying Impala Mk 1 and II aircraft. This tour was followed by a Mirage III conversion course in 1980 and a tour as a reconnaissance pilot at 2 Squadron, home of the Flying Cheetahs at Air Force Base Hoedspruit. During this time he participated extensively in operational reconnaissance missions in the operational area and flew more than 170 operational missions in Mirage III RZ and R2Z aircraft. On completion of this tour of duty in 1986, he was transferred to Central Flying School Dunnottar where he attended the flying instructors course and served as a flying instructor until June 1989. Brig Gen van Zyl was then transferred to AFB Louis Trichardt as Operations Co-ordinator, a post he held until December 1990. This tour was followed by a staff assignment in the projects environment until he was appointed as Senior Staff Officer Air Projects in 1994. He held this post until 1997 when he was transferred to the United States to attend the National Defence University for post-graduate studies. In 1998 he was appointed as Air Attaché in Washington, DC and remained in this post until June 2001, when he returned to South Africa.

Brig Gen van Zyl holds a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Sourth Africa, and a Master of Science degree in National Resouce Strategy from the National Defence University in Washington, DC. He completed the Joint Staff Course at the SA Defence College in 1997.

Brig Gen van Zyl is presently appointed as Director Air Capability Plan at the Air Force Office where he is responsible for the strategic planning of air capabilities in the Air Force.

He is married to Carol, and they have two sons. His hobbies are photography and computers, and he enjoys hiking and camping.