Chief steps into battlefield Gurunari

By CO Maryke Lynn
Photos by WO2 Christo Crous

Recently, the Chief of the South African Air Force (CAF), Lt Gen Carlo Gagiano, willingly visited the distant “battlefield” of Gurunari in the Northern Cape, where Exercise Indlovu – the largest conventional force preparation exercise since 1986 – had just come to an end.

“Indlovu” is the Zulu word for elephant and is derived from the verb “dlovu”, which means unstoppable, to burst through or to act with brute force. This was exactly what our forces did, as they put practice into action in this mimicked theatre of war.

This joint conventional exercise started on 29 September 2005 and aimed to prepare the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for future deployments, peacekeeping, the future integration into the bigger context of the African Union Standby Force and the formation of a SADC Brigade.

The exercise also served as a test of the SANDF’s capabilities in various aspects of warfare, which include strategic movement, offensive action, defensive action, strategic planning, strategic corporate communication, command and control, strategic support, fire-support coordination and special forces operations.

Approximately 7 500 SANDF members from all four services (SA Army, SA Air Force, SA Navy and the SA Military Health Service), 30 aircraft and six naval vessels participated in this deployment, which ended in November 2005.

This make-believe “dispute” confirmed that the SANDF is fighting fit and ready for action. The next exercise of this nature will only take place in 2010.