ViceAdmirlAgain:
Zimbabwe

Chill is that Ankara?

peterphd:
Hello everyone, especially the Nigerian contingent. Is it possible to get NNS Andoni branded caps? Are they legal for civilians? Thanks

Should be illegal.

Ibrahimanees:

I though R1s is produced in South Africa, why would you buy rifles you produced from them?

It was, not is, produced in SA. We transitioned to the 5.56 R4 and R5 and sold loads of R1 to Zim. They barely used them before storing them when they adopted the Kalashnikov. Our domestic stocks of 7.62 R1 are long in the tooth and Zim's have hardly been used. Our elite military and police units worship the R1 -what's not to love - and some regular infanteers working as DMs and snipers opt for the R1. Of course they have to be re-tooled.

frumentius:

It was, not is, produced in SA. We transitioned to the 5.56 R4 and R5 and sold loads of R1 to Zim. They barely used them before storing them when they adopted the Kalashnikov. Our domestic stocks of 7.62 R1 are long in the tooth and Zim's have hardly been used. Our elite military and police units worship the R1 -what's not to love - and some regular infanteers working as DMs and snipers opt for the R1. Of course they have to be re-tooled.

Dude, share your Amino account with me

off topic: Interesting new Russian UAV in Syria,with capability to laser designate its target, probably for guided artillery projectiles like Krasnopol laser guided shells etc

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0T0Q9zWKl4

Administration Police Special Group Kenya

GSU Recce

KDF RANGER

I really hope all these guys on this Insta account come through the Basic Training Cycle. They're not Recce operators yet - they passed Selection yes, but the Basic Training Cycle is 57 weeks of weekly tests where one can be dropped at any time.
All the more reason SANDF social media policy has to be updated so there's no need for such private initiative. Personally, I think any soldier who presents himself for Selection is mature enough to discern what/not to share online. The Advanced Training Cycle, of course, should remain off-limits, not to mention actual ops, however innocuous.

golfsierra:
KDF RANGER

when did KDF acquire a C-17

Anti-Mugabe Protests in Harare today

frumentius:
I really hope all these guys on this Insta account come through the Basic Training Cycle. They're not Recce operators yet - they passed Selection yes, but the Basic Training Cycle is 57 weeks of weekly tests where one can be dropped at any time.
All the more reason SANDF social media policy has to be updated so there's no need for such private initiative. Personally, I think any soldier who presents himself for Selection is mature enough to discern what/not to share online. The Advanced Training Cycle, of course, should remain off-limits, not to mention actual ops, however innocuous.

And with this legendary Major now in charge of the instructors at Advanced Training Cycle, wash-outs are guaranteed!

Youngest ever to qualify as an operator (after the mandatory 2 years in, Selection and Basic Training Cycle) in 1989, he's rumoured to have been one of the instructors in 2002 when no-one passed Selection!!!

It’s a dangerous thing we’re going to do now...

So begins the account of an SAS operator's plunge onto the vortex that is SASF Selection.

U.S. Conducts Airstrike in Support of the Federal Government of Somalia -Nov 15

frumentius:


So begins the account of an SAS operator's plunge onto the vortex that is SASF Selection.

"Its a dangerous thing we are going to do now Jock"

i think I read this in an acoount of Harry Mccallon's [nom de guerre] time in the SASF. IIRC Dewaldt De Beer was talking to him...

Two questions( if you'd answer);
• How many hopefuls were on those courses that no one passed selection
•After Selection, does candidates for 4 Regt. go through the same Basic Training cycle of 5

frumentius:
I really hope all these guys on this Insta account come through the Basic Training Cycle. They're not Recce operators yet - they passed Selection yes, but the Basic Training Cycle is 57 weeks of weekly tests where one can be dropped at any time.
All the more reason SANDF social media policy has to be updated so there's no need for such private initiative. Personally, I think any soldier who presents himself for Selection is mature enough to discern what/not to share online. The Advanced Training Cycle, of course, should remain off-limits, not to mention actual ops, however innocuous.

Someone is bound to ask why they often wear Botswana Defence Force uniforms. Do you have a nice, well rounded, "makes sense", answer? Or are we left to guess.

French TPK 420 BL APC in service with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in Harare.

Odunayaw:
"Its a dangerous thing we are going to do now Jock"

i think I read this in an acoount of Harry Mccallon's [nom de guerre] time in the SASF. IIRC Dewaldt De Beer was talking to him...

Two questions( if you'd answer);
• How many hopefuls were on those courses that no one passed selection
•After Selection, does candidates for 4 Regt. go through the same Basic Training cycle of 5

.
You read extensively Odunayo.
Last bullet point first: it goes like this -
1) 2 years in any arm of service in the military (basics doesn't count);
2) Pre-Selection;
3) Selection;
4) Basic Training Cycle; (all who pass Selection)
4) Advanced Training Cycle (4 Recce and 5 Recce run their own specific courses as per their ORBAT and TTPs.)
Think of it as 5 Recce being Delta Force/SAS and 4 Reccee as SEALs/SBS in the US/UK equivalent.
Not a boast but UKSF followed our example by combining SAS and SBS Selection & BTC into 1 UKSF Training School - they've gone further in including Para Pathfinders. Our Pathfinders are trained to the same level but not as well-equipped as the Recces.
But doctrine is constantly under review and those of us advocating for Pathfinders to be properly resourced as a JOps asset will prevail.


As to your 1st point: generally about 200 apply for pre-Selection every cycle. About 100 go through Selection.
10-20 generally pass, non-Saffers included. The BTC, which is not open to non-Saffers, and I estimate we mostly end up with at most 10 every cycle. Don't know and wouldn't tell you the precise numbers that go on to the ATC.

Apparently 2002 wasn't the only year since the Apartheid days nobody passed; 2005 as well, and the info is out there if your google-fu is up to snuff.

ssaengine:


Someone is bound to ask why they often wear Botswana Defence Force uniforms. Do you have a nice, well rounded, "makes sense", answer? Or are we left to guess.

They wear all sorts of uniforms and train with all sorts of materiel depending on what level of the Training Cycle they're on. It's public info that SASFB training includes "Pseudo-opps" and impersonating other militaries; all decent SF do this.

We fortunately have the population and linguistic diversity to do it properly.

frumentius:

They wear all sorts of uniforms and train with all sorts of materiel depending on what level of the Training Cycle they're on. It's public info that SASFB training includes "Pseudo-opps" and impersonating other militaries; all decent SF do this.

We fortunately have the population and linguistic diversity to do it properly.

Yeah....training on foreign weapons, tactics etc is generally common knowledge. Guess I just got caught up as to why only BDF in those pics. Thanks :-)

frumentius:


.
You read extensively Odunayo.
Last bullet point first: it goes like this -
1) 2 years in any arm of service in the military (basics doesn't count);
2) Pre-Selection;
3) Selection;
4) Basic Training Cycle; (all who pass Selection)
4) Advanced Training Cycle (4 Recce and 5 Recce run their own specific courses as per their ORBAT and TTPs.)
Think of it as 5 Recce being Delta Force/SAS and 4 Reccee as SEALs/SBS in the US/UK equivalent.
Not a boast but UKSF followed our example by combining SAS and SBS Selection & BTC into 1 UKSF Training School - they've gone further in including Para Pathfinders. Our Pathfinders are trained to the same level but not as well-equipped as the Recces.
But doctrine is constantly under review and those of us advocating for Pathfinders to be properly resourced as a JOps asset will prevail.


As to your 1st point: generally about 200 apply for pre-Selection every cycle. About 100 go through Selection.
10-20 generally pass, non-Saffers included. The BTC, which is not open to non-Saffers, and I estimate we mostly end up with at most 10 every cycle. Don't know and wouldn't tell you the precise numbers that go on to the ATC.

Apparently 2002 wasn't the only year since the Apartheid days nobody passed; 2005 as well, and the info is out there if your google-fu is up to snuff.

bowing to imaginary applause I hope you buy me a book on Danny Roxo as Xmas gift

If you ask me I'd say you guys should establish a kind of UKSF support group.

Air force one Algeria , Airbus A340-541

Odunayaw:
bowing to imaginary applause I hope you buy me a book on Danny Roxo as Xmas gift

If you ask me I'd say you guys should establish a kind of UKSF support group.

We already have that. The SASFSU, responsible for all logs and support to the Recce Regiments and Recce School. They're the guys who provide the gunsmiths, mechanics, GIS, intel, academics, analysis, etc. They also provide the warm bodies in public parades with all the SF regalia so you'd never know who's an operator or not .

Did you know, for all their storied history, at any 2-year span of their existence, there's never been more than 200 Recces? Same as the SAS, who've always numbered about 300 until they doubled due to active Afghan/Iraq deployments.
Apart from the Yanks and Vlad, I always wonder when I'm presented with higher ratio for SF.

Moroccan M-60 and T-72 tanks used during the shooting of the new chinese film Operation Red Sea

frumentius:


We already have that. The SASFSU, responsible for all logs and support to the Recce Regiments and Recce School. They're the guys who provide the gunsmiths, mechanics, GIS, intel, academics, analysis, etc. They also provide the warm bodies in public parades with all the SF regalia so you'd never know who's an operator or not .

Did you know, for all their storied history, at any 2-year span of their existence, there's never been more than 200 Recces? Same as the SAS, who've always numbered about 300 until they doubled due to active Afghan/Iraq deployments.
Apart from the Yanks and Vlad, I always wonder when I'm presented with higher ratio for SF.

I was actually talking about something of the sort of a Ranger force

I don't really get this. You mean the Regt. has never held more than 200 recces right?.

Algerian1:
Air force one Algeria , Airbus A340-541

specialized ?

First photo to emerge of one of the newly upgraded EE-9 Cascavels in Zim.

As I've mentioned on a previous occasion the upgrades were handled by a Saffer company (Boomslang Logistics) three years ago.

@Everybody else: if you see more photos of the Zimbabwean Cascavels, please post them here.

Odunayaw:
I was actually talking about something of the sort of a Ranger force

I don't really get this. You mean the Regt. has never held more than 200 recces right?.

Ah! The Parabats are our Rangers. Not as well equipped, but we train them as such. They certainly hold their own in joint exercises with the US Ranger Regiment.
I do think we should equip them better seeing the latest Defence Review explicity sees them playing an expeditionary role alongside the Recces.
Belgium, for example, provides a good illustration where "rapid response" means even though the procurement budget has been combined, the SF and Paras retain their identities, have the same assets, and combine when necessary.
So the Parabats should be expanded, provided with more training and resources, formally moved to JOps and equipped almost similarly to the Recces.
The Army already has 6SAI which is an air-assault battalion.

Just the musings of a lowly nobody.

On the 2nd part of your question:
At any given time since founding, Recces have always been below regimental strength. As it should be, seeing the high standard for entry.
The grand-daddy of all SF, the SAS, used to have no more than 350 active operators at any given time; and before you say US, equivalent units in the US - despite their large population - Delta and Devgru number approximately the same ratio of men in the military as the UK as SAS.
So, yes, we should all question what standards are being applied when a whole battalion is called "Special Forces".

nemesis4u:


specialized ?

specialized role ? , equipment ?? there is only few info about this plane , after they bought it from airbus france , it spent 6 month in USA and get secutity and protection equipments on it ( surely anti missile systems ) . but no info about the modifications .


the only pic from inside i have seen on internet , ( during merkel visit to Algeria ) ,

IL-76 TD Algerian AF

frumentius:
I really hope all these guys on this Insta account come through the Basic Training Cycle. They're not Recce operators yet - they passed Selection yes, but the Basic Training Cycle is 57 weeks of weekly tests where one can be dropped at any time.
All the more reason SANDF social media policy has to be updated so there's no need for such private initiative. Personally, I think any soldier who presents himself for Selection is mature enough to discern what/not to share online. The Advanced Training Cycle, of course, should remain off-limits, not to mention actual ops, however innocuous.

So the person running the account is in the training cycle? WOW COOL. Any particular reason why the BDF uniform is so popular?

ssaengine:


Someone is bound to ask why they often wear Botswana Defence Force uniforms. Do you have a nice, well rounded, "makes sense", answer? Or are we left to guess.

I see you beat me to it!