2 Reconnaissance Commando (South Africa)

2 Reconnaissance Commando/Regiment
Active1 June 1974[1]
Disbanded1992
CountrySouth Africa
Allegiance Republic of South Africa
Branch South African Army
TypeSpecial forces
RoleReconnaissance
Part ofSouth African Defence Force
Garrison/HQPretoria
MottoWe Dare—Ons Waag

2 Reconnaissance Commando, redesignated 2 Reconnaissance Regiment in 1981, was the Active Citizen Force unit of the South African Special Forces. Its part-time personnel formed part of the reserve component of the South African Defence Force. It was based in Pretoria and disbanded in 1992.

History

The unit was established in Pretoria in 1974[2] out of the Hunter Group.[3][4] The Hunter Group was a body of Citizen Force soldiers who, under the auspices of the South African Irish Regiment,[5] had begun arranging specialised training.[4] They were formalised into a Special Forces unit largely at the insistence of Brigadier G. W. Germishuizen, then commanding officer of Witwatersrand Command.[1]

Most of its complement were operators and support personnel who had left full-time military service for civilian careers. They remained available for call-up on Special Forces operations.[1] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recorded its total strength as between 2,000 and 3,000, of whom only a few hundred were operational.[6]

Its first operational deployment came at the start of Operation Savannah (Angola).[1][7]: 8 [8]: 37/9  Members were called up from their civilian occupations at short notice. Some reached an operational area within a few days of leaving a civilian job in South Africa.[1]

In 1981 the unit was redesignated 2 Reconnaissance Regiment.[9][10] It was disbanded in 1992 as part of a rationalisation of the South African Defence Force.[11][12]

Leadership

The unit had only one commanding officer.[6][1]

2 Reconnaissance Commando/Regiment
From Commanding Officers To
1 September 1974 Maj. (later Col.) D. S. van der Spuy 31 March 1992
From Regimental Sergeants Major To
1 June 1974 WO2 L. C. (Les) Greyling[1] 31 October 1976
1 November 1976 WO1 H. G. (Harry) Botha[1] 25 January 1984
26 January 1984 WO2 M. (Mike) Landman[1] 22 June 1988
23 June 1988 WO2 S. W. Fourie[1] 13 September 1989
14 September 1989 WO2 J. F. ("Strys") Strydom[1] 31 March 1992

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Els, Paul (1 April 2001). We Fear Naught but God (1st ed.). Pretoria: Covos-Day Books. ISBN 978-0-620-23891-5. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Botten, Lt Col Stanley Felix (1 November 2017). We Dare: History of 2 Reconnaisance [sic] Regiment South African Special Forces. Great Britain: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-9793-6974-9.
  3. ↑ Stapleton, Timothy Joseph (2010). A military history of South Africa : from the Dutch-Khoi wars to the end of apartheid. Internet Archive. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-313-36589-8.
  4. 1 2 Els, Paul (2010). Saturday's Soldiers - The Hunter Group. Pretoria: Pelsa Books. ISBN 978-0-620-49069-6. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Monick, S. (1992). Clear the Way Volume 2. South African Irish Regimental Association. ISBN 0-620-16484-0.
  6. 1 2 "The State inside South Africa (1960-1990) §South African Defence Force (SADF) §§Two Reconnaissance Regiment". TRC Final Report. Vol. 2. SABC. p. 322. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Breytenbach, Jan (1990). They Live by the Sword. Alberton: Lemur. ISBN 0-620-14870-5.
  8. ↑ Uys, Ian (1982). Cross of Honour. Uys Publishers. ISBN 0-9583173-2-1.
  9. ↑ Matthysen, Paul; Kalkwarf, Matthew; Huxtable, Michael (1 October 2010). Recce: A Collector's Guide to the History of the South African Special Forces. Pretoria: 30 Degrees South Publishers. ISBN 978-1-920143-41-1.
  10. ↑ Unit History of 2 Reconnaissance Regiment. Visagie Street, Pretoria: SADF Directorate Documentation Service. 1987.
  11. ↑ "2RR - SA Special Forces Association". recce.co.za. South African Special Forces Association. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Van der Spuy, Sybie (1988). 2 Verkenningsregiment: Totstandkoming en Kort Oorsig tot op die Hede (in Afrikaans).
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