Somerset East Commando

Somerset East Commando
Somerset East Commando emblem
Country	South Africa
Allegiance	Republic of South Africa Republic of South Africa
Branch	South African Army South African Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Light Infantry
Size	One Battalion
Part of	South African Infantry Corps Army Territorial Reserve
Garrison/HQ	Somerset East

Somerset East Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.

After the amalgamation of Gill College and Bellevue Girls’ School in 1965, the original Bellevue Seminary buildings in Paulet Street, Somerset East, were used for military purposes by the Somerset East Commando.

History

Origin

The precise date of formation of the modern Somerset East Commando is not recorded in publicly available sources. The unit formed part of the broader South African Commando system, which was reorganised after the Defence Act No. 44 of 1957 that established the South African Defence Force (SADF). Many rural commandos assumed their recognisable modern structure during the 1960s.The unit was assigned to Group 7 (headquartered in Grahamstown, now Makhanda) under Eastern Province Command. It drew its members primarily from the local farming and town communities of the Somerset East district.

Local mounted burgher forces from the Somerset East area had earlier participated in the 19th-century Cape frontier wars, and a separate colonial unit known as the Somerset East District Mounted Troops operated during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902). These earlier formations were distinct from the later SADF/SANDF Commando.

Operations

With the SADF

During this era, the unit was mainly used for area force protection, search and cordones as well as stock theft control assistance to the local police.

With the SANDF

After the creation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on 27 April 1994, the Somerset East Commando was retained within the Army’s infantry structure. It continued to carry out similar area-protection responsibilities in the Eastern Cape.

Disbandment

The Commando system was phased “because of the role it played in the apartheid era”, according to the Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula.

In February 2003 President Thabo Mbeki announced the phasing out of the entire South African Commando system. . The process took place between 2003 and 2008. Responsibilities for rural safety were intended to transfer to specialised units of the South African Police Service. The Somerset East Commando was closed as part of this nationwide restructuring. The last remaining Commando unit in South Africa was disbanded in 2008.

Leadership

Leadership

From	Honorary Colonels	To
From	Commanding Officers	To
From	Regimental Sergeants Major	To

See also

• South African Commando System