“Just have fun!” said the 6SAI Battalion Officer Commanding (OC), Lieutenant Colonel Martin Gopane as his soldiers were about to jump out of a helicopter as well as being transported – via a dangling rope – from one side of the training field to the other.
“Just have fun!” said the 6SAI Battalion Officer Commanding (OC), Lieutenant Colonel Martin Gopane as his soldiers were about to jump out of a helicopter as well as being transported – via a dangling rope – from one side of the training field to the other.
The 6SAI Battalion and a number of First City soldiers are currently training for Young Eagle, an airborne exercise scheduled for February 2010.
It has been a hectic year for the battalion. Earlier this year the soldiers, together with a company from First City, travellled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There, a total of 680 members took part in the peace support operation, Peace Enforcement.
Gopane, who was part of the DRC group, said the operation went well, although they faced some challenges with the terrain and the road infrastructure where they were deployed. Gopane said the rainy season also “hampered the mobility of the operation, but we succeeded”. The soldiers left for the DRC on 5 December last year and returned on 16 June.
On their return home, 540 members took part in Golfinha, an exercise course at the combat training centre in Lohatla. Lohatla is a training area of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) located in the Northern Cape province. Scheduled for February next year in Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom, Young Eagle is the confirmation of airborne skills with other units in the SANDF, in order to enhance interoperability between units.
The course will also ensure that the soldiers are ready for the SANDF reserve if need be. The OC is again part of the training and will also take part in February’s training. Next year’s course will enable the soldiers to establish air heads, launching operations from air heads and will conduct conventional type warfare “should the need arise,” said Gopane.
This week’s training included airborne activities on Tuesday and Wednesday with two Oryx army helicopters, with one flying in from Durban and the other from Cape Town. Each Oryx had two pilots as well as a load master. After completing training on Wednesday, the soldiers left for the field where they are currently continuing their training to prepare them for Young Eagles.
Once the soldiers return to Grahamstown, the 6SAI soldiers and their OC will begin preparing for Operation Kgwele, which is related to next year’s Fifa World Cup.
