Die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag, 1994-2004 (1): Slagorde en transformasie

Abstract

April 1994 saw the birth of a truly democratic new Republic of South Africa; it also meant the founding of the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF), consisting of members of the old South African Defence Force (SADF); the defence forces of the so-called independent states of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei; the military wings of the African National Congress (namely uMkhonto weSizwe) and the Pan-Africanist Congress (namely the Azanian People's Liberation Army), and the KwaZulu-Natal self-protection forces. In this study the track record of the SANDF in the course of the past ten years (1994 to 2004) is critically analysed in an effort to find answers to questions like How successful has the SANDF been in the first ten years of its existence? What problems had to be overcome, and to what extent have the challenges been met? How strong was the SADF/SANDF in 1994, and how strong is the SANDF today (2004)? In this, the first of two articles that deal with the history of the SANDF, 1994 to 2004, the SANDF's order of battle in 1994 is compared with the battle order in 2004. The  transformation process is also analysed, with special reference to the integration of the seven pre-1994 defence forces and armed wings, as well as self-defence units.