End of commandos in sight
2004-02-13 22:35
Carel van Dyk
Cape Town - Peninsula commandos will know their fate by April, said colonel Kwezi Nompetsheni, the new commander of Group 1 Headquarters at Youngsfield military base.
Nompetsheni, whose military career started in the former Transkei, officially took over control of the base from colonel David Maswanganyi on Friday.
He said a meeting of all commanding officers would be held on April 1 when the details of the closure of the commando units would be ironed out.
He said the plan was to shut down the city-based units first sometime next year. The rural units would follow as police took over the commando's present function.
Members of these units would be incorporated into motorised infantry regiments in the province. These units are deployed with mambas and caspirs, but fight on foot.
The aim of Group 1 would be to support the country's regional forces, which means that citizen force members would be deployed alongside permanent force members in areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
The disbandment of the current commando system had to be completed by 2009, he said.
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- Die Burger