Something that might interest former soldiers

[MSW2]

Not meant to be political although the last paragraph contains references. Message posted as received. It is what it is.

This Morning... For the First time in our history of 300 years were
South African troops, The once, most feared on the continent of Africa and comparable, only to Israel when it comes to sheer strength and brute-force, were compelled to surrender to Congolese Rebels in the Congo...
A Coloured, female South African Defence Force soldier, left a gut-wrenching call to her family, late last night to explain their dire-situation.
The WhatsApp message, revealed that the Uruguyan and Malawian troops, embedded withe SANDF simply drove off the two bases, operated by 21 SAI, leaving the South Africans in a fight for their lives... One SA Base, ran out of ammo and were re-supplied by the remaining Base with a SAMIL troop-carrier truck... When the rebels, became aware of the South Africans attempting to re-supply the other Base, they clearly perceived this act as the SANDF, taking a "last-stand" and concentrated their troops on the SANDF bases... The bases were overrun, late yesterday afternoon, inflicting heavy casualties on the South Africans and compelling the SANDF commander with the rank of a Colonel, to surrender his two SANDF bases to the rebels...
The South Africans were swiftly, disarmed and confined to Base...
Never, in our proud history, not in the Battle of Tobruk, or the Battle of Square-Hill or Delville-Woods or even the South African Bush War, had any South African detachment, ever been forced to surrender...ever.
As the author of this topic and a Para-Military trained Former South African Police Officer, I do not think, now is the time to be angry about anything... Now is the time, to do every effort to bring our Boys and Girls, home... With tears in my eyes, I say, We need to bury our dead... We need to bestow the full honours to our fallen troops...
Both, SADF and SANDF as well as SAP and SAPS, We will, in true and proud South African Military history, honour our dead, by not raising the very obvious political issues, for now....
But, when all this is done... We will demand a serious talk with our "Panga-President" and his Septic... ANC and demand anwers... It is also time, for a Non-ANC minister to be appointed, as Defence Minister in the GNU, who will have to probe, why our troops were there in the first place...

[30Three]

Sounds like a repeat of the Irish forces under UN control in the Congo in 1961! The Siege of Jadotville!
Politicians dropping the squaddies in the ****!

[Sapper740]

MSW2, that must have been infuriating to watch take place in near real time and be powerless to do anything about. I'll remain nonpolitical too for now to allow your country time to retrieve and bury any of your soldiers with all military honors.

Back in the 1980's when I was still living in Canada I met more than a few ex-pat South Africans who left as trouble was brewing. One gentleman I'll never forget was a former SADF member who brought an LM5 with him to Canada and shot it in some 3 Gun competitions we held. He called it a Galat which was the non selective fire version of the R4 which as we all know was a copy of the Israeli Galil. Once again, very sorry to hear the bad news from the Congo.

[Ovidio]

That is really news to me now. There is very little being told here about that crisis, and I'm very sad to read that your people have been attacked and killed...
There will come a time when Africa will face the real roots of its disastrous present, but it will be way too late. And Congo is one of those places where nothing ever changes...

I love Africa. It's one of the few places where you see people smiling even if poor like hell. I always feel good when I come to good old South Africa.
Maybe in February, after one full year of absence. And I'll take my youngest daughter, as promised to her if she got good grades at school (which she did, damn...).

[CINDERS]

I think a US Seal team were pretty much liquidated in Africa as well, a mission done with them & African troops in 4 x 4 utes with no armour back up they were just shot to pieces pretty sure they did not even have a 50 cal HMG with them.
Not sure if there was any culpable person was ever wrung out for the mission scope totally wrong info on the infantry size of the baddies.

RIP

[MSW2]

The Seal time was at least well trained and probably well equiped.

From what I can gather from different sources for the SANDF:
Not enough food and water, only what they arrived with. The soldiers had to scavenge food and drink dirty water. Made them ill.
Not enough ammunition for weapons.
No proper medical care and backup.
Zero troop discipline (I saw a short vid of one camp looking like a garbage dump)
No proper leadership with clueless officers.
Training that will have anyone looking on from the outside on the ground laughing.
No air support and the Air Force unable to evacuate troops so the apparently 80+ wounded are still there with minimal care. A private Russian firm was going to fly in and get them but the SA government has not paid them yet so they stood down.

I can go on, but some of it might start touching on politics so I will not.

[Ovidio]

Looks like a problem with much deeper roots than just the faulty organisation of that mission...
Every time an Army ends a war or a conflictual period, it is reduced to bits and pieces in the aftermath, so that it will have to learn everything from scratch again next time.
But there are always those who pay for that, yet... no-one ever seems to be responsible.
I just wonder how professional soldiers can often allow the level to drop that low. All in all, they put their lives at stake too...

[MSW2]

Just an update.

Bodies came back in a rather advanced state of decomposition. Family members were not warned before going to id their loved ones.
Ceremony was moved out to accomodate the president and then he was late anyway. Family members were not impressed with the few insincere words he had to say when he eventually showed up.
Very disorganized ceremony.

There are apparently issues getting wounded soldiers home. Two of the females are also pregnant...

[Sapper740]

We've seen this before: the new regime culls the established professional soldiers and officers and replaces them with untrained political appointees who will be "Yes" men to the new leader. Throw in racial animus and that's a recipe for disaster.

[Ovidio]

Just an update.

Bodies came back in a rather advanced state of decomposition. Family members were not warned before going to id their loved ones.
Ceremony was moved out to accomodate the president and then he was late anyway. Family members were not impressed with the few insincere words he had to say when he eventually showed up.
Very disorganized ceremony.

There are apparently issues getting wounded soldiers home. Two of the females are also pregnant...

What a shame.
Being disrespectful towards those who gave all can’t be forgiven…