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Edward McGill Alexander
Edward George McGill Alexander (born 31 March 1947) is a former South African Army officer. Alexander has participated in airborne exercises and conferences with the British Army, and has jumped with and been awarded parachute wings by the Chilean, British and ROC Armies. He has written many articles on military topics, some of which have been published internationally, including one by the US Army. He has also authored or co-authored three books. A frequent speaker at symposia and conferences on military matters, General Alexander delivered the 2006 ''Turner Lecture'' at the SA Military Academy and in the same year delivered a paper at a ''Military History Conference on Small Wars and Insurgencies'' in Canberra, Australia. Besides the degree from the University of Stellenbosch, he holds an Honours BA, an MA (cum laude) and a PhD in history from the University of South Africa. Early life General McGill Alexander was born on 31 March 1947 in Boksburg. He grew up on farms i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boksburg
Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, W. Eduard Bok. The Main Reef Road linked Boksburg to all the other major mining towns on the Witwatersrand and the Angelo Hotel (1887) was used as a staging post. Boksburg is part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, that forms the local government of most of the East Rand. The Mining Commissioner Montague White built a large dam which, empty for years, was dubbed White's Folly until a flash flood in 1889 silenced detractors. The 150,000 square metre dam is now the Boksburg Lake, and is surrounded by lawns, trees, and terraces. History Prior to 1860, the present municipal area of Boksburg and its immediate environs comprised mainly the highveld farms called Leeuwpoort, Klippoortje, Klipfontein and Driefontein. Carl Ziervogel bought the farm Leeuwpoort in 1875 and for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infantry School
A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France *French Army – École de l'infanterie, at Montpellier, France. Indonesia *Indonesian Army - Infantry Education Center (''Pusat Pendidikan Infanteri'' abbreviated Pusdikif), at Bandung, West Java *Indonesian Marine Corps - Marines Infantry Education Center (''Pusat Pendidikan Infanteri Marinir'' abbreviated Pusdikifmar) South Africa *South African Army – South African Infantry School, at Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. Sri Lanka *Sri Lanka Army – Infantry Training Centre, at Minneriya. Turkey *Turkish Army – Tuzla Piyade Okulu, at Tuzla, Istanbul. United Kingdom *British Army – Infantry Training Centre at Catterick; Infantry Battle School, at Brecon, Wales; the former School of Infantry, Warminster *Royal Marines – Comman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pathfinder (military)
In military organizations, a pathfinder is a specialized soldier inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander. Pathfinders first appeared in World War II, where they served with distinction, and continue to serve an important role in today's modern armed forces, providing commanders with the option of flexibly employing air assets. History United Kingdom During the Second World War small groups of parachute soldiers were formed into pathfinder units, to parachute ahead of the main force. Their tasks were to mark the drop zones (DZ) or landing zones (LZ), set up radio beacons as a guide for the aircraft carrying the main force and to clear and protect the area as the main force arrived. The units were formed into two companies to work with the two British airborne divisions created during th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free-fall
In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it. An object in the technical sense of the term "free fall" may not necessarily be falling down in the usual sense of the term. An object moving upwards might not normally be considered to be falling, but if it is subject to only the force of gravity, it is said to be in free fall. The Moon is thus in free fall around the Earth, though its orbital speed keeps it in very far orbit from the Earth's surface. In a roughly uniform gravitational field gravity acts on each part of a body approximately equally. When there are no other forces, such as the normal force exerted between a body (e.g. an astronaut in orbit) and its surrounding objects, it will result in the sensation of weightlessness, a condition that also occurs when the gravitatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachute Instructor
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who can exit from an aircraft at height and descend safely to earth. A parachute is usually made of a light, strong fabric. Early parachutes were made of silk. The most common fabric today is nylon. A parachute's canopy is typically dome-shaped, but some are rectangles, inverted domes, and other shapes. A variety of loads are attached to parachutes, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and bombs. History Middle Ages In 852, in Córdoba, Spain, the Moorish man Armen Firman attempted unsuccessfully to fly by jumping from a tower while wearing a large cloak. It was recorded that "there was enough air in the folds of his cloak to prevent great injury when he reached the ground." Early Renaissance The earliest evidence f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachute Dispatcher
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who can exit from an aircraft at height and descend safely to earth. A parachute is usually made of a light, strong fabric. Early parachutes were made of silk. The most common fabric today is nylon. A parachute's canopy is typically dome-shaped, but some are rectangles, inverted domes, and other shapes. A variety of loads are attached to parachutes, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and bombs. History Middle Ages In 852, in Córdoba, Spain, the Moorish man Armen Firman attempted unsuccessfully to fly by jumping from a tower while wearing a large cloak. It was recorded that "there was enough air in the folds of his cloak to prevent great injury when he reached the ground." Early Renaissance The earliest evidence f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
61 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Group
61 Mechanised Battalion Group was a unit of the South African Infantry Corps; although it was classed as mechanized infantry, it was a combined arms force consisting of infantry, armour and artillery. History Combat Group Juliet General Constand Viljoen, Chief of the Army, formulated a plan in 1978 to introduce a mechanized combat group to Ovamboland in the then South West Africa, to conduct operations against SWAPO. Combat Group Juliet was then formed under the command of Commandant Frank Bestbier. Operation Reindeer The Battle Group first saw action in Operation Reindeer in early May 1978, launching an attack on SWAPO’s Western Front headquarters and logistics base, at Chetequera, 15 km north of the South West African border, with a mechanized assault force. This attack formed part of Operation Reindeer during which paratroopers attacked a separate target at Cassinga, some 300 km into Angola. After Operation Reindeer it was decided to establish a permanent conven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chitado
Chitado is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cunene. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Angola are divided into communes. There are a total of 618 communes of Angola: Bengo Province *Ambriz * Kakalo-Kahango *Í ... References Populated places in Cunene Province Communes in Cunene Province {{Angola-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Merit Medal (South Africa)
The Military Merit Medal, post-nominal letters MMM, is a military decoration which was instituted in the Republic of South Africa on 9 October 1974 as the Chief of the Defence Force's Commendation Medal. It could be awarded to all ranks of the South African Defence Force for service of a high order.South African Medal Website - Post-nominal Letters (Accessed 28 April 2015) The South African military The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = Portuguese , languages2_type = National languages , languages2 = , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_ref = , ethnic_groups_year = 2000 , demonym = , government_type = Unitary dominant-party presidential republic , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = João Lourenço , leader_title2 = Vice President , leader_name2 = Esperança da CostaInvestidura do Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although Kazungula, it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi, Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations. The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the San people, San, Damara people, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigration, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa, together with the University of Cape Town - which received full university status on the same day in 1918. Stellenbosch University (abbreviated as SU) designed and manufactured Africa's first microsatellite, SUNSAT, launched in 1999. Stellenbosch University was the first African university to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. The students of Stellenbosch University are nicknamed "Maties". The term probably arises from the Afrikaans word "tamatie" (meaning tomato, and referring to the maroon sports uniforms and blazer colour). An alternative theory is that the term comes from the Afrikaans colloquialism ''maat'' (meaning "buddy" or "mate"), originally u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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