The Umkhonto Field Engineer Regiment (formerly 19 Field Engineer Regiment) is a regiment of the

South African Army Engineer Formation The South African Army Engineer Formation is the controlling entity of all South African Army military engineering units. The Formation is currently commanded by the General Officer Commanding (GOC); Brigadier General D.W. Nkosi, as of early 201 ...

. The unit is based in Durban with the HQ being at Old Fort Military Base, Lord's Grounds . As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

or United States

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

unit. The role of the Engineers is to maintain mobility and serviceability of own forces and counter mobility of enemy forces. Tasks include bridging, water purification, obstacles, demolition, infrastructure repair and development.

History

Origin

19 Field Engineer Regiment was established as a Squadron in 1970 directly under

Natal Command Natal Command was a Command of the South African Army. It was headquartered in Durban, South Africa. By the 1980s, it was responsible for the security of the region, forming the primary level of command for military operations in support of the P ...

and was the first Engineer Squadron to be formed in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Border War

The squadron and later the Regiment was called up for a number of border duty camps during the 1970s and 1980s.

Post 1994

During the 1994 election, the unit was called up and deployed in the

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km² of the indigenous Dlinza ...

area under command of the

Durban Light Infantry The Durban Light Infantry is a Motorised Infantry regiment of the South African Army. It lost its status as a Mechanised infantry regiment in 2010 in line with the rationalisation of resources. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equival ...

. In 1995 and 1996 the unit participated in training camps in

Lohatla Lohatla is a training area of the South African National Defence Force. It is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and is home to the SA Army Combat Training Centre, which is part of the South African Army Training Formation. ...

. With the formation of the 'type' formations, including the

(SAAEF), in 1999, the regiment shifted from the territorial command structure to that of the SAAEF. During 2000 to 2005 a new strategy was put in place and for the first time the unit started to train its own recruited members in Basic Engineer Corps training and Junior Leader training. One of the highlights during this time was the construction of a permanent 8 bay Single-Double Bailey bridge in the Manguzi area, near the Mozambique border to improve local security. By 2006 the unit mandate changed. The first detachments of unit members were deployed to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC), as part of the United Nations (

MONUC The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

) and AU Peace Support operations. Up until October 2014, the Regiment has undertaken six deployments to the DRC. The Regiment supplied one member to be part of the

United Nations Force Intervention Brigade The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations ...

. Lt John Dovey deployed in the post of Combat Demolitions Team Leader as part of the Engineer troop attached to the 6 SAI Battalion. The motto of the Engineer Corps is “Ubique” which means, Everywhere. The motto of the Regiment is First in, Last out.

Insignia

The unit's insignia is based in the Roman numerals XIX (19) from its name. SADF era 19 Field Engineer Regiment insignia

Leadership

References

External links

* * Engineer regiments of South Africa Military units and formations in Durban Military units and formations established in 1970 {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub