The Joint Operations Division is a component of the
South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the Military, armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the Military branch, armed services. They are in turn a ...
tasked with conducting Joint Operations involving the various arms of the SANDF.
History
The Joint Operations Division was established on 1 August 1997 during a major reorganisation of the armed forces.
Before the re-organisation each arm of Service had an operations staff responsible for deploying its units as directed by the Service chief and the Chief of the SANDF. The Chief of the SANDF had an operations staff, playing a co-ordinating role.
Following the re-organisation, each arm of service had to provide properly trained and equipped forces to Joint Operations. Joint Operations would then deploy these forces as necessary and revert to their parent service following the mission. The exception is the
Special Forces Brigade, which is directly under the command of the Chief of the SANDF
and is permanently allocated to Joint Operations.
There are nine joint operational-tactical headquarters (HQ) under the SANDF Chief of Joint Operations, under which many Army units operate. For example, Regional Joint Task Force North (RJTFN) is situated in
, commanded by a major-general.
[Etienne Hennop]
SANDF Control of the Northern and Eastern Border Areas of South Africa
ISS Occasional Paper No. 52, August 2001, 2. The RJTFN HQ is responsible for the operational deployment of the Group headquarters or tactical headquarters under its command. RJTFN is subdivided into areas, each under the operational control of a group headquarters. For example, the Group headquarters at
Musina
Musina (; formerly Messina) is the northernmost town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is located near the confluence of the Limpopo River with the Sand River and the border to Zimbabwe. It has a population of between 20,000 and 40, ...
is called the
Soutpansberg Military Area
The Soutpansberg Military Area (SMA) Headquarters was situated in Messina in the Northern Province of South Africa. The size of the area for which the SMA was responsible for was approximately .
History
After the independence of Zimbabwe and it ...
. The other areas are Group 33,
Nelspruit
Mbombela (also known as Nelspruit) is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, Mbombela lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, ea ...
; Group 12,
Ermelo; and Group 14,
.
Headquarters Regional Joint Task Force West is located in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, while HQ Regional Joint Task Force East is 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 ...
.
References
External links
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{{SANDF
1997 establishments in South Africa
Military of South Africa
Military units and formations established in 1997