Lieutenant General Vusumuzi Masondo is a South African military commander. He was born in

Umtata Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matan ...

on 21 December 1957. After graduating from University in 1978, he joined the

Transkei Defence Force The Transkei Defence Force (TDF) was established during March 1981, from the 141 Battalion of the South African Defence Force (SADF). It was the defence force of the Republic of Transkei, a nominally independent bantustan during the Apartheid er ...

in 1979, undergoing training 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. ...

and

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

. He served in various capacities in the Transkei Forces until its integration into the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

in 1994. He holds a Certificate in Defence Management from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

, a Certificate in Labour Relations from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

and a BComm degree. He is currently studying towards a BComm Honours degree from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

. Masondo is married with three children.

Military career

Masondo underwent his basic military training in the 21st Infantry Battalion of the SADF in 1978-79 and did advanced Armoured warfare and officer training in the former SWATF Military Academy in Walvis Bay in 1984. He served for a time as a Signals Officer in the SWATF and then in the Transkei Defence Forces and rose to be the Colonel Commanding of the 2nd Transkei Infantry Battalion by 1993, in which capacity he was deployed to oversee the election process in the city of Durban and surrounding townships. On 1 October 2011 he was appointed chief of the South African Army and promoted to lieutenant general. In 2016 he was appointed as chief of corporate staff.

After integration

Before integration into the SA National Defence Force in 1994, he served on the Joint Military Coordinating Council (JMCC) as the co-chairperson of the Inspection Work Logistics Command in 1995. In 1996, he was transferred to 3 Electronic Workshop SACS at Wonderboom Military Base, where he was appointed as the personnel officer of the unit. After serving as a personnel officer for nearly a year, he was transferred to the SA Army Signal Formation Headquarters in 1997 and appointed as staff officer of personnel. On 1 January 1999 until 31 May 2002, he was appointed as staff officer class at the SA Army Armour Formation and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was appointed as senior staff officer in charge of staffing at the SA Army Headquarters on 1 June 2002 and promoted to the rank of colonel. On 1 January 2003, he was transferred to the Human Resource Support Centre (Directorate Personnel Maintenance). where he was appointed as senior staff officer in charge of remuneration. On 1 May 2004, Masondo was appointed as director of corporate communication and promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He served in that post for only one month and on 1 June 2004 was appointed as personnel staff officer to the then chief of the SA National Defence Force, General

Siphiwe Nyanda General Siphiwe Nyanda (born 1950) is a former South African military commander and politician. He was a member of Umkhonto We Sizwe and served as Chief of the South African National Defence Force from 1998 to 2005, Minister of Communication ...

. On 1 March 2006, he was appointed as acting director of human resource maintenance, a post in which he was confirmed as director on 1 March 2006. On 1 December 2007, Masondo was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed as chief of army force preparation.

Awards and decorations

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masondo, Vusumuzi 1957 births People from Mthatha UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Living people Chiefs of the South African Army South African Army generals South African generals

Military career

After integration

See also

Awards and decorations

References