The 1 Reconnaissance Commando was the first

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equi ...

unit, founded by General

Fritz Loots Major General Frederich ('Fritz') Wilhelm Loots (19172008) was a general in the South African Defence Force (SADF). He was founder of the South African Special Forces The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Re ...

- the founder of the South African Special Forces, and the first General Officer Commanding of the South African Special Forces. He appointed 11 qualified paratroopers (known as "The Dirty Dozen", although they were made up of only 11 men) as the founder members. Included in these 11 paratroopers was

Jan Breytenbach Jan Dirk Breytenbach (born 14 July 1932) is a retired career South African Special Forces military officer and author of military books. He is best known as the first commander of 1 Reconnaissance Commando, South Africa's first special-forces u ...

, who was placed in command of the Founder Members by General Loots.

History

Major General Loots and the Chief of the Army, Lt. General

Willem Louw Lieutenant-General Willem Petrus Louw (Bloemhof, 24 November 1920 – 4 July 1980) was a South African military commander. He joined the South African Army in the Special Service Battalion in 1938, and served in Italy in World War II. M ...

realised the need for a

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

to have a special operations capability, but the Chief of the , General

Rudolph Hiemstra General Rudolph Christiaan Hiemstra (10 March 191226 July 2007) was a South African Air Force commander who served as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force. Military career Hiemstra joined the South African Air Force in 1931. H ...

resisted. It was not until Admiral

Hugo Biermann Hugo Hendrik Biermann, (6 August 1916 – 27 March 2012) was a senior officer in the South African Navy. He served as Chief of the Navy from 1952 to 1972 and Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1972 until 1976, the only naval offic ...

became Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1972 that the go-ahead was granted. The unit was originally based at

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

in the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

, but was moved to

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 ...

in 1974, where it was formally named 1 Reconnaissance Commando. In the early 1980s, the unit had less than 40 Recce's based at 1RR of which the majority were white. It was renamed ''1 Reconnaissance Regiment'' in 1996, but was disbanded and integrated into 4 Reconnaissance Regiment and 5 Reconnaissance Regiment in 1997. The South African Special Forces is a unit under the South African National Defence Force and were originally called the Reconnaissance Regiments. "South African Special Forces: Salary, World Rating, Weapons, Quick Facts", published by the website BuzzSouthAfrica. As the BuzzSouthAfrica article states, capabilities for a special forces unit was established in 1968. However, the actual unit was not created until 1972. According to the South African History website, legislation was passed in 1912 that allowed for the development for a special forces unit. The unit is still intact today. The creation of the Reconnaissance Commando was created in Outdshoorn, South Africa. The unit currently operates out of Durban, South Africa. The Reconnaissance Commando was formed in order to increase the strength of the South African military. This unit makes soldiers with very specialized and rare skills that make them an extremely valuable asset to South Africa's military.

Leadership

The South African Special Forces Association website shed a light onto the leader of the Reconnaissance Commando and the 11 men who first served in the unit. Commander JD Breytenbach led these men and pioneered a standard of training and professionalism that the SASF has followed since. A Special Forces unit was created by two Generals who pushed for permission to create it. Once they were given the go-ahead, the Generals appointed 12 troopers to the unit and began training them.Sahoboss. (2018, July 27). South African Defence Force (SADF). Retrieved from https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-defence-force-sadf

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1 Reconnaissance Commando (South Africa) Special forces of South Africa Defunct organisations based in South Africa Disbanded military units and formations in Durban Military units and formations of South Africa in the Border War Military units and formations established in 1972 Military units and formations disestablished in 1997