The longstanding and ongoing Operation Corona border protection deployment is generally confined to SA Army Infantry Formation units but not exclusively, as noted by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Armour Formation.
Tempe, Bloemfontein-based 1 Special Service Battalion (SSB) has temporarily replaced its Ratel and Rooikat fighting vehicles with R5 assault rifles for a tour of duty along the South Africa/Zimbabwe land border in the Limpopo province.
When arriving at Joint Tactical Headquarters, Limpopo, in Polokwane, recently ahead of calling on his deployed gunners, Brigadier General Khumbulele Pakade is reported as expressing “astonishment” at their transformation into “infanteers”. The immediate riposte from 1SSB Officer Commanding, Lieutenant Colonel Bonakele Madolo, reassured him “the change is temporary”.
The short sojourn in the Limpopo capital was followed by an on-site visit to the 1SSB gunners turned “infanteers” at border bases. The person-to-person contact, reports Captain Moses Semono of Joint Tactical HQ Limpopo, was “amazing for soldiers on the ground”. The communication officer added the soldiers were “humbled” and appreciated the visit by the one-star and a senior Armour Formation delegation.
Pakade’s visit coincided with a 1 SSB success in the form of preventing a top-end Toyota Land Cruiser (valued at R1.5 million) from being illegally exported to Zimbabwe. The vehicle was reportedly stolen in Johannesburg and logged as such at the Parkview police station. It was fitted with fake registration plates when intercepted by the gunners turned “infanteers”. Unfortunately the suspects driving it managed to flee.
In another success, 1 SSB gunners manning a vehicle control point close to Poppaline Ranch near the SA/Zimbabwe border stopped a Mercedes-Benz sedan. When asked for proof of ownership the driver tried to flee and was arrested. It was established that the vehicle was stolen in Kempton Park and repainted silver.
The vehicle, valued at R1.4 million, and driver were handed to the SA Police Service (SAPS) for “further processing” Semono reported.
1 SSB is not the first Armour Formation unit to be deployed as part of the current 15 sub-unit (infantry company) contingent curbing the flow of illegal immigrants and products into South Africa. Duties and tasks see them working with police to stop stolen vehicles illegally leaving the country and working with SA Revenue Service (SARS) personnel to confiscate smuggled goods, ranging from counterfeit clothing and footwear through to cigarettes, drugs, liquor and pharmaceuticals.
The Tempe unit was preceded to the Limpopo/Zimbabwe border by sister Armour Formation unit, 1 SA Tank Regiment, also based in the military area outside the Free State capital, Bloemfontein, in the second half of 2022. One of the tankers’ biggest successes saw four top-end Toyota bakkies, collectively valued at over R8 million, confiscated from would-be vehicle hijacker during a single “waylay” operation approaching the Limpopo River.
