Naval Base (NB) Simon’s Town has another first to its credit – the SA Navy (SAN) Joint Project Officers’ Course.
The introduction of what Warrant Officer Class 1 PV Sibisi reports as a significant milestone in the organisational development of the maritime service has three officers from the Department of Defence (DoD) Defence Materiel Division (DMD) at the helm. They are course leader Colonel Leonard Badenhorst, Colonel Frank Kemp, SSO (Senior Staff Officer) representing acquisition and systems engineering management and course co-ordinator Lieutenant Colonel Sharon Maponya.
The aim of the newest addition to the SAN education and training curriculum is to provide officers with project management principles that will equip them to assume responsibility for “major naval projects”. It is seen as part of the broader SAN commitment to professional development, governance and effective execution of defence acquisition and sustainment programmes.
The course, no timeframe given, is not confined to theory which happens at the SAN submarine training school (SAS Simonsberg) as well as on-site visits for practical exposure and hands-on interaction with manufacturers and suppliers ranging from hulls through to electronics. Evidence of this came late last month (February) when officers delegated to the initial course called on Reutech Radar Systems in Stellenbosch’s Technopark. The visit provided insight into South African developed naval radar and sensor technologies.
