The SA Army Combat Training Centre (CTC) is presently home to an assortment of SA National Defence Force (SANDF) components for combat readiness verification ahead of peace support deployment.
Training objectives for Exercise Phirima, according to Rear Admiral (JG) Prince Tshabalala, Defence Corporate Communication (DCC) Director, include command and control (C2), planning, offensive operations, protection of civilians, civil/military co-operation (CIMIC) and SANDF standard operating procedure (SOP).
Exercise Phirima began in late September and after setting up bases and facilities, week two covered a command post exercise hosted by the Centre for Conflict Simulation. This was followed in week three by a field training exercise with 9 and 21 SA Infantry Battalions carrying out helicopter drills, casualty evacuation, riot control, opposing force drills, civilian conflict management, and other exercises.
Apart from the SA Army, which makes up the majority of Exercise Phirima participants, other services at the Northern Cape training area are the SA Air Force (SAAF) and the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS). Division-wise, representation is from Joint Operation, Defence Intelligence, Human Resources (Training Command), Military Police and Defence Legal Services. The official DCC line is the named services and division “pledge their personnel according to real-time mission area scenarios”.
Come late October, Phirima morphs into a live fire component – Exercise Madulo. This forms part of Exercise Vuk’uhlome which runs through to end November, the month declared as Army Month by landward force chief Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha.
Last year, Exercise Phirima saw soldiers from Mthatha-based 14 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion do their combat readiness verification and validation at CTC in July ahead of deployment to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A year prior, 10 SAI from Mafikeng went the same route ahead of a DRC deployment under the United Nations (UN) flag.
