South African Army

South African Army
Flag of the South African Army
Founded	1912 (1912)[a]
Country	South Africa
Branch	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	47,500 (Active)[1] 15,300 (Reserve)
Part of	South African National Defence Force
Headquarters	Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Motto(s)	For The Motherland!
Anniversaries	10 May
Engagements	First World War Second World War Border War Lesotho intervention Central African Republic conflict Force Intervention Brigade
Commanders
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans	Thandi Modise
Chief of the Army	Lt Gen Lawrence Mbatha
Deputy Chief Army	Maj Gen Michael Ramantswana
Sergeant Major of the Army	Senior Chief Warrant Officer P.T. Tladi
Insignia
Seal

The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. The Army is commanded by the Chief of the Army, who is subordinate to the Chief of the SANDF.

Formed in 1912, as the Union Defence Force in the Union of South Africa, through the amalgamation of the South African colonial forces following the unification of South Africa. It evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by Boer Commando (militia) forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies.^[2] Following the ascension to power of the National Party, the Army's long-standing Commonwealth ties were afterwards cut.

The South African Army was fundamentally changed by the end of Apartheid and its preceding upheavals, as the South African Defence Force became the SANDF. This process also led to the rank and age balance of the army deteriorating desperately, though this has greatly improved.

During its history, the South African Army has fought in a number of major wars, including the First and Second World Wars, Rhodesian Bush War, and the long and bitter Border War. The South African Army has also been involved in many peacekeeping operations such as in the Lesotho intervention, Central African Republic Civil War, and multiple counter-insurgencies in Africa; often under the auspices of the United Nations, or as part of wider African Union operations in Southern Africa. It also played a key role in controlling sectarian political violence inside South Africa during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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