South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Exercise Vuk’uhlome is currently underway at the Combat Training Centre (CTC), Lohathla, Northern Cape.
Exercise Vuk’uhlome kicked off this week with a parade attended by SANDF Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya. Also present were divisional exercise commander, Major General Patrick Dube, chief directors of army directorates and brigade commanders.
Addressing the parade, Maphwanya said the exercise was “much anticipated” adding “achieving good results will be critical for the SA Army as well as the SANDF, South Africa and the continent at large in the short, medium and long term”.
Exercise Vuk’uhlome kicked off this week with a parade attended by SANDF Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya. Also present were divisional exercise commander, Major General Patrick Dube, chief directors of army directorates and brigade commanders.
The parade to officially set Vuk’uhlome in motion, a long CTC tradition of rockpiling took place with a commemorative plaque to mark the exercise in company with other piles, each of which honours a specific exercise on the Northern Cape training area.
The Motorised Modern Brigade comprises Headquarters 46 SA Brigade and its subsidiaries for the purpose of the exercise and includes 7 and 14 SAI battalions and General Botha Regiment. The Light Modern Brigade houses SASSIC (SA Army Specialist Infantry Capability), Andrew Mlangeni Regiment and a “quick respond force (sic)” with no detail on its components. The final modern brigade – airborne – houses 6 and 9 SAI, 44 Parachute Brigade and 101 Air Supply Unit. Keeping the brigades going is combined maintenance unit comprising 101 Workshop Unit alongside 16 and 17 maintenance units.
“Scenarios depicting typical war scenes will form part of the exercise which will enable the SA Army to measure its state of readiness in terms of discharging its mandate of preparing, providing and sustaining combat ready landward forces for employment by the Chief of the SANDF,” according to an official statement.
Information on the modern brigades supplied by SANDF social media communication officers indicates 43 Mechanised Modern Brigade is the official home of 1, 4 and 8 SA Infantry (SAI) battalions and 2 Field Engineer Regiment until Exercise Vuk’uhlome concludes.
Exercise Vuk’uhlome is the first at division level in the SA Army since formation in 1994 – is termed the “flagship annual exercise”. Apart from the brigade level component, Vuk’uhlome will see army Regular and Reserve Force elements exercise with support from the SA Air Force (SAAF). According to the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) the exercise has an intervention phase, followed by peace support operations, the prestigious week (sic) with the brigade battle as centrepiece followed by a career exhibition (at a nearby school) with a community outreach project wrapping up proceeding on 22 November.