EXTERNAL OPS

The South African Special Forces Association is a formal and professional Military Veterans Organization, formally recognized by the Honorable Deputy Minister of Defense on behalf of the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs of South Africa. Membership of the South African Special Forces Association is available to all retired and serving members of the South African Special Forces, as described in the Constitution of the South African Special Forces Association – which also appears on our website.

The ‘Recces’ are a special brand of people and the Association’s membership is open to all retired Operators as well as Support Staff of the South African Special Forces Community who qualify according to the constitutional requirements. Serving Special Forces personnel will automatically be considered as affiliated members. We hereby respect and acknowledge different timelines and phases in South Africa’s history and in doing so we embrace the past, the present and the future into one ‘esprit de corps’.

The South African Special Forces Association is registered as a Non-Profit Organization. As a voluntary association, we will comply with and conform to the rules, principles and requirements of a voluntary association of persons as prescribed by the Constitution of the R.S.A.

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Our mission is clear and that is to foster healthy opportunities for the interaction between retired members of Special Forces in order to maintain the history, unique capability, legacy and comradeship of the Special Forces Community. The mission is defined in a threefold approach:

1. To connect Special Forces members from around the globe. For this reason the Association is also structured to function in the virtual world of information technology. The structures, called Forts, will be established both locally and abroad. There is currently an already strong network that assists in connecting members around the globe for business opportunities. Our intent is clear and that is to extend this network even further.

2. To protect the integrity of the Special Forces Community who served with pride in this country. As mentioned we will protect the integrity of a handful of operators (both black and white) who served the country with pride. The many awards, medals and decorations is silent witness to a legacy of those brave enough to have served way beyond the normal boundaries of soldiering. Until this day the South African Special Forces Operator remains one of the most respected in the modern day history of warfare and we want to keep it that way.

3. To care for the well-being of its members. As much as we honour the deaths of about 300 operators and support members, we will keep on serving and supporting our living members while they learn how to cope with life and business.

The main purpose is to safeguard and uphold the legacies and traditions of the Special Forces Community whilst we gain advantage for the SASFA community, and where necessary, to assist serving members intending to leave the service to successfully integrate into civil society. We set ourselves to remember and maintain the proud history, standards, traditions and legacy of Special Forces and to remember and honour fallen comrades.

For these and many other reasons we will take a strong stance against so many ‘bogus’ so-called ‘recces’, who walk the streets claiming to have served in the Special Forces. These wannabe’s who claim to have served the South African Special Forces as a ‘recce’ are living a lie. The Association also wants to make it clear that we will not allow any other individual or group to use our brand name or colours / insignia falsely, thereby creating the impression that they are or were members of the Special Forces Community. In this instance a more pro-active approach will be followed in leading the South African Society in the true history and tradition of the South African Special Forces Operator.

Special Forces in South Africa has – since its inception – been a non-racial, progressive and dynamic organisation, where entry and status has always been determined only by an individual’s personal abilities, regardless of race or creed. It has one of – if not the – most arduous selection processes and possibly the longest and most detailed Training Cycle of all Special Forces internationally.
 
The quality of the South African Special Forces Operators has enabled them to conduct operations that have been deemed to be impossible by others.

The Association strives to be a-political and to maintain good relations with relevant government departments and its internal structures. We take pride in how we had to lead others in the principles of an integrated society and will continue to do so. We will also maintain professional relations with other official veteran organisations, both locally and internationally. We are still strongly affiliated with the full-time serving members of Special Forces. We will ensure that no one abuses the organisation for personal gain and we recognise and respect the principle of non-discrimination and the value and dignity of all our members.

In closing, we would again like to welcome our visitors, and express our hope that you will find our site – and the information on the South African Special Forces – to be educational, of interest and a justifiable source of great pride for all South Africans.

Pierre Lundberg
Chairman : SA Special Forces Association
Retired SA Special Forces Operator

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