JCH 2012 Volume 37 Issue 2

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http://hdl.handle.net/11660/3205

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Browsing JCH 2012 Volume 37 Issue 2 by Author "Wessels, Andre"

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    A historical perspective on military chaplaincy services in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), 1998-2012
    (2012) Bredenkamp, Izette; Wessels, Andre
    This study provides a review of the structure, policy and nature of military chaplaincy within the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) from 1998, when the first black Chaplain General in South Africa, Maj. Gen. (Rev.) FFS Gqiba, took office, until 2012. Since 1994, the SANDF underwent a process of transformation in line with the new democratic dispensation in South Africa. The question arises whether the new democratic military order that was arrived at in 1998 simply entailed a substitution of faces and names superimposed onto an old dispensation, or whether it succeeded in establishing a new structure, ethos and policy, as was envisaged in the original planning of the transformation process. To determine the extent of transformation that was effectuated in military chaplaincy after 1998, the structure, character and policies of the old order is traced, and, against this background, the new dispenstion is evaluated. This also indicates that transformation and change are not unique occurrences, but part and parcel of the course of history.
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    Preface
    (Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012) Wessels, Andre
    Abstract not available
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    ItemOpen Access
    South Africa's naval forces, 1922 - 2012
    (Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2012) Wessels, Andre
    This study analyses and evaluates ninety years of naval activity in South Africa. Although the Union Defence Forces of South Africa were established in 1912, the country’s first permanent navy, namely the South African Naval Service (SANS) was only established in 1922. This article shows how in practice the SANS continued only in name from 1934 until 1939, and that when the Second World War broke out, South Africa had no warships. It then follows the establishment of the Seaward Defence Force (SDF) in 1939, how it was built up, became the South African Naval Forces (SANF) in 1942, and made a small but nevertheless significant contribution to the Allied war effort. It is shown how the post-war navy was drastically scaled down, but then gradually built up again to serve as guardian of the Cape sea route. The SANF became the South African Navy (SAN) in 1951, and acquired Simon’s Town as its main naval base in 1957. The study indicates how political developments in the Republic of South Africa in due course impacted on the country’s navy, leading to increasing isolation and eventually a mandatory United Nations arms embargo. The SAN’s role in the post-apartheid South Africa is also discussed, with special reference to flag-showing cruises, and it is indicated how, after many years as a small-ship navy, the SAN regained its blue-water capability.