LAST UPDATE: Friday, 04 May 2001 05:59 AM
44 PARA ENGR REGT
Civilian Para-Sappers
who play an important role in "building bridges"
Brief History
The ongoing escalation of war in the border area of South West Africa/Angola during 1977 necessitated the need to centralise all the conventional parachute forces of the SA Army, which in turn led to the establishment of 44 Parachute Brigade.
The Unit was originally established as 44 Field Engineer Squadron in April 1978. It was one of the first citizen force units of this newly formed Formation Headquarters and was officially inaugurated in January 1979.
The main aim and function of the Unit was to render an operational ready combat Para-engineer support to 44 Parachute Brigade over both tactical and strategical distances, often at short notice.
Since inception the Unit, up until 1981, operated mainly as fire-force support for 44 Para Bde as stics between field section and field troop strength, consisting of permanent force and newly recruited national servicemen.
The first members of the Unit, approximately 20 NCO's, were officially put on Unit strength during 1981. In 1982 Cpl J.G.L. Pretorius voluntarily joined the ranks of 44 Para Bde and was subsequently transferred to 44 Fd Eng Sqn. He successfully completed the Engineer Troop Officers Course during 1982 and was promoted to Candidate Officer. In November 1984 he became a Second Lieutenant and was appointed first Adjudant and Troop Officer of the Unit. In 1985 he became the first officially appointed Officer Commanding of 44 FD Engr Sqn, as Captain. Under his active leadership the Unit developed into an efficient, reliable force of 196 members.
On the 12 January 1990 the Unit officially became a Regiment, consisting of two qualified Parachute Engineer Squadrons and one Engineer Support Squadron. In 1992 almost 500 members were officially recorded.
"Through all the years the Unit has remained a highly active, solely Reserve Force. We never formed part of the South African Special Forces, due to our specific utilization in the Southern African operational theatre, and the scale of operations that differ totally. Although we also obtain certain specific specialised capabilities such as air assault, air landed, heliborne and amphibious operational skills, apart from internally developed typical para-sapper skills e.g. mine hunting, rapid breaching of minefields, improvising bridge building techniques, specialised applications of explosives, rapid demolitions, obstacle and bunker clearance, air supply techniques, etc. ...
To date the Unit has had only two Commanding officers and two Regimental Sergeant Majors:
Cmdt J.G.L. Pretorius : 01 Jan 1985 - 24 Oct 1991
Lt Col K.F. van Heerden : 24 Oct 1991 - to date
and
WO2 L.M. Lindeque : 01 Jan 1987 - 30 Nov 1989
WO1 A.L. Jansen van Vuuren : 30 Nov 1989 - to date
Thank you to Lt Col Krige van Heerden for the above information and * pictures below!
Pictures
*1
#2
#3
*4
*5
*6
*7
*8
*9
*10
#11
#12
Picture story by numbers
* 1 So here we are at 3 AM - ready for the DZ
# 2 ... and there I go...
# 3 The sun - some light! only now?
* 4 And, now we'll show them! Let's roll up these sleeves!
* 5 On our way!
* 6 Where's Jack's Pass?
* 7 The sheet's deep by now...
* 8 ... and it's getting deeper...
* 9 "This oak's already worried about his guys!"
*10 "He thinks they're somewhere behind..."
#11 "So what was this all about?"
#12 "Me? I'm not going to tell you!"
All # pictures supplied by Original Photography, Allen van der Linde
Comments
Although the Unit withdrew near the end of the first speed march leg of the competition, we have to respect their consideration and support for fellow members. It was a team effort. Experiencing an early casualty by a late replacement for an injured member and losing another team member about three kilometers from the end of a 35-click march, bagging more than 37 kg's full kit, they did exceptionally well for a Reserve (citizen/civilian) Unit. They were not prepared to leave another of their team behind and unanimously decided to help their comrade home...
Even in their dire situation they compared well to some of the other African and International teams.
All content © Pyramid Voices, Gareth Broeksma 2001