3322 ISS South African Army Vision 2020.indd

This research paper by Len le Roux argues that South African defence policy, specifically the 1998 Defence Review, is outdated and misaligned with current strategic realities. The author contends that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is designed for conventional homeland defence against external aggression, while its actual operational demands have shifted toward expeditionary peace support operations in Africa and internal security support for the police.

• A significant gap has emerged between the stated defence policy of the SANDF and its actual practice, primarily because the original planning assumptions—which envisioned a small conventional core force and a large part-time force—have not been realised.
• The SANDF's primary function was narrowly defined in the 1996 White Paper on National Defence as 'defence against external military aggression', which led to an overemphasis on conventional capabilities and a failure to prepare for expeditionary operations.
• The SANDF is increasingly engaged in African peace missions, with approximately 3,000 soldiers deployed in conflict areas, particularly in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan.
• The 'Strategic Defence Package' for replacing obsolescent equipment prioritises the navy and air force over the army, despite the army being the primary force deployed in Africa, and creates a budget imbalance by favouring capital expenditure over operating budgets.
• The part-time component of the SANDF, intended to be an essential part of the force design, has been severely neglected and is now nearly non-existent, with the exception of the territorial reserves (commandos) which are currently being phased out.
• International trends in force design, seen in countries like Australia, Canada, the US, and Nordic nations, show a shift toward a two-pronged approach: a deployable expeditionary force for overseas threats and a reserve-reliant homeland defence force.
• The author recommends redefining the SANDF's primary function to include military diplomacy, expeditionary intervention, and peace support operations in line with the Common African Defence and Security Policy (CADSP).

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). 3322 ISS South African Army Vision 2020.indd. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SA2020CHAP16.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. 3322 ISS South African Army Vision 2020.indd. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SA2020CHAP16.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=3322 ISS South African Army Vision 2020.indd |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SA2020CHAP16.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesnd3322, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{3322 ISS South African Army Vision 2020.indd}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SA2020CHAP16.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }