Voluntary military service

The document advocates for the transition of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to a voluntary service model, drawing parallels with the United States National Guard. The author contends that a part-time voluntary force of 'citizen soldiers' can act as a safeguard for democracy by preventing military monopolies on power and can serve as a national asset by providing humanitarian aid, infrastructure support, and supplementary law and order functions without the political baggage of the past.

• The author asserts that a voluntary SANDF is the only viable political, social, and military choice for South Africa at its current historical stage, suggesting it can serve as a national asset and a unifying factor.
• A voluntary part-time force is presented as a democratic safeguard because it prevents a professional military from holding a monopoly on power, which reduces the risk of political coups.
• The author proposes a 'citizen soldier' model based on the US National Guard, where part-time volunteers provide visible community benefits, such as disaster relief, infrastructure building (roads and bridges), and medical services via mobile units.
• Voluntary citizen soldiers could assist in addressing South Africa's crime and violence issues by supplementing police forces, leveraging their local knowledge of languages and community problems to avoid being seen as outsiders.
• The author suggests that the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) could benefit from the use of citizen soldiers who provide urgently needed community services rather than focusing solely on armed duties.
• Regarding SANDF staffing, the author notes that full-time membership is currently higher than what is affordable or needed; integration of all eligible personnel would result in approximately 135,000 members, while planning only accounts for about 90,000.

APA

Schwarz, H. (1996). Voluntary military service. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-1-get-on-parade-restructuring-south-africas-part-time-military-force-for-the-21st-century-edited-by-jakkie-cilliers-/voluntary-military-service

Chicago

Schwarz, Harry. Voluntary military service. Institute for Security Studies, 1996. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-1-get-on-parade-restructuring-south-africas-part-time-military-force-for-the-21st-century-edited-by-jakkie-cilliers-/voluntary-military-service.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schwarz |first1=Harry |title=Voluntary military service |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 1996 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-1-get-on-parade-restructuring-south-africas-part-time-military-force-for-the-21st-century-edited-by-jakkie-cilliers-/voluntary-military-service |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schwarz1996voluntary, author = {Schwarz, Harry}, title = {{Voluntary military service}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {1996}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-1-get-on-parade-restructuring-south-africas-part-time-military-force-for-the-21st-century-edited-by-jakkie-cilliers-/voluntary-military-service}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }