Africa-Press – South-Africa. Compliments of a parliamentary question, South Africa now knows there are 69,392 “active” personnel in the national defence force, with an average age of 39.
The number was part of a reply to a question asked by ActionSA National Assembly (NA) MP, Athol Trollip, of defence and military veterans minister, Angie Motshekga.
Not included in the figure are Public Service Act personnel.
At June 30 the personnel strength of the Regular Force component of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) was 61,006 and the Reserve Force had a personnel strength of 8,386.
The average age of uniform-wearing airmen and women, military medics, sailors and soldiers in the four SANDF services, Trollip was told, is 39. This rises to 49 for the part-time component of Gen Rudzani Maphwanya’s total command.
Trollip was further informed the “senior management system” of the SANDF — general/admiral to brigadier-general/rear admiral (JG) — has a personnel count of 230. While not elaborated on, apart from the four services, this includes divisions housed in the department of defence (DoD) such as legal services, logistics and human resources, where a three-star is normally director.
All four services — the SA Air Force (SAAF), SA Army, SA Military Health and SA Navy (SAN) — between them have 6,065 senior officers (colonel/captain [SAN] to major/lieutenant commander [SAN]) with 3,924 junior officers across the services. Ranks here are captain/lieutenant (SAN) to second lieutenant/sub-lieutenant (SAN).
There are 5,447 warrant officers, classes 1 and 2, who do the sergeant-majoring across the SANDF with the assistance and support of 15,731 senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) wearing the rank insignia of staff sergeant, flight sergeant and chief petty officer (CPO). They, in turn, have 29,969 junior NCOs for duty support. Junior NCO ranks are, as per the ministerial reply, corporal/leading seaman down to private/airman/seaman.
Commenting on the release of personnel information, African Defence Review director Darren Olivier said the data “exposes a critical structural imbalance in the SANDF, with an inverted junior/senior officer structure, poor NCO ratios, and far too few junior enlisted compared to other forces”.
The ageing of SANDF personnel is not surprising, Olivier stated, due to the sharp cutbacks in recruitment via the Military Skills Development System (MSDS) after about 2011. “That underfunding-driven decision reversed years of progress. In 2000, just 10% of SANDF privates were 18-24. By 2011 it had improved to 57%. Looking at the average age of 39 across the force and the rest of the numbers, I’d estimate that fewer than 25% of privates/seamen/airmen are now 18-24, at a likely average age of 28. Without significant and sustained new recruitment and funding it will get worse.”
Olivier pointed out that this year’s joint MSDS intake is a bit better at 11,000, but is far from enough and likely can’t be sustained. Making it a joint basic training, rather than service-specific, also implies that there are serious capacity problems.
“I can’t overemphasise how bad all of this is for the SANDF and South Africa. The longer this funding, policy and personnel mismatch goes on, the less efficient, effective, skilled and deployable the SANDF will become. Nor will the decline be slow — it’s already accelerating,” Olivier said.
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