31 & 32.

This is coolbert:

"The Whites look, but they cannot see". 

From a comment to a recent blog entry: "As to the 'somewhat aged' remark, if they had not been 'delivered' into foreign hands...the outcome of the endeavour may have been very different."

Some clarification and illumination is needed here? That mercenary force under the command of Simon Mann, the "guts" of which comprised of black Africans - - veterans of the South African 32 Battalion, betrayed and taken prisoner, described by myself as "somewhat aged"!

1. That South African Defense Forces [SADF] 32 Battalion, again, from my original blog entry, at one time, perhaps the most combat ready, experienced and skilled soldiers in the world!!

[at one time, you could probably find no more combat ready, experienced and skilled fighters and soldiers anywhere in the world than those troops belonging to 32 Battalion!]

"32 Battalion . . . [Founded in 1975] was a special light infantry battalion of the South African Army, composed of black and white commissioned and enlisted personnel. It was disbanded on 26 March 1993"

32 Battalion an integral part of the SADF the rank and file soldiers of which WERE NOT South African. Rather black Angolans at one time devoted to the insurrectionist guerrilla group FNLA as commanded by Holden Roberto. Commanded by white South African officers the enlisted predominantly black Angolans, exiles and pariahs in their homeland. Fighting an unconventional war as a proxy force.

"After the victory of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) in the Angolan Civil War in 1975, many troops of its main rival, the Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola (FNLA), found refuge in the then South African-controlled South-West Africa."

32 Battalion referred to as the "Buffaloes". M'bogo! The Cape Buffalo. Rated by many big game hunters as the MOST DANGEROUS GAME OF THEM ALL!!

That rank and file trooper of 32 Battalion EVEN BEFORE induction into the SADF already an experienced, very skilled and savvy soldier, a guerrilla fighter noteworthy for situational awareness and fighting ability, there having been a Darwinian Selection process at work prior to initial unit formation.

That skill, combat ability and experience even honed more so to a higher level proficiency thanks to the further training of the SADF, the 32 Battalion troop carrying SOVIET BLOC SMALL ARMS THE 32 BATTALION COMBATANT ABLE TO BLEND IN QUITE WELL WITH THE SURROUNDINGS DURING A CROSS-BORDER OPERATION! [from the Caprivi Strip into southern Angola for instance.]

The 32 Battalion having been initially formed in 1975 and disbanded in 1992, almost twenty years ago now, I would have to think that at the least most veterans of 32 Battalion are at least in their forties by now. YES, too old to be doing that mercenary stuff anymore.

2. Also noteworthy is the SADF 31 Battalion. Comprised of the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert. Commanded and led by white South African officers, those Bushmen organized into a counter-insurgency unit reliant upon age-old tracking and hunting methods - - the prey not a big game animal but A HUMAN, AN INSURGENT!! Those troops of 31 Battalion having a "skill set" NOT TO FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET!

Of the tracking and hunting skills and abilities of the Bushmen, enough cannot be said. Persons [Bushmen] having a keen awareness of their surroundings, sensory perception developed to a marked degree  - - astoundingly so even! Bushmen while in the wild totally self-sufficient, able to forage and provide while on patrol in a harsh environment! Adept in a way others are NOT!

Both 31 & 32 now and for some time disbanded! The fate of those veterans, valorous soldiers, NOT so good? Proxies looked upon with disdain by certain elements of current South African society? Having to look inward among themselves for support and succor? I fear it is so!

coolbert.